In 2023, we moved to the Ottawa Valley and started a native plant garden on our 1/2 acre in town. We have learned a lot, and this blog will document some of the things we’ve learned.
We are also working on a native plant database unique to the Ottawa Valley and Lanark County. Over the years, we’ve collected information from a whole bunch of resources to piece together what works in our yard and how to grow plants that are truly native to this region.
We have many plants thriving in our yard that bugs and birds love, and we’ve learned that some of them don’t have a native range this far north. Many resources list native plants by province or growing zone. Ontario is HUGE! A plant native to south-west Ontario might never be seen in the Ottawa Valley.
We want to grow plants that support the local ecosystem of bees, bugs, birds, and other wildlife. So we’re doing our best to learn how to grow a garden that supports the changing ecosystem we live in.