Have you ever admired a shoreland garden for its dynamic landscape that is rich with colour and teeming with life? You may have been admiring a shoreland garden that was planted with native species. Native shoreland gardens are not only beautiful, they are also low maintenance and provide many benefits to the land, wildlife, water, and also your property. The benefits of planting a shoreland garden with native species include: creating wildlife habitat, reducing erosion, improving water quality, moderating water temperatures, and mitigating flood frequency and impacts (1). Benefits can also include reducing invasive species, creating privacy screening from neighbours, and attracting songbirds and pollinators.
But what species could you plant in your future shoreland garden oasis? Here we will focus on five wildflowers that are native to The Land Between bioregion, which means they thrive in our growing conditions. These species support wildlife such as insects, birds and mammals, and their roots can contribute to shoreland stability by reducing soil erosion. The five shoreland plants we will highlight are Blue Flag Iris, Swamp Milkweed, Great Blue Lobelia, White Turtlehead, and Blue Vervain. These five plants also thrive in moist to wet soil conditions, making them ideal additions to many shoreland gardens!
Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) will be one of the first wildflowers to add a pop of colour to your shoreland garden in the spring as they begin blooming in May. These flowers will not only attract your eye, but they also attract pollinators such as bees. Just like several other native wildflowers, Blue Flag Iris flowers provide pollinators with nectar and pollen. If you’re lucky, you might even see a Ruby-throated Hummingbird drinking nectar from your Blue Flag Iris flowers (2). Additionally, Blue Flag Iris fruits produce seeds that are beneficial to wildlife species such as birds and small mammals (3). Blue Flag Iris is also an “emergent aquatic” plant meaning that its roots can grow submerged underwater, while its leaves and flowers emerge above water. In contrast, the four remaining native species in this list are all “riparian” species, meaning that they grow well in moist or wet soils, but not submerged below the water. Be aware that yellow irises often sold in nurseries are locally invasive, and can colonize your shoreland area pushing out native vegetation and species.
Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) has clusters of small pink flowers that you’ll find blooming from July to August. Once pollinated, Swamp Milkweed produces a fruit called a follicle that contains seeds attached to fluffy, white, feathery-like hairs which are easily transported by the wind. Like many milkweed species, Swamp Milkweed is also a food source for the endangered Monarch Butterfly caterpillars. Did you know that The Land Between bioregion is one of the most northern reaches of the Monarch Butterfly’s range (4). Swamp Milkweed is also a food source for another butterfly species called the Great Spangled Fritillary (5). Swamp Milkweed stems can make great habitat for cavity-nesting bees to lay their eggs in the spring and fall because their stems are hollow (5). Simply leave the stems alone throughout the winter, and instead of cutting them to the ground in the spring, leave the stems 20 – 60 cm tall to maintain habitat for bees (6). Not only is this plant pretty, but it is great for erosion control too, as their roots grow deep.
Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) produces dense clusters of buds that reveal vibrant light-blue to dark blue-violet coloured flowers in July. Many gardeners can often admire these beautiful flowers until October! Great Blue Lobelia is frequently pollinated by bumblebees and long-tongued bees (7). An interesting fact about Lobelia is that Indigenous groups prepared the plant to relieve headaches and treat colds and fevers, among other ailments (8). Due to the particular chemicals that create these medicinal properties, Great Blue Lobelia may not be the best choice if you have pets that enjoy taste-testing your garden plants! For those
who do not have vegetation-loving pets, great blue lobelia will make a colourful addition to any shoreland garden! 
White Turtlehead (Chelone glabra) is a wildflower species that blooms from August to October. This species was named for its whitish-pink coloured flowers that are shaped like a turtle’s head (9). The genus name (Chelone) comes from the Greek word “tortoise” (10). Several pollinator species have been observed to forage for pollen and nectar from White Turtlehead flowers, such as bumble bees, solitary bees, flies, sawflies and wasps (11). White Turtlehead is also a larval host for the Baltimore Checkerspot (Euphydryas phaeton) butterfly (10). Female butterflies will lay their eggs on the White Turtlehead leaves and once the eggs hatch, the caterpillars will eat the leaves before hibernation. The Baltimore Checkerspot is classified as imperiled in Manitoba and Nova Scotia, but is currently listed as secure in Ontario and many of the northeastern states (12).
Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata) has blue-purple coloured, fuzzy-looking flowers that bloom along a reddish-green stem between the months of July and September. Blue Vervain provides pollinators with a continuous access to nectar because the plants bloom from the bottom to the top. Its flowers attract butterflies such as the Common Buckeye and the Common Wood-nymph (5). It also attracts pollinators such as long-horned bees, mining bees (5) and honeybees (13). Interestingly, clusters of Blue Vervain plants can grow so closely together that honeybees have been seen moving from one flower to the next without even flying (13)!
The five plants we highlighted prefer moist or wet soil conditions, but moisture level isn’t the only factor to consider when selecting plants for your garden. To have a shoreland garden that flourishes, it’s also important to select species that will do well in your shoreland’s light and soil conditions. Majority of the highlighted plants require at least partial sunlight, but there are still plenty of native plant options for shaded shorelands. For a list of plants that grow well in shade, go to Watersheds Canada’s Plant Database. This extensive database contains lists of plants native to Canada, including important species-specific information such as their preferred light and soil conditions, and moisture levels. Watersheds Canada’s Plant Database will also generate plant suggestions for a variety of garden-types, not just for shoreland gardens.
Did you recognize any of the five highlighted plants? Perhaps some of these plants have already appeared along your shoreland, or a neighbour’s shoreland, without being intentionally planted. Native plants have evolved to spread their seeds through many methods such as being carried in the wind, floating in water or being consumed and expelled by birds or mammals. When seeds germinate and unexpectedly “pop-up” along the shoreland, they may be misidentified as “weeds” and removed. The Land Between has created plant identification factsheets to help you recognize some of our common native shoreland plant species.
Are you interested in creating a garden with native plants? Creating your own shoreland garden can be easy with plenty of resources that are available to help you plan or enhance your garden! We have resources for you, whether you: are ready to start planning your shoreland garden today; would like more information; want a garden, but don’t have a shoreland area; or need help with the design, planting, or finding low-cost options. Watch our free Design-your-own Shoreline Garden Instruction Video for valuable tips on creating or enhancing your own shoreland garden. Regardless of what point you’re at, our list of shoreland garden resources will get you started on your garden! All of our resources are located in the chart below.
Additionally, The Land Between runs live online workshops throughout the summer and fall to help you design your shoreland garden. You can also book a site visit with us, in which we will travel to your property and work with you to design your garden and create a plan for planting the shoreland. If you would like, we can even source the native species and plant your shoreland so that you can have a native shoreland garden in no time that is rich with colour and life!
Written by Olyvia Foster, Conservation Communication Specialist
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