Native Plants

February 24, 2025 In Inspiration, Native Plants, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters, Resource

Supporting Pollinators in a School Garden

by Karen Miller, Master Gardener Intern

There is increasing public concern about native plants and pollination. It is widely accepted that both are on a steady decline in Canada. The issue seems widespread and individuals are often left wondering how they can help and if it will make a detectable difference. This article shares my experience, a woman who took her love for gardening a step further to help create change by encouraging future generations. And during the process, my heart was reshaped to recognize that insects deserve some serious time in the spotlight.READ MORE

January 8, 2025 In Native Plants, Newsletter Articles, Newsletters

Plant Recommendations for Gardeners from Manitoba’s Native Plant Growers

By Linda Dietrick, Master Gardener

 

When I contacted our local native plant and seed suppliers for the preceding article, I asked each of them which plants they would especially recommend that people add to their gardens. I received some great suggestions that are worth sharing with readers.

To begin with, Marika Olynyk, curator of the Living Prairie Museum in Winnipeg, reminded me that what you plant depends on your site conditions, garden goals, and experience. As a rule of thumb, though, she and other naturalists recommend plants whose flowers and foliage benefit wildlife throughout the season.
Examples:
Prairie crocus (Pulsatilla nuttalliana), which blooms in early spring
Purple prairie clover (Dalea purpurea) for midsummer blooms
Asters (Symphyotrichum spp.) and goldenrods (Solidago spp.) for late bloom

Photo: Linda Dietrick – New England aster

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January 16, 2022 In Information Presentation, Native Plants

Non-Native Plants in Your Garden


Linda Dietrick, Master Gardener, presenter for
Prairie Naturals Gardening Group (PNGG)
January 13/22 – 7 – 8:30pm
Zoom Presentation

Linda Dietrick, PNGG member, Master Gardener, and former editor of The Prairie Garden, including the 2020 issue, Inspired by Nature, will be our guest speaker for our final meeting in January.

Popular projects like Douglas Tallamy’s Homegrown National Park and the David Suzuki Foundation’s Butterflyway call on gardeners to help create habitat for threatened pollinators by planting native plants. While we can and should support these projects’ goals, it is not necessary to dig up all of the non-native plants in our gardens and replace them with natives. In fact, a diverse mix of native and non-native plants can be just as beneficial to wildlife.

Gardens are also meant to be habitat for humans. For millennia, even here on the northern prairies before European settlement, plants have been cultivated by humans for human benefit – for food, medicine, pleasure. Yet it is still possible to garden in a way that meets the specific needs of other living things. Certain native perennials, grasses, shrubs, and trees are essential for the survival of invertebrates like butterflies, moths and bees, which in turn support a biodiverse ecosystem.

The talk will focus on high-priority natives that we should incorporate into our garden designs. It will also help identify those non-natives that may have less ecological value. What that leaves are the many plants that, while they may not be native to our region, can still provide multiple ecological benefits.