Native Planting Plans
An example of how a native planting plan can respond to a garden and its owners’ priorities. Each plant pictured represents a specific choice; the notes below explain a few of them.
The existing garden
Photographed before many of the established perennials had emerged.
The brief
- A sense of privacy, with a friendly connection to neighbours.
- Year-round interest with less maintenance and cleanup.
- Food and shelter for local wildlife.
- Replace invasive plants and reduce the lawn.
- Less watering once established, respecting seasonal restrictions and saving money.
Concept visualizations
A few planting choices, explained
Spring gold · Early food
Flowers early, feeding winter-weary pollinators while much of the garden is still waking up.1
Oak + arbutus · A balance through the seasons
A gorgeous Garry oak supports native wildlife and brings a beautiful winter silhouette. Arbutus keeps year-round greenery beside the oak’s bare winter branches, with red bark adding colour.
Around the arbutus · Ninebark + Oregon grape
Ninebark’s white flowers highlight the arbutus’s red bark. Oregon grape keeps foliage when the ninebark is bare, adding bronze, red and purple tones in colder weather.
Thinking ahead · Assisted migration
Coast redwood is proposed here with a changing climate in mind. Native to coastal California and southern Oregon, it is being studied for assisted migration to Vancouver Island—helping trees reach suitable habitat faster than they could spread naturally. It’s a hopeful possibility to explore, with the site’s space and water availability guiding the final choice.2