Local beauties

With snow on the ground, native plants may not be top of mind for many of us. But now’s the season for winter sowing

 

While looking for a volunteer opportunity during the height of the pandemic in 2020, Ottawa’s Mélanie Ouellette couldn’t find anything that matched her goals of addressing climate change, fostering Indigenous reconciliation and empowering women.

She considered what she could do everyday without getting tired of it. “I had been gardening since I was a teenager — mostly vegetables and traditional flowers — [and] had just planted my first native plant,” says Ouellette.

Two things, she thought, prevent people from growing their own native plants: “lack of access to seeds locally and lack of knowledge about native plant gardening.”

A week later, Ouellette was working on a seed library. She set up a Facebook group and a website to support the transmission of knowledge and the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library (OWSL) — a not-for-profit grassroots organization which shares free native seeds with individuals, community projects and schools — formed with Ouellette as its founder and chair. She mailed free seeds to 200 community members in the first year.

With a long-term vision to grow an interconnected habitat across Ottawa and beyond, the OWSL “inspires other communities across the world to start their own seed libraries,” says vice-chair Cynthia Benjamin.

The seed library provides free, ethically harvested (with permission from the owner, no plants taken from the wild, no seeds from the first nor last plant and seeds taken from a large population of plants) seeds and plants for use in both private gardens and public spaces; maintains habitat corridors for insects including for bees and butterflies, birds and other wildlife. It also teaches people to garden responsibly.  

The seed library also disseminates accessible scientific information related to good ecological practices and tools on harvesting native seeds, through its social media presence and through presentations throughout the city.

In return, the OWSL requests that after the plants have flowered, seed recipients reciprocate the gift of nature.

Why native plants? They typically have deeper roots than lawn, meaning that they retain and slowly release moisture, says Ouellette. Conversely, lawn, which has shallow roots, contributes to climate change issues.

In addition to being better for the environment, “removing lawn and replacing them with native plants is an act of decolonization.”

The seed library even allowed Ouellette to empower women.

“Traditionally, the role of seed keeper was performed by women in communities,” she says. The seed library reflects this, with the majority of the seed library’s volunteer leadership team being women.

It also works with organizations and citizen scientists in Ottawa — the OWSL shares its vision and experience with Ottawa Riverkeeper, Ecology Ottawa, Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre, Fletcher Wildlife Garden and the Ottawa Field Naturalist Club — Canada and all over the world.

“Every year, we are humbled and delighted by the range of individuals and organizations who reach out to us,” says Benjamin. “The testimonials from those ordering seeds truly touches the hearts of the volunteers packing them up.” They include ones from aspiring and longtime gardeners inspired to make small or sweeping changes to where they live, says Benjamin, and “those who tell us that interacting with our organization gives them hope and happiness in a time when the world can seem disappointing.”

The seed library does not receive funding, instead relying on donations that cover the cost of seed and seedling distribution and some operational costs.

“Our ethos from the beginning has been to ensure cost is not a barrier for entry for an individual who is interested in native plant gardening,” says OWSL treasurer Erin Kelly. “If a gardener wants to try something new, being able to access free seeds is low-risk and hopefully high reward. Free seeds ensure we get as many seeds sown as possible.”

There are many new projects in on the horizon, including ambitious rare and special seed project with stakeholders across the province to identify and source rare, endangered, and special plants to collect, grow and share.

OWSL recently held a winter sowing event at the First Nation reserve of Kitigan Zibi. “Anytime there is an opportunity to build friendships and relationships between organizations and local First Nations,” says lndigenous community leader and OWSL board member Emily Akikodjiwan Brascoupe-Hoefler, “there are amazing chances to increase representation and promote the culture.”

The OWSL, she adds, is also increasing its knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants in the library and the Algonquin names for plants. Says Brascoupe-Hoefler: “there is a lot of work on the horizon to be proud of.”

OWSL is about people taking responsibility and action on their own, says OWSL director-at-large Nathan Durham. “We’re helping to protect wildlife and restore ecosystems by taking matters into our own hands.”

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How to winter sow

1. Fill a flower pot, juice jug or other plastic container with potting soil.
2. Make sure the pot has drainage holes at the bottom.
3. Water the soil and press down firmly on it.
4. Sprinkle a package of seeds into the pot.
5. For most seeds, gently stir the seeds into the soil with your finger or a small stick.
6. For surface sow seeds, press the seeds onto the soil surface.
7. Label your seeds.
8. Place the pots outside in a north- or east-facing area.
9. Make sure rain and snow can get in the pots. Cover the pots with an old window screen or netting (optional).
10. Leave the pots outside until the spring.
11. Once the snow melts, make sure the soil does not dry out.
12. Make sure the pots get morning sun exposure.
13. Once the seeds have germinated and the seedlings reach a few inches in height, they can be transplanted in your garden.
14. Very small seedlings can be repotted into larger pots to provide more space for root growth before transplanting in your garden.
15. If many seedlings are growing tightly together in the pot, place a clump of soil and seedlings in a small basin of water and gently stir it around to separate the roots, then either repot the seedlings or transplant them in your garden.
16. Once you have transplanted the seedlings in your garden, keep them watered until they get established (usually a couple of weeks).

Source: Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library

 

Want to donate seeds?

• The library only accepts donations of species that are native to Ontario and Quebec.
• Those living outside of the Ottawa area are asked to share seeds locally in their communities to help grow the movement.
• First, identify the plant. The Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library uses VASCAN, an online, peer-reviewed, collaborative database, to determine whether a species is native to Ontario or Quebec.
• Once a plant is determined to be native, consult the spreadsheet on the OWSL website to determine if there are cultivars that exist of the native species.
• If there are no cultivars, the seeds can be donated without knowing the plant’s sources.
• If the spreadsheet identifies that there are cultivars, only donate the seeds if the source of the plant can be identified.
• Native seeds must go through cold-moist stratification (freeze-thaw cycles) to enable them to sprout. This helps ensure that seed recipients have the best chance of success with germination.
• The OWSL has included seed packaging instructions on its website.

 

Source: Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library

 

Connect with the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library

wildflowerseedlibrary.ca/

facebook.com/groups/393209995421040

instagram.com/ottawawildflower/

youtube.com/channel/UCTeCEgkqHLQHvEIKcdL4RLA

tiktok.com/@ottawa.wildflower

 

 

By the numbers

49: Official local activities that OWSL participated in last year

170: Native species mailed out by the OWSL in 2024.

1,700: Community projects, schools and individuals that have received free native plants in the last two years

4,500: Households and groups that ordered seeds in 2024

10,600: Individuals who have received information on the importance of native plants in ecosystems since 2023

15,000: In dollars, the donations OWSL received in 2024

100,000: Seed packages distributed by the OWSL in 2024

 

 

“My vision is to create a grassroots movement that is reused around the world so that humans responsibly fulfill their stewardship role in nature through education and sharing seeds for free.”

-Mélanie Ouellette

 

OWSL in the schools

The OWSL is trying to get more schools to plant native plants.

“Once they are established, they require no fertilization, no extra water, and no care during the summer months when everyone is away,” says Cynthia Benjamin. “Meanwhile, during the school year, native plants can tangibly support the curriculum — looking at life cycles, biology, ecology, even physics and engineering. Plus, they beautify the space, absorb moisture and provide niches and shade for kids and creatures.”

 

Plant showdown: Native vs. cultivated plants

People are often shocked about how many native plants there are and how many are adapted for tricky conditions like drought or flooded spring conditions, says Cynthia Benjamin. In the meantime, “cultivated plants are often nutritionally useless or have other adaptations that make them no longer suitable for the bees, butterflies, moths, wasps, dragonflies, amphibians, birds, or mammals that need them to survive.”