Native Plant Sale
Welcome to our community fundraiser
April 1st, 2021 to April 30th, 2021
All profits will go back to community projects.
Fall is the best Time to plant
Thank you for being part of the solution.
Native plants increase biodiversity, helping our pollinator and bird population, and cooling the heat island of our City significantly more than non-native plants.
The plant sale and the tree giveaway are now closed.
Don't forget to pick up your orders on Saturday!
The plants sold are straight native species grown from seeds that have been ethically sourced.
The prices listed include all applicable tax and delivery to one of three designated pickup locations.
How it works
1. Choose native plants suited to your yard. Use the Catalog which includes Habitat and Growing Guides. If you order 4 of the same plant, we will add one surprise plant for free!
2. Use our convenient fillable order form below to place your order
3. Once availability is confirmed, we will get in touch with you and arrange for an e-transfer.
If e-transfer is not possible, alternate payment arrangements may be made.
4. Deadline for all orders is April 30th.
5. We will notify you via email when plants arrive and schedule a safe porch pick up.
6. Pick up your plants after May 20th on a scheduled date and time from one of three pickup locations in the areas of:
a. Kingston Road and St. Clair
b. Ossington and Dupont
c. Avenue Road and Lawrence Avenue.
Native plants are in high demand this year. To avoid disappointment, place your order early! We will place orders on a weekly basis with April 30th as the final deadline for orders.
Habitat and Growing Guide (Plant Catalog)
Plants with the Butterfly-logo have been tested by us and are highly recommended because they are easy to grow and have high value for wildlife. These plants can create the base of your pollinator patch or a native plant garden to support bees, birds and butterflies. By planting them you will notice a big difference in wildlife activity. Easy to grow plants are very forgiving regarding soil and sun requirements and are a perfect choice to start a new pollinator patch.
Prairie Plants do best in full sun and will develop deep roots and are therefore very water efficient.
Some Woodland Plants will require rich soil to survive. Soil can be built by leaving the leaves, adding broken off sticks and branches on the soil and avoiding compacting it by not stepping onto the bed.
Wetland Edge Plants will thrive in rain gardens but will do well in a regular garden setting when watered as needed.
Within a category plants are organized by bloom time to make it easier to select plants for continuous bloom.
All plants are perennials unless otherwise stated.
It is best for pollinators to plant about three of the same plants in proximity. It is also more pleasing to the eye.
We curated a list of 57 different native plants for you to chose from. Click the Plant Catalog to unveil.
Fall is the best Time to plant
Thank you for being part of the solution.
Native plants increase biodiversity, helping our pollinator and bird population, and cooling the heat island of our City significantly more than non-native plants.
The plant sale and the tree giveaway are now closed.
Don't forget to pick up your orders on Saturday!
How The Project Works
You will be able to grow plants that will fill your garden with ecologically productive plants and you will have many extra plants that you can exchange at our seedling exchange beginning of June into other desired plants. We give you free seeds that you can give plants to friends, neighbours, schools, and community organizations and ignite their curiosity on why these native plants bring so much life and beauty into our landscapes. (It is important to know that you will need to sow the seeds into potting soil and not just into the ground to have great success. In order to be eligible to receive seeds we ask you to sow them in potting soil in containers.)
- Check out the offered seed species above and learn which ones would grow well in your garden conditions or would do well in your planned projects.
- Order the desired seed species through the link below.
- Pick up of seeds, trays, and netting is in the Bluffs starting January 20th, 2022.
-If you live further we can mail you the seeds instead to your address.
- Watch the recording of our community zoom meeting from January 18th, 2022 to learn how to grow the native seeds successfully.
- Join our Facebook Group to get timely tips on what next steps to take on your growing journey and to share your progress, ideas, and projects, if you like.
Visit the Evergreen native and herb garden spaces at the Brick Works. Check out their website to get ideas about what plants go well together. Find a published list of plants that they used to create 6 differently themed gardens. As a special treat, Isaac Crosby gives you a guided audio tour of all gardens.
This is a Great Time to Get Started
We have the following seeds:
New England Aster, Virgin Bower Clematis, Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, Blue Vervain, Joe Pye Weed, Purple Coneflower, Missouri Ironweed, Dense Blazing Star, Foxglove Beardtongue, and more.
Check out below how the project works and how to successfully grow native plants from seed.
You can learn about some of these plants here.
How The Project Works
You will be able to grow plants that will fill your garden with ecologically productive plants and you will have many extra plants that you can exchange at our seedling exchange beginning of June into other desired plants. We give you free seeds that you can give plants to friends, neighbours, schools, and community organizations and ignite their curiosity on why these native plants bring so much life and beauty into our landscapes. (It is important to know that you will need to sow the seeds into potting soil and not just into the ground to have great success. In order to be eligible to receive seeds we ask you to sow them in potting soil in containers.)
- Check out the offered seed species above and learn which ones would grow well in your garden conditions or would do well in your planned projects.
- Order the desired seed species through the link below.
- Pick up of seeds, trays, and netting is in the Bluffs starting January 20th, 2022.
-If you live further we can mail you the seeds instead to your address.
- Watch the recording of our community zoom meeting from January 18th, 2022 to learn how to grow the native seeds successfully.
- Join our Facebook Group to get timely tips on what next steps to take on your growing journey and to share your progress, ideas, and projects, if you like.
Donate
unused
items
Put your unused items to good use.
We will use them at local schools.
We need:
rain barrels, compost bins, garden tools,
untreated or pressure-treated wood,
chicken wire, watering hoses,
plastic potting containers of all sizes, potting soil,
photos of native plants, birds, butterflies, bees and other wildlife.
Thank you
This is a Great Time to Get Started
We have the following seeds:
New England Aster, Virgin Bower Clematis, Butterfly Weed, Swamp Milkweed, Blue Vervain, Joe Pye Weed, Purple Coneflower, Missouri Ironweed, Dense Blazing Star, Foxglove Beardtongue, and more.
Check out below how the project works and how to successfully grow native plants from seed.
You can learn about some of these plants here.
Growing Trees From Seed
Image Title
What different cultures and generations say about trees
Thank you for the overwhelming participation!
Together we are building high quality habitat for pollinators and birds by planting native plants.
The sale is now closed. Stay tuned for our next sale.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. ~ Nelson Henderson
A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. ~ Greek Proverb
A good tree can lodge ten thousand birds. ~ Myanmar Proverb
Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realise we cannot eat money. ~ Cree Proverb
When we plant a tree, we are doing what we can to make our planet a more wholesome and happier dwelling-place for those who come after us if not for ourselves. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes
Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago. ~ Warren Buffett
Trees are much like human beings and enjoy each other’s company. Only a few love to be alone. ~ Jens Jensen
All our wisdom is stored in the trees. ~ Santosh Kalwar
Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky, we fell them down and turn them into paper, that we may record our emptiness. ~ Kahlil Gibran
Old trees in their living state are the only things that money cannot command. ~ Walter Savage Landor
He who plants a tree Plants a hope. ~ Lucy Larcom
A man doesn’t plant a tree for himself. He plants it for posterity. ~ Alexander Smith
If a tree dies, plant another in its place. ~ Carl Linnaeus
Keep a green tree in your heart and perhaps the singing bird will come. ~ Chinese Proverb
Find Out Which Method Works For You
Seeds are sown outdoors between November and February and stratify naturally
+ No need for Ziploc plastic bags
+ Takes no space in the fridge
+ After sowing no need to check on seeds until March
+ Very easy process
- Unwanted seeds are still plentiful in the fall and can fly into pots
- Small mesh is required to keep mice and birds from eating the seeds
- When plants sprout in spring it has been too long to remember things. Therefore it is paramount that every pot has a label written with a very durable pen
- Location of pots most likely will have to be changed
Seeds are sown between March and May and stratification needs to be mimicked in the fridge
- Seeds need to be stratified in plastic bags in the fridge
- Different seeds need a different length of time to finish stratification, some start germinating even in the fridge after dormancy is broken
- The process requires some planning since different species require different periods of stratification
- Protection against squirrels is needed
+ Hardly any seeds are still flying around so you have almost full control over what will grow in the sown pots
+ This makes it a very successful process
+ It feels very good to get gardening when warmer days become pleasant
+ Plants germinate very soon after sowing so it feels like a continuous process that you are part of
Seeds are sown between the 21st of December and February and stratify throughout winter
- Plastic containers with the matching lid need to be collected
- Time-consuming to put set up together
+ Absolutely no unwanted seeds will get into the pots; full control over what you grow
+ No extra protection against mice, squirrels, and birds eating the seeds is needed
- Might promote pathogens on usually hardy plants through the consistent presence of moisture
+ Takes no space in the fridge
+ After sowing until March only sporadic checks on seeds are necessary
+ Plants germinate earlier in spring and develop quicker
+ Continuously moist environment through condensation and recycling of the water benefits moisture-loving plants that are otherwise finicky to get to the seedling stage.
+ Great for very tiny seeds that need light to germinate since they can be safely surface sown and stratify naturally. No need to mix them into the soil to stratify.
How The Project Works
You will be able to grow plants that will fill your garden with ecologically productive plants and you will have many extra plants that you can exchange at our seedling exchange beginning of June into other desired plants. We give you free seeds that you can give plants to friends, neighbours, schools, and community organizations and ignite their curiosity on why these native plants bring so much life and beauty into our landscapes. (It is important to know that you will need to sow the seeds into potting soil and not just into the ground to have great success. In order to be eligible to receive seeds we ask you to sow them in potting soil in containers.)
- Check out the offered seed species above and learn which ones would grow well in your garden conditions or would do well in your planned projects.
- Order the desired seed species through the link below.
- Pick up of seeds, trays, and netting is in the Bluffs starting January 20th, 2022.
-If you live further we can mail you the seeds instead to your address.
- Watch the recording of our community zoom meeting from January 18th, 2022 to learn how to grow the native seeds successfully.
- Join our Facebook Group to get timely tips on what next steps to take on your growing journey and to share your progress, ideas, and projects, if you like.
Find Out Which Method Works For You
Seeds are sown outdoors between November and February and stratify naturally
+ No need for Ziploc plastic bags
+ Takes no space in the fridge
+ After sowing no need to check on seeds until March
+ Very easy process
- Unwanted seeds are still plentiful in the fall and can fly into pots
- Small mesh is required to keep mice and birds from eating the seeds
- When plants sprout in spring it has been too long to remember things. Therefore it is paramount that every pot has a label written with a very durable pen
- Location of pots most likely will have to be changed
Seeds are sown between March and May and stratification needs to be mimicked in the fridge
- Seeds need to be stratified in plastic bags in the fridge
- Different seeds need a different length of time to finish stratification, some start germinating even in the fridge after dormancy is broken
- The process requires some planning since different species require different periods of stratification
- Protection against squirrels is needed
+ Hardly any seeds are still flying around so you have almost full control over what will grow in the sown pots
+ This makes it a very successful process
+ It feels very good to get gardening when warmer days become pleasant
+ Plants germinate very soon after sowing so it feels like a continuous process that you are part of
Seeds are sown between the 21st of December and February and stratify throughout winter
- Plastic containers with the matching lid need to be collected
- Time-consuming to put set up together
+ Absolutely no unwanted seeds will get into the pots; full control over what you grow
+ No extra protection against mice, squirrels, and birds eating the seeds is needed
- Might promote pathogens on usually hardy plants through the consistent presence of moisture
+ Takes no space in the fridge
+ After sowing until March only sporadic checks on seeds are necessary
+ Plants germinate earlier in spring and develop quicker
+ Continuously moist environment through condensation and recycling of the water benefits moisture-loving plants that are otherwise finicky to get to the seedling stage.
+ Great for very tiny seeds that need light to germinate since they can be safely surface sown and stratify naturally. No need to mix them into the soil to stratify.
Spread The Word!
We are a brand new organization and need your help.
Please let the community know and spread the word through social media. Follow us on Instagram @CliffcrestButterflyway
Please share these links for our website
Cliffcrestbutterflyway.com
and
Cliffcrest Butterflyway
Take Action
In the time of COVID-19
Our main aim is to get the community together. Circumstances, however, make this impossible at the moment. While we practice social distancing we need to find new ways to transform our community.
Creating a pollinator patch in your own front yard or garden is a wonderful way to contribute to our community of humans and bees alike.
Please join the Cliffcrest Butterflyway Facebook group to connect, post ideas or information, get information, exchange seeds, and take action.
Shrubs
Shrubs are essential for birds, providing cover and nutritious berries.
Serviceberry
An adaptable large shrub/small tree that provides attractive fall colour and supports wildlife. Can be pruned as a single-stem tree or naturalized to form multi-stemmed shrubs. Flowers in spring are a great source of pollen and nectar. Small round, sweet berries ripen early in summer. Over 40 species of birds feed on the berries.
Small
Height:15-25 ft
Width 15-25 ft
Very adaptable to full sun and partial shade,
moist to dry soil of various types.
Grey Dogwood
An adaptable, hardy shrub with creamy white flowers in early summer, white berries on pink stems and purple-red leaves in the fall.
Slow growing, thicket-forming through suckers.
The grey dogwood is a host plant for the caterpillars of the beautiful Polyphemus Moth. The Spring Azure butterfly lays her eggs on the flower buds and her caterpillars feed on the plant.
Berries attract Northern Cardinals, Goldfinches, Yellow Warblers and many other birds. The multi-stemmed, thicket-forming growth provides a safe nesting place for many birds.
Large Shrub
Height: 15 ft
Width: 15 ft
Able to grow in full sun to full shade,
in wet to dry soil conditions of various type.
Flowering Purple Raspberry
A small fast-growing shrub with large fragrant rose-like flowers. It is suitable for various conditions. Arching, mounded, thicket-forming.
Provides extreme high value for songbirds and small mammals. The berries and thicket forming growth. Attracts all sized bees with its fragrant flowers. The hollow stems provide ideal natural nesting sites for native stem nesting bees.
Small
Height: 5+ ft
Width: 8+ ft
Grows in full sun to partial shade,
in moist to dry soils of various types.
Bush Honeysuckle
A hardy shrub with small yellow trumpet-shaped flowers tolerant of various conditions.
Mounded, Multi-stemmed, Thicket-forming. Bees, butterflies and other pollinators love the plant’s nectar and pollen. Check out the great article about honeysuckle on www.wildseedproject.net
Small
Height: 3 ft
Width: 3 ft
Grows in full sun to partial shade,
in moist to dry soils of various types.
Image Title
Available Trees
White Swamp Oak
The swamp white oak is a hardy, magnificent shade tree with a broad rounded crown and uniquely bicoloured leaves that are shiny and dark green on the surface and lighter on the underside. This tree lives up to 350 years and is, like all oaks, the most beneficial plant you can add to your yard for wildlife, especially birds. The leaves are an abundant food source for over 500 different caterpillars, essential for a functioning food web. E.g. one pair of chickadees needs 9000 caterpillars within the six weeks of raising their young. And oaks will produce them. To better understand how vital oaks are for our ecology, especially for birds, watch Doug Tallamy's presentation. The leaves turn a beautiful orange and red in fall; once fallen, the leaves are better mulch than wood chips. They likewise don't decompose during one season. Still, they are loose enough to offer habitat to firefly larvae, bumblebee queens, and many other beneficial insects during winter, and they are said to repel slugs and grubs.
Their acorns are the sweetest of all oaks and offer an abundant food source for small mammals, birds like ducks, turkeys, Blue Jays, and even beavers and black bears. Blue Jays hide over 100 viable acorns up to one mile away from the mother tree every day for a month, making them the number one planter of oaks. Older trees often have cavities that provide shelter and nesting sites for birds and mammals. Check out the great article by Brenna Anstett.
Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 60+ ft
Full sun to partial shade
Variety of soil types
Tolerates seasonal flooding
https://www.yourleaf.org/sites/default/files/swamp_white_oak_2017-_online.pdf
Photo credit: Dan Keck
Sugar Maple
A large shade tree with yellow-green leaves turns an attractive yellow-orange or red in the fall. Slow growing and long-lived, can live for more than 200 years. Maples are among the first trees to bloom in spring, making them a vital pollen source for pollinators coming out of dormancy.
Sugar Maple trees are drawing water from lower soil layers and exuding that water into upper, drier soil layers, which benefits all the understory plants.
Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 40+ ft
Requires full sun
Prefers moist soil of any type, but cannot tolerate swampy conditions
Basswood
Basswood trees are large trees with dense foliage and a uniform round crown. By providing excellent shade, they lower our energy usage and provide shelter for wildlife.
In spring, the beautiful heart-shaped leaves support 140 caterpillar species in Toronto. The most beautiful ones among them are the Eastern tiger swallowtail, the luna moth, the mourning cloak, the promethea silk moth and the question mark. Caterpillars are the single most essential food source for all migrating songbirds rearing their young.
In midsummer, the abundant yellow to cream-coloured flowers fill the air with their sweet fragrance and offer rich nectar to pollinators.
In the fall and winter, chipmunks, songbirds, and even foxes, among other wildlife, feed on their seeds.
Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 30+ ft
Full sun to partial shade
Moist, well-drained
Source: www.lrconline.com/Extension_Notes_English/pdf/bsswd.pdf
Photo credit: Fritz Flohr Reynolds
Eastern Redbud
A popular small tree with very showy magenta flowers in spring, that bloom before the leaves emerge and beautiful heart-shaped leaves. The leaves emerge reddish, turning dark green in summer and a bright canary yellow for fall interest. The flowers give rise to clusters of bean-like pods that remain on the tree into winter.
Very tolerant of urban conditions.
Eastern Redbud is one of the earliest blooming trees in Toronto and provides an important early source of pollen and nectar for many different kinds of early emerging native bees.
The leaves are loved by leafcutter bees to separate their larvae in their nests.
Cardinals. Ring-necked pheasants, rose-breasted grosbeaks, and bobwhites feed on the seeds.
Medium
Height: 20-30 ft
Width 25-30 ft
Grows in full sun to partial shade
Requires moist, well-drained soil of various types
Source: www.srs.fs.usda.gov
Red Oak
Large, hardy, long-lived shade tree. Very tolerant of urban conditions. Attractive leaves that often stay on the lower branches during winter. Researchers believe this was a helpful defence mechanism to protect the young twigs from browsing dinosaurs. Today oaks sustain a complex and fascinating web of wildlife and are the ecologically most productive tree. The leaves provide food for over 500 kinds of caterpillars. Caterpillars are crucial since they are the most essential food source for birds raising their babies. To better understand how vital oaks are for our ecology, watch Doug Tallamey's presentation.
The acorns are an important food source for small mammals and birds like Blue Jays. Blue Jays hide over 100 viable acorns every day for a month, making them the number one planter of oaks. Older trees often have cavities that provide shelter and nesting sites for birds and mammals.
Large
Height: 60+ ft
Width: 60+ ft
Requires full sun to partial shade
Adapts to moist and dry soil conditions
Prefers acidic soil but can grow in any soil
We have added a Plant Sale to the Tree Giveaway Event
"Shrubs for the Birds and Pollinator Plants"
The tree giveaway is now closed because we reached the number of granted trees.
It is best for trees to grow up in companionship with groundcovers or other trees and shrubs. It is ideal for a young tree to get planted with all the other plants around it at the same time. Layered landscapes look great, provide nesting sites and food for birds and are host plants for caterpillars. They benefit the life cycle of insects since the insects can fall safely onto the ground and bury themselves. We selected the shrubs because of their high value to birds and pollinators. We are happy that we can offer a wide variety of ground cover plants, of which some are hard to come by. Since the trees will still take some time to grow big it is also possible to plant a pollinator garden around them.
This sale is very community-based: last-minute, all prices include tax. You will have to total up your order and pay when you pick up your plants by e transfer or cash.
The order deadline is extended to Wednesday, April 13th, 2022, at 11 pm.
This is a Great Time to Get Started
We still have free seeds. Find out more about the project.
Link to the recording of our Webinar on how to successfully grow native plants.
Current Projects
Learn more about how you can get involved in this project in February, 2022.
Watch our community webinar on how to grow native plants from seed.
Coming in April, stay tuned.
Join us on Facebook to be the first to know.
Native Plant Giveaway
Native plants increase biodiversity, our pollinator and bird population and cool the heat island of our City significantly more than non-native plants.
Come, visit our free plant giveaway at 217 Oakridge Drive and pick up 5 native plant seedlings for your garden. Check out the offered plants here. Plants are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. You can reserve a plant kit here.
Replace some of your front lawn with native plants and receive native plant seedlings and our pollinator sign to start your pollinator patch. Find out how to take part in the
Native Plant Ambassador program.
Cliffcrest-wide Garage Sale
Help to divert goods from landfills and energy-intensive recycling.
You're invited to participate and attend the first Cliffcrest-wide garage sale!
Sell your items in front of your home
on Saturday, July 23, 2022, from 9 am to 1 pm and visit neighbours' garage sale.
Seedlings exchange for native plants and vegetables
Saturday, July 9th, 10 am to 12 pm
Community Farm of Scarborough Food Security Initiative at 3595 St. Clair Avenue East
Bring your extra native plant seedlings or vegetable seedlings and go home with some plants you always wanted. It doesn't matter if you have lots of seedlings or hardly any or none. Meeting with like-minded people will be a chance to learn from each other's methods and experiences, what worked and what didn't. We can also try to identify plants without tags. Only plants grown in above-ground pots in potting soil are allowed to be brought and exchanged to minimize the risk of spreading jumping worms! Please register so that we can plan better and bring the desired seedlings.
Native Plant Giveaway
Native plants increase biodiversity, our pollinator and bird population and cool the heat island of our City significantly more than non-native plants.
Come, visit our free plant giveaway at 217 Oakridge Drive and pick up 5 native plant seedlings for your garden. Check out the offered plants here. Plants are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. You can reserve a plant kit here.
Replace some of your front lawn with native plants and receive native plant seedlings and our pollinator sign to start your pollinator patch. Find out how to take part in the
Native Plant Ambassador program.
Native Plant Giveaway
Native plants increase biodiversity, our pollinator and bird population and cool the heat island of our City significantly more than non-native plants.
Come, visit our free plant giveaway at 217 Oakridge Drive and pick up 5 native plant seedlings for your garden. Check out the offered plants here. Plants are available on a first-come-first-serve basis. You can reserve a plant kit here.
Replace some of your front lawn with native plants and receive native plant seedlings and our pollinator sign to start your pollinator patch. Find out how to take part in the
Native Plant Ambassador program.
Discover Cliffcrest Butterflyway
From the Heart
Cliffcrest Butterflyway is my very own passion project filled with unique and engaging content. Explore my site and all that I have to offer—perhaps my blog will spark excitement in your life, as well. So, sit back, relax and read on.
Seedlings exchange for native plants and vegetables
Saturday, July 9th, 10 am to 12 pm
Community Farm of Scarborough Food Security Initiative at 3595 St. Clair Avenue East
Bring your extra native plant seedlings or vegetable seedlings and go home with some plants you always wanted. It doesn't matter if you have lots of seedlings or hardly any or none. Meeting with like-minded people will be a chance to learn from each other's methods and experiences, what worked and what didn't. We can also try to identify plants without tags. Only plants grown in above-ground pots in potting soil are allowed to be brought and exchanged to minimize the risk of spreading jumping worms! Please register so that we can plan better and bring the desired seedlings.
Donate
unused
items
Put your unused items to good use.
We will use them at local schools.
We need:
rain barrels, compost bins, garden tools,
untreated or pressure-treated wood,
chicken wire, watering hoses,
plastic potting containers of all sizes, potting soil,
photos of native plants, birds, butterflies, bees and other wildlife.
Thank you