If you can afford it, transplants (plants in pots) give the beginner the best chance of success. With transplants, you can gradually introduce a few native plants to your existing garden. These seedlings will better compete with the existing plants for light and nutrients.

Most of our local nurseries carry a few native plants but may not identify them as native. To get you started, below is a “top ten” list for the most popular native garden perennials and shrubs. For a longer list with more growing details see the “Native Plants” section:

Top Ten Perennials
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
Swamp Milkweed (Ascelpias incarnata)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta)
Hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
Dense blazing star (Liatris spicata)
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa)
Joe Pye weed (Eutrochium maculatum)
Boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum)
White turtlehead (Chelone glabra)
Foamflower (Tiarella cordifoli

Top Ten Shrubs
Shrubby cinquefoil (Dasiphora fruticosa)
Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Cranberry viburnum (Viburnum trilobum)
Wild raisin (Viburnum cassinoides)
Red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera))
Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarp)
Shrub serviceberry (Amelanchier)
Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
Sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia)
Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)

Buying Tips
• Look at the botanical name to ensure you are getting the right plant.
• Avoid buying cultivars of perennials, because the flowers have often been modified in a way that makes them less attractive to pollinators. With respect to shrubs, choose the straight species first, but cultivars are also acceptable because the flowers have not been modified. (A cultivar is a modified variety of the plant species, chosen for desired traits such as size,flower colour and shape, etc.)
• Be aware that one year old perennial seedlings may not flower until the second year. If available, buy two-year-old plants.
• Before buying plants, research which ones are best for your own yard so that you get the right plant for the right place. There is a native plant for almost every growing condition.

Where to Buy Native Plants
Many local nurseries carry native plants, but may not provide a list or a separate area for these plants. Please support our work by asking for native plants when you visit a nursery. Below is our recommended list of nurseries or plant sales. Check back for additions, because with the popularity of native plants, new companies are opening.

Baldwin Nurseries near Falmouth, NS, is a good source of native trees and shrubs:
LaHave Drumlins Native Plant Nursery, New Germany, NS.

The annual native plant sale at Harriet Irving Botanical Gardens, usually in early June. Get the date for this year here: