Native Plant Garden Guide

Resources. Guides. Nature. Biodiversity. Gardens. Habitat. Pollinators. Vegetables. Community. Living in harmony with nature. Biodiversity Day: Building a shared future for all life

At FCG, we routinely reflect on the many ways gardens can go beyond our personal spaces to serve our neighbourhoods. Faith groups often have outdoor properties and these can be sacred green spaces for all the community to enjoy and benefit from.

Not only do gardens offer places for reflection and meditation, or a source of healthy nutritious food, but now more than ever, nature needs our outdoor spaces to support biological diversity, or biodiversity--the variety of life on earth and its interdependence. Diversity makes living things adaptable, which is critical to the resilience of this web of life (including our food security).

But biodiversity is declining all over the world at such an alarming pace thanks to loss of habitat and deforestation, fragmented ecosystems and climate breakdown.

Thankfully, towns and cities–where most of us live–are great places that can support habitat. Even the smallest patch of earth can be a habitat that can contribute to a bigger network. 

From seed saving to planting a pollinator-friendly garden, there is something that every single person can do. Our many, free outdoor gardening resources can help get you started.

Leading up to Biodiversity Day, we will be sharing specific resources weekly. From planning a community vegetable garden, or looking for practical tips on topics such as water conservation, tree-planting or landscaping, we’ve got you covered.

Nature Popping Campaign

This week, check out our Native Plant Garden Guide.

A 16-page guidebook, our Native Plant Garden Guide is designed to help faith communities plan and maintain a successful native plant community garden. Easy to use, it was created by our Greening Sacred Spaces Toronto Chapter in 2018 with the assistance of the North American Native Plant Society.

Sections include: Setting up a native plant garden (factors include determining the scope, mapping, forming a volunteer team; planting the garden (when and how); maintaining the garden.

This growing season, plant native wildflowers, shrubs, grasses and trees for a nature-abundant future.