OSEAN’s favourite native plant resources
All about native plant gardening
Plan Your Garden section from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library. They also collect and give away seeds for free to Ottawa residents!
Want to go shopping? Start with the Seed Library’s list of Trusted Sources for purchasing native plants and seeds.
Online plant lists/caltalogues
Online lists to help you select plants by growing conditions and characteristics
Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library catalogue
In Our Nature free resource section
Ontario Native Plants catalogue
Books with plant lists and advice
Books with plant descriptions, advice on getting started, and background information on the importance of supporting pollinators.
A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators [Ontario and Great Lakes Edition] (2022) by Lorraine Johnson
The Gardener's Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (2024) by Rick Gray
100 Plants to Feed the Bees: Provide a Healthy Habitat to Help Pollinators Thrive (2016) by Eric Lee-Mäder
Thought-provoking books
Books to expand your knowledge base and help you think differently about land use.
Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design (2023) by Benjamin Vogt
Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard (2019) by Douglas Tallamy
The Milkweed Lands: An Epic Story of One Plant, Its Nature and Ecology (2023) by Eric Lee-Mäder
Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's Bees and Butterflies (2011) by the Xerces Society