Plants for Monarch Award Gardens

Choosing the right plants is one of the most important steps toward a Monarch Award garden. This page brings together trusted lists of native, keystone and host plants for our region, plus photos to help you recognize native seedlings in spring.

Jump to: Native Plants · Keystone Plants · Host Plants · Plants for Our Region · Seedling ID

🌻 Native Plants

Native plants have evolved and adapted to a specific area’s local climate, soil and weather conditions over thousands of years, without human introduction. They have co-evolved relationships with native animals, insects and other plants. Search for plants that suit your garden in the Network of Nature species directory.

Slides courtesy of Ontario Nature.

🗝️ Keystone Plants

Keystone native plants play a critical role in their ecosystems. They provide food, shelter and habitat for a vast range of insects, birds and animals. Losing keystone plants can trigger a ripple effect: fewer insects, fewer pollinators and less food for wildlife.

These lists are from the National Wildlife Federation – Garden for Wildlife and show the keystone native plants for Eastern Temperate Forests (Ecoregion 8), which includes Halton and Hamilton. Click an image to see it full size.

🐛 Host Plants

Host plants are the native plants that butterflies and moths rely on to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars feed on these plants to grow. Many species need specific host plants: monarch caterpillars, for example, can only eat milkweed (Asclepias). Planting native host plants supports butterflies and moths through their whole life cycle, and helps birds too, since many feed their young with caterpillars.

Video: Garden Facelift – Do the Renew (Host Plants)

📍 Native Plants for Our Region

Halton and Hamilton are in the Lake Erie Lowlands Ecozone. The David Suzuki Foundation’s Lake Erie Lowlands plant list (below) is a great place to find plants for Monarch Award gardens.

More plant lists and guides

• Native Plant List by site conditions – Healthy Landscapes, City of Guelph
• Planning a Wildlife Garden – In the Zone
• Four Seasons of Wildlife Gardening – In the Zone
• Carolinian Zone (video) – In the Zone

🌱 Recognizing Native Seedlings

It can be hard to tell native plants from weeds when they first emerge in spring or in their first season. These photos were compiled by Bev Wagar: former Hamilton resident, Crown Point Garden Club member, Master Gardener and founder of the Monarch Awards.