Owner/Proprietor:  Bea Heissler 

Address: 219 Maybee Road, Frankford, Ontario 

Web Site:  naturalthemes.com 

Facebook Page: Natural Themes Native Plant Nursery 

Instagram: @naturalthemesfarms 

Email: bea@naturalthemes.com 

Over the last few years, I have visited MANY native plant nurseries throughout southern Ontario, though most have been located west of Toronto with only a couple of them east of the city. One eastern Ontario native plant nursery I haven’t made it to yet, however, is Natural Themes Native Plant Nursery, located just north of the 401 highway near Prince Edward County. 

Natural Themes is a family operation with Bea Heissler (mother) and Maya Navrot (daughter) operating the partnership. The business opened in 2006 and currently carries about 400 species of trees, shrubs, grasses, wildflowers, ferns and vines. However, in response to customer demands (I’m told), that number of plants includes several non-native species. In fact, my cursory examination of the website shows close to 50 species on their list that are not actually native in southern Ontario. But that means, in theory at least, they have at least 350 native species. Be sure to know the scientific name of the plant you’re interested in so you can check the VASCAN website (https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/search) to make sure the plant you’re getting is actually native to Ontario. 

Natural Themes Nursery sources their plants both locally and from a variety of sources, as both seeds and plants. They offer garden design, consultations and planting services. In addition, they collaborate with local municipalities, conservation organizations, community groups, horticulture clubs, and local conservation authorities to supply plants for restoration, reforestation, and garden projects. They also offer expertise and advice to community partners in conservation efforts.  

Although they are primarily self-taught about native plants, Bea has a post-secondary education in biology with a focus on botany while Maya holds an Honors Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science and Biology. 

If you want to check them out, they are open to the public on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 1-5 or by request. You might also want to check out the blog post they have on their website at About Us – Natural Themes Native Plant Nursery. 

Owner/Proprietor: Baz Conlin

Address: 1274 Lochlin Rd, Lochlin ON

Facebook Page: @haliburton_micromeadows

Instagram: @haliburton_micromeadows

Email: Haliburtonmm@gmaillcom

I have been following Baz Conlin on Facebook for quite a while. I was super impressed with the native gardens he created around his parents’ house in Peterborough, ON. He packed a ton of plants into a postage stamp sized yard on a busy street corner. It was pretty apparent that Baz knew what he was doing with native plants.

So I was really pleased when I saw that he opened his own native plant nursery, called Haliburton Micromeadows, this spring in Lochlin, ON. (I had to look up where Lochlin was – for those familiar with the Haliburton region, it’s just east of Minden, and about halfway between Bracebridge and Bancroft.)

Baz says “The name ‘Micromeadows’ refers to the size of most meadows in Haliburton, which are usually small openings in the forest that provide habitat for pollinators and create diversity in an otherwise homogeneous see of dark forest. These small, diverse meadows can easily be installed in the home landscape to create islands of diversity. We are also a small nursery and our space is limiited!”

As a brand-new operation, Haliburton Micromeadows started with about 50 species of native plants this spring and he is now up to about 80 species of perennials, grasses, and sedges and 12 species of trees and shrubs. He also has a few species of ferns available. Baz was quick to point out that he carries a large variety of grasses and sedges.

Haliburton Micromeadows only sells straight species, sourced from local populations, either from seeds Baz has collected locally, or from local seed and plant suppliers. The only exceptions are Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum), Meadow Blazing Star (Liatris ligulistylis) and Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea), although he is also considering selling some cultivars of Switchgrass in the future to try and provide a suitable alternative to Miscanthus.

Haliburton Micromeadows is open mainly by appointment/ pre order. They try to have open nursery hours on Sundays during spring and fall from 10-4 PM. On non-nursery days, people can pre order or set up an appointment through email (haliburtonmm@gmail.com). Plant availability is shown on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61557178436052).

At the nursery, Baz uses full colour labels that show the flower and ideally the form of the plant, cultural info, watering and soil needs, pH, and whether the plant was sourced/ occurs within 100km of Lochlin or is a southern species or if it is a near-native.

Baz is mostly self-taught when it comes to native plants, but he did study Conservation Biology at Trent University, and he worked at Grow Wild! Native Plant Nursery in Omemee for two summers. He also volunteered with the Nature Conservancy of Canada in the Rice Lake Plains for two years.

Haliburton Micromeadows has supplied plants for the Minden junior horticultural garden.

Baz informs me that, as a new nursery, he is looking to bring beautiful and sustainable plant choices to the Haliburton Highlands and surrounding area. He tries to source all of his plants from local sources within 100km of the nursery in Lochlin. His first season, he says, went great, and he’s hoping to continue to grow and provide more varieties, in particular spring ephemerals, ground covers, shade plants, and quick growing shrubs. Eventually he’s hoping to provide bulk flats of grasses and sedges for matrix gardening as well as emergent pond plants for backyard ponds and wetland restorations. I, for one, will be in the market for those pond plants when he’s got them.

With a background in conservation biology and ecological restoration, as well as entomology (amateur lepidopterist), much of Baz’s work goes towards providing insect habitat and stewarding the land.

If you’re going to be in the Haliburton area, do yourself a favour and check out Haliburton Micromeadows. I’m already planning my road trip for next spring.

Owner/Proprietor: Adam Timpf 

Address: 961 West Quarterline Rd, Walsingham, ON, N0E 1X0 

Web Site: none 

Facebook Page: Prairie Song Nursery and Restoration

Instagram: prairiesongnursery  

Adam Timpf officially opened Prairie Song Nursery about 5 years ago. In my search for unusual native plants, I came across his name about 2 years later, but from where I am in southwestern Ontario, it was going to be a long drive to get a couple of plants so I put off making the trip. Fortunately, Adam was going to Rondeau Provincial Park (about a 15-20 minute drive from my place) later that season and offered to drop the plants off.  

The following year I placed my order for more plants, and found out that a neighbour was going to visit his sister just down the road from Prairie Song and he offered to bring my plants back for me. 

This year I finally got a chance to drop in to the nursery at the end of a week of camping in nearby Long Point Provincial Park. And I’m glad I did. 

Prairie Song is in the heart of Carolinian Canada and even though I was there well past the peak spring planting season, Adam still had a great selection of good looking plants in his greenhouse. A little bit off the beaten path, it’s definitely worth the drive. The scenery is awesome and the plant selection is, too.  

Prairie Song is open most Saturdays through the summer, but they do encourage people to schedule appointments for best service, especially if you are unable to make it on a Saturday. Although they are usually around the nursery, making an appointment allows everyone to find a time that works best – occasionally family obligations or errands might mean that someone isn’t available if you just randomly drop in. 

On average, Prairie Song carries about 200 species of native plants, but this number keeps going up. And they strive to provide a diverse variety of species in a variety of sizes at different price points. At $2 a plug, they may have some of the most affordable plants in southern Ontario. 

All their plants are wild-type – there are no nativars or selections. Most of the seeds are collected locally. They do NOT dig from the wild, though occasionally they will take cuttings from clonal species. 

One cool thing about Prairie Song is that they highlight on their availability list which species are “near natives” and which ones are Ontario native species. They also identify those occasional plants where the seed originated from the U.S. But basically 98% of their stock is Ontario seed source identified. 

Adam says, “We believe it’s important to grow and sell Ontario native plants that are wild-type, with local genetics whenever possible – and highlight any instances where this is not the case. Too many nurseries blur the line when it comes to selling native plants and it’s important to ask questions about seed and plant provenance. We are happy to answer any questions about where and how we source our seeds and plants.” 

Prairie Song offers discounts for school plantings and other NGOs, and are a contractor for restoration projects in Norfolk County. 

Currently their plant list contains annuals, biennials, perennials, sedges, grasses, trees and shrubs and in 2025 they may also start carrying some ferns. 

Adam is mostly self-taught in the native plant world, though he does have a 4-year biological science degree from the University of Guelph. His brother, Matt, also works around the nursery. 

Welcome to the first of what I hope will be a long running series of monthly articles about native plant nurseries in the Southern Great Lakes Region. I’m starting with southern Ontario because that’s where I live, and the first nurseries I highlight will be many of the ones I’ve purchased plants from over the years. I’m really pleased to start with Golden Alexander’s in Sarnia, as this has quickly become one of my favourite sources of native plants.  

Native Plant Nursery Name: Golden Alexander’s 

Owner/Proprietor: Nick Alexander 

Address: 2200 Churchill Line, Sarnia ON 

Web Site: https://goldenalexanders.ca 

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/goldenalexanders1/ 

I first met Nick about 3 years ago when I heard about a new native plant nursery opening in the Sarnia area. Sarnia is only about a one-hour drive from my place, and I had already been going to Sarnia to the Aamjiwnaang Greenhouse – Maajiigin Gumig “Place where plants start to grow” – at the Aamjiwnaang First Nation. I was pleasantly surprised, not only with the number of species Nick had, but also with the quality of the plants.   

Golden Alexander’s had their first “official” Saturday sales in the Spring of 2022, though Nick apparently had a few 2021 sales strictly through word of mouth as he built his inventory.  

Nick currently grows around 200 species of flowers, grasses, ferns, shrubs and trees but that number keeps increasing each year. What I especially appreciate is that Nick sticks to the true species – he doesn’t sell any nativars or non-native species. 

Nick collects all his own seeds or digs his plants from his property and his clients’ properties (Nick also provides landscape design and installation, and maintenance, throughout the week). For things like woody plants (trees/shrubs), about 3% of his inventory comes from two reputable nurseries and the rest he grows from cuttings or seeds. 

Nick has a horticultural diploma from Algonquin College and spent 9 years working with Shaswn McKnight and the non-profit Return the Landscape, which is where he first learned about the beauty and necessity of growing natives. He told me he was instantly intrigued by the thought of native plant gardening as soon as he heard about it from Shawn back in 2005 or so.  

He said that at first it was kind of mysterious because he didn’t know any of the plants. But the more he learned, the more he became convinced there is no need to plant non native plants in landscaping. That’s why, when he took the horticulture program at Algonquin, he already knew he was taking it knowing his end goal was to use native plants, and probably exclusively.  

He told me “There is so much variety/texture/colour to choose from. All the big picture stuff (pollinators, ecological benefits, etc) adds lots of extra fuel and meaning to it for me. But I actually don’t like the look of non-native gardens! I love the look of a natural areas and gardens designed to look like them…so good looks= healthy ecosystems”. 

In addition to his landscaping business and his nursery, Nick has also planned and installed native gardens/natural areas in city parks, school yards and other natural area enhancements.  

Hours of Operation: Golden Alexanders is open to the public on Saturdays from 9 AM to 3 PM (April to Sept with reduced hours in October). But if you’re unable to make it in on a Saturday, Nick can also arrange a weekday morning pickup by appointment. 

Noteworthy: This spring, Golden Alexander’s was awarded the Lambton Wildlife “Environmental Award” for their work promoting native plants and supporting biodiversity in Lambton County.