The Fall 2013 issue of Garden Making includes a special feature on native plants, celebrating their beauty and benefits.
Native plants
“Articles by Belinda Gallagher and Lorraine Johnson offer a clear understanding and appreciation of the role native plants can have in our home gardens,” says Editor-in-Chief Beckie Fox.
In addition to the feature on native plants, articles include:
Plants
- Echinaceas: New colours, new forms
- Mid-size maples
- Best Japanese barberries
- Culinary sage picks
- Late-season lettuces
Design and Techniques
- How to refresh your summer pots
- Bulb-planning tips
- How to take hardwood cuttings
- Choosing a leaf shredder
Garden Profiles
- Diversity in a Calgary garden
- All in a year’s work in an Ottawa garden
Get your copy of the native plants issue
This is issue #15 of Garden Making. There are 70+ pages of articles and photos in each issue. You can easily get a copy of the issue featuring native plants:
Buy print copy with free delivery
I’m glad to see that Garden Making is featuring native plants – I have been trying to add more natives to my garden this year. I’m surprised though to see you featuring Japanese Barberry in the same issue – Barberry is invasive and will out-compete most native species. It’s already doing a wonder on our ecosystem as it spreads so easily and birds drop seeds that happily re-root. Even if you feature variants of Barberry that are less vigorous spreaders and rooters, why not feature an alternative to an invasive plant (either a native alternative or an import that poses fewer environmental problems)? It’s bad enough that garden centres and plant catalogues encourage people to buy invasives like Barberry, Periwinkle, Goutweed and Miscanthus grass, they don’t need more publicity. I still don’t subscribe to Garden Making or any other gardening magazines because there are so many recommended plants that have a negative impact on our ecosystem – I wish there were gardening magazines that focused more on tips to eradicate invasives and good native plants to try instead.
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for your comments. The article on Japanese barberries does discuss this issue, and includes cultivars that produce non-fertile flowers. It’s up to all gardeners to make decisions based on their climate (given that some plants are invasive in some zones and not others), as well as on their garden’s adjacency to natural areas, woodlands and waterways, which are more vulnerable to invasive species.