Native-to-Ontario Perennials
Here at The Country Basket Garden Centre we carry many Native-to-Ontario perennial plants. Below you will find a list of many varieties but please note;
*we may not carry all the plants listed, all the time*.
For best availability we recommend you stop in late April or early May. Also, you can always contact us to place an order and we'll do our best to source your desired product.
Native-to-Ontario Perennials
Asters - we may carry a variety of native asters and cultivars in mid-to-late summer
- Aster, Heart-leaved (Aster cordifolius) - light purple-blue blooms in late summer to fall
- Aster, Purple-stemmed (Symphyotricum puniceum) - purple fall bloomer tolerates wet soil
- Aster, Stoke's (Stokesia taevis) - summer-blooming native to eastern US and Canada; purple or white cultivars
- Aster, White Wood (Aster divaricatus) - clouds of small white daily-like blooms in fall
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) - long-blooming sunflower-like yellow flowers with brown centres
Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) - not a true grass; violet-blue flowers open on sunny days
Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) - purple spring flowers above upright strappy leaves, tolerates wet soil
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) - tall blue-flowered plant blooms late summer into fall, tolerates wet soil
Blue Wild Indigo (Baptisia australis) - spikes of purple flowers attract pollinators, late spring into summer
Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) - an upright grass
Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) - upright towers of purple flowers in the summer
Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis) - a groundcover with white flowers in spring, red berries later
Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) - orange-flowered flower that attracts butterflies!
Canada Anemone (Anemone sylvestris) - spring-blooming white woodland flower
Canadian Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) - clusters of yellow blooms feed pollinators, late summer into fall
Canada Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) - spring blooming red/yellow woodland flower
Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) - spikes of red flowers in summer, tolerates wet grass
Carex pensylvanica - low growing shade-tolerant grass, good for dry shade
Coneflower - we carry many Echinacea cultivars plus varieties native to Canada
- Cutleaf Coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata) yellow, back-tilted rays of petals on tall lobe-leafed plants
- Gray-headed Coneflower (Ratibida pinnata) - green cones in yellow flowers change to dark brown
- Pale Purple Coneflower (Echinacea pallida) - drooping petals on tall stems, attracts butterflies
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) - a long-blooming flower that attracts butterflies
Culver's Root (Veronicastrum virginicum) - tall, long-blooming spikes of white flowers attract butterflies, bees
Dense Blazing Star (Liatris spicata) - upright plumes of fluffy purple flowers in summer, attracts butterflies
Downy Skullcap (Scutellaria incana) - clusters of blue tubular flowers top these North American native plants
False Blue Indigo (Baptisia australis) - spikes of purple flowers in summer
False Sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) - tall summer-blooming plants bear yellow sunflower-like blooms
Ferns - we carry a variety of native ferns
- Christmas Fern (Polystichum acrostichoides) - glossy deep green fronds are evergreen
- Cinnamon Fern (Osmunda cinnamomea) - large dark green ferns have cinnamon coloured centre fronds
- Lady Fern (Athyrium filix-femina) - dense mounds of upright, lacy green fronds
- Hart's Tongue Fern (Asplenium scolopendrium) - solid, strappy glossy green leaves
- Northern Maidenhair Fern (Adiantum pedatum) - delicate almost horizontal fronds on black stems
- Ostrich Fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris) - tall arching fronds tolerate some sun; fiddle heads edible!
Foam Flower (Tiarella cordifolia) - a shade tolerant groundcover with spikes of white spring flowers
Grasses - we carry a variety of native grasses and nativars (cultivars of a native plant)
- Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) - an upright 1.5 - 2.5m grass; Blackhawk is a cultivar
- Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) - upright feathery grass turns red in fall, silver tufts in winter
- Northern Sea Oats (Chasmanthium latifolium) - dangliong seedheards are unique; North American native
- Oak Sedge (Carex pensylvanica) - low growing shade-tolerant grass, good for dry shade
- Sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata) - fragrant grass that grows in sun or shade, tolerates wet areas
- Tufted Hair Grass (Deschampsia cespitosa) - grows in mounded clumps: Northern Lights is a cultivar
- Wild Rye (Elymus canadensis) - arching clumps of blue-green wheat like spikes
Harebells (Campanula rotundifolia) - nodding blue summer flowers for full sun
Hepatica, Rounded-lobed (Hepatica americana) - early spring flowers of white or purple with three-lobed leaves
Indian Pink (Spigelia marilandica) - cultivars of this long blooming, red eastern US flower attract hummingbirds
Jack-in-the-pulpit (Arisaema triphyllum) - hooded bloom striped purple inside appears in spring, red berries in fall
Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium purpureum) - a pollinator magnet. We also carry shorter cultivars
Lupine (Lupinus perennis) - clusters of purple/white pea-like blooms in late spring; we carry colourful cultivars
Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum) - white blooms hide under umbrella-like canopy of whorled leaves in spring
Obedient Plant (Physostegia virginiana) - pink and white cultivars
Ozark Sundrops (Oenothera missouriensis) - large, long blooming yellow flowers attract pollinators
Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum) - a wispy-flowered full-sun plant with reddish-pink blooms in spring
Prickly Pear (Opuntia humifusa) - winter hardy cactus with yellow blooms, native to Point Pelee area of Ontario
Rocky Mountain Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) - spikes of fluffy purple flowers, very attractive to butterflies
Sneezeweed (Helenium autumnale) - tall plant bears daisy-like yellow flowers in fall
Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum) - bears bell-like white flowers below arching stems in late spring
Sundrops (Oenothera) - yellow flower blooms in summer
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) - narrow leafed, pink flowered butterfly magnet
Sweetgrass Hierochloe odorata) - fragrant grass that grows in sun or shade, tolerates wet areas
Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower) - shade tolerant groundcover with spikes of white spring flowers
Tickseed (Coreopsis) - we carry a variety of cultivars plus some native species;
- Lance-leaved Tickseed (Coreopsis lanceolata) - sun loving, long blooming yellow flower
- Mouse-eared Tickseed (Coreopsis auriculata nana) - dwarf yellow tickseed native to eastern US
Trillium (Trillium grandifolia) - Ontario's provincial flower, may take a few years for first white spring blooms
Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) - cultivars of this late-blooming shade-tolerant white/pink flower
Virginia Bluebells (Mertensia virginica) - bright blue spring woodland flowers.
Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia) - vigorous vine that turns brilliant red in fall
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) - tall plants with tubular lavender blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies
Wild Columbine (Aquilegia canadensis) - spring blooming red/yellow woodland flowers
Wild Ginger (Asarum canadensis) - broad-leafed shade-tolerant groundcover
Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) - low groundcover with white flowers bear small sweet red fruit in June
Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens) - low growing evergreen groundcover with red berries
Woodland Phlox (Phlox divericata) - spring-blooming purple/blue flower that prefers shade
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