NANPS Annual Spring Native Plant Sale

Saturday May 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Markham Civic Centre
101 Town Centre Blvd., Markham

"The garden is growth and change and that means loss as well as constant new treasures to make up for a few disasters.”

The Local Scoop is Back!

The Scoop was never away. We were lurking in the background. Just as seeds don’t all come up in the same year, due to unfavourable conditions, the Scoop laid low and waited to re-emerge. Maybe we didn’t have enough of a “winter” and did not cold stratify properly? Maybe we were still recovering from the ice storm of 2013 and the pseudo ice storm of 2014? No. We were engulfed by a Kudzu entanglement of personal obligations. And just like any another native plant in the spring, the Scoop has emerged again with little fanfare.

“Something cannot emerge from nothing.”

#WeAreSpring – “Native Plants in Our Gardens”

At the Local Scoop, we are not beneath borrowing. We look for inspiration where we can find it, even if it’s in the sports’ page of the local ragweed, The Toronto Star. The Olympics might be pushing “Ice in Our Veins” but we’re pushing “Native Plants in Our Gardens”.

When it seems like an Olympic competition for attention between native and non-native plants, for you, it’s a mere walk in the parkette. It’s not much of a stretch. We know where your affections lie. And we all know spring has finally arrived when it’s National Wildflower Week and the NANPS Annual Spring Native Plant Sale emerges.

The Local Scoop doesn’t want to be accused of false advertising, so we are presenting it like it is - a true Spring. Native Plants emerge in the spring with subtlety. They don’t burst forth in a manner associated with regular garden centre fodder hyped up by spa-soaked, greenhouse living. The plants at NANPS plant sale will be low key and not necessarily in blooming mode unless they are spring ephemerals. You veterans know the score. The beauty is hidden, but the potential is simmering beneath…just as your desire for bringing nature home.

The Opening Ceremony

Since the plant sale opens at 10 a.m. and advance order pickups begin at 11 a.m., it might be more incentive for those with pre-orders to come early to do some extra shopping. While we try to fill the order to your specifications, sometimes plants don’t make an appearance. So, to hedge your bets, make the rounds and pick up a few more plants on the tables as insurance in case you must make substitutions. You may want to check the plant list as a backup strategy. However, if you are deadhead set against accepting substitutions, we gratefully accept your donations by attrition.

Upon entering, you will be given a handbill which can be dropped in a box in the Canada Room. At the end of the sale a NANPSter will draw for the prize. While you are in the Canada Room making your deposition, check out the info tables: Pollination Guelph, TRCA, David Suzuki Foundation, Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy and 'Starting a Native Plant Garden". The Pollinator/Butterfly info table is in its usual habitat, downstairs with the pollinator picked plants.

The Medal Round

The competition doesn’t stop after The Plant Sale. You’ve worked hard to acquire your little beauties. Now, you could run away with the prize – the NANPS Native Plant Garden Award! It’s a friendly competition, so feel free to nominate other contenders for outstanding achievement. Maybe you or someone you know could qualify for the other awards: NANPS Founders Conservation Award, The Richard Woolger Cultivation Award. Deadline for submissions is July 31st.

The Closing Ceremonies

The fun and games don’t end with The Plant Sale. Leftover plants will be sold at two other events following the main attraction:
Saturday May 14 – East Toronto
Sunday May 29 – West Toronto
Details in the NANPS Events below.

Bumble Bee on Lavender by ScoopPhotog.

ScoopAssist/Photog Wins Photo Contest

ScoopPhotog's action shot took first prize at the Pollination Guelph Symposium.

ScoopAssist, aka ScoopPhotog, was thrilled to win first prize in the Pollination Guelph photo contest on April 2, 2016 in the newly created category, "pollinator-friendly gardens" for his photo Bumble Bee on Lavender. (Warning! Not a native plant and could be offensive to some - but obviously not to Mr. Bumble.)

Scoop Photog won a $100 gift certificate from Grand Moraine Growers and will be visiting them soon with a substantial shopping list. Thanks to everyone who voted for the Scoop's photo.

Native Plant Species – Grow Local Plant Native! – Add your Voice

The Local Scoop, having established roots strong enough to withstand droughts in the summer and ice storms in winter, has grown hardy and wants to branch out. So, the Scoop has planted the Native Plant Species, a website dedicated to propagating a community of enthusiasts, to share the dirt, spread the word, and pollinate each community with the benefits of growing native plant species.

So dig in. Share your stories, your photos, your successes, your failures, and information about native plant species in your local area. Contribute, ask the Scoop questions, and give advice about native plant species. Help raise awareness of native plant species, pollinators, and other wildlife.

An ecosystem is more than a single plant. A native plant community florum is more than a single voice. So let's get growing!

NANPS Extra Plant Sales

Saturday May 14, 11 - 4 p.m. Artisans at Work, 2071 Danforth Ave., Toronto (Woodbine subway station)

Sunday May 29, noon - 4 p.m. Christie Pits Park, Toronto (Christie subway station)

Excursion to Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, Peterborough County

Saturday June 11, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Hosts: NANPS and Peterborough Field Naturalists. Tour guide: Mike McMurtry, recently retired from Natural Heritage Information Centre of the Ministry of Natural Resources. Explore a beautiful and glacially significant site located in the Indian River Valley, a former glacial spillway with karst features, cliffs, caves, alvars and a variety of woodlands. Registration is on Eventbrite, the cost is $32.40. This excursion is open to NANPS members. If you are not yet a member, you can join either online or by mailing the membership form. For more information or to arrange car pooling, contact. Limited to 20 members.

Saturday June 11 and Sunday June 12, 11 - 4 p.m., Toronto

Toronto Botanical Garden’s 29th annual Through the Garden Gate, one of Canada’s largest private garden tours. 18 residential gardens in The Kingsway will open their gates to happy garden-goers in one of Toronto’s most affluent neighbourhoods. NANPS will have a booth to provide information about native plants and our organization.

If you are interested in representing NANPS at one of our information booths or volunteer at the plant sales, please email volunteer@nanps.org.

Greenhouse, High Park, Toronto Sunday May 8, 11 - 2 p.m.

This plant sale supports the work of the High Park Volunteer Stewardship Program and native plant restoration in High Park. Cash only, please.

777 Lawrence Ave. E., Toronto Friday - Sunday, May 13 -15

TBG is expanding their native plant category by partnering with St. Williams Nursery and Ecology Centre. TBG members preview is Thursday May 12.

North York Civic Centre, Council Chambers, 5100 Yonge St., Toronto (NY Centre subway station) Wednesday May 18, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

Host: LEAF. Presenter: Sheila R. Colla, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Environmental Studies, York University. Wild, native bees vs the European honey bee. Bumble bees, for example, are wild and are key pollinators for many native plants. They are also more effective pollinators than honey bees for certain crops. Despite their importance, wild bees face unprecedented threats and urban habitats are proving more and more important for their populations. Join us to learn about the threats our wild bees are facing and the simple things you can do to help. Information tables - 6:30 p.m. Presentation with Q&A - 7 - 8:30 p.m. Free, but registration recommended.

St. Williams Nursery, 826 Hwy 24 W., St. Williams Saturday, June 4, 9 - 4 p.m.

Source-identified native trees, grasses, shrubs, and wildflowers found in Ontario, all at special wholesale pricing.

Credit Valley Watershed Saturday – Sunday, June 11 – 12, noon-noon

Registration for the flagship 2016 event is open until May 13.

Check out all the events on the Scoop Calendar: TBG, Guelph Arboretum and RBG workshops, TFN wildflower walks, TRCA events including Greening Your Grounds and Naturescaping in Your Green Yard workshops across the region, and outings such as Wildflower Planting at Cold Creek CA and a Hike of the Rouge River Headwaters at Oak Ridges Corridor Park.

Registration for the flagship 2016 event is open until May 13.

All photos by ScoopPhotog unless otherwise noted.

The views expressed are of The Scoop and do not necessarily reflect The Local Scoop, its parent company (NANPS), subsidiaries, affiliates, verticals, hangers-on or even those of the Spokesplant.

You have been sent this message because you are a current NANPS member or perhaps you were a member in your plant life, or you subscribed to The Local Scoop. We respect your privacy. We do not rent, trade or sell our mailing lists - we just plant you in our database and send email blasts to keep you informed of all NANPS events.

If you would like to change your email address, please unsubscribe first and then re-subscribe with your new email address.

If you would prefer not to receive news about NANPS or local events in the future, we will try to understand. You may unsubscribe here from future mailings and we will take you off our list immediately, if not before.

© 2016 The Local Scoop