Return of the Native plant nursery is closed for a few weeks, reopening Friday August 30 2019.

We will be open Fridays and Saturdays 10am-4pm in September, open at other times or on other days by appointment or chance - email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 705-322-2545 if you prefer to arrange a time that works for you. Or, just drop by, we are most often here.

The plant list will be updated with some selections this month.

We use no pesticides or commercial fertilizers, to ensure that are plants are safe for pollinators and other insects and therefore safe up the ecosystem food chain. 

We're having an end of season sale: All plants are $5 regardless of listed price. Plant list. So fill those gaps - dense plantings discourage weed spread and conserve moisture - and try something new and native! Planting in mid-summer is fine as long as you're around to get plants settled in and watered for the first couple of weeks, especially if there's a drought. This applies to potted plants, not ones you dig up - wait until September to move those. 

We're on our mid-summer schedule -  open when we're here, which is most of the time, but to be sure of finding us, check ahead, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 705-322-2545. Note: We are closed in August.

Seasonal thoughts:

- Water. Leave saucers of water out at different levels for insects, birds, toads and other creatures, especially if your space and the surrounding landscape is largely hard-surfaced and lacking in water sources for wildlife. As for actually watering your plants, if they're native and in the ground (pots are another matter) they are adapted to local conditions and under normal circumstances will survive just fine without you. So don't waste your time and the Earth's resources. Read more

Picture yourself as a bird. A chickadee. Proud parent of half a dozen nestlings. You have a territory - an area with a radius of about 50 metres that you defend from others of your species to get first dibs on resources. You have a job - to work with your mate to get food to your chicks. It’s a challenge.

Many may think of you as a seed and  berry eater. But for chickadee nestlings, seeds are of no interest. These youngsters need protein! And that comes from insects. Ninety-six per cent of terrestrial birds rear their young on insects. The best source of protein is  caterpillars - the larvae of moths, butterflies and sawflies.

Back and forth, back and forth. You and your mate work from dawn to dusk to satisfy the chicks’ voracious appetite. How much do they eat? Doug Tallamy, professor of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, parked himself by a chickadee nest and counted.

He found the pair delivered food every three minutes. Once, they delivered 30 caterpillars in 27 minutes. They foraged from 6 am to 8 pm. He figured they delivered 390-570 caterpillars a day. The chicks spent 16-18 days in the nest. Just getting the young to a point where they can leave the nest takes 6,240-9,120 caterpillars!

Read more