As gardeners and lawn enthusiasts look forward to April's showers bringing May's flowers, many are considering which plants will make the cut in Calgary's tumultuous climate. Experts share how to have a beautiful garden with drought-resistant plants in Calgary's climate.
Challenges of Calgary's Climate
Many garden centre favourites can struggle to thrive throughout a rainy (and occasionally snowy) early summer, a drought-prone late summer, and temperature fluctuations brought about by chinooks — all at a high altitude and within a relatively short growing season. Not to mention the ever-present possibility for water restrictions.
Native Plants: Survival of the Fittest
It's survival of the fittest, but plants that are native to Alberta, though tougher to find at your local garden centre, are well-suited to the task. "Native plants are really well-adapted to grow in our area," said Latifa Pelletier-Ahmed, co-owner of ALCLA Native Plants in Carstairs. "From a horticultural point of view, it's advantageous because you can have plants that are chinook-tolerant, drought-tolerant — so we have more water-wise gardening."
Not only do native plants contribute to a lower-maintenance garden that thrives year after year, they also have major benefits for the local ecosystem. ALCLA Native Plants grows and sells native plants and seeds, but Pelletier-Ahmed said there's also an educational component to the work they do.
Supporting Wildlife and Pollinators
"A big piece of it is supporting wildlife and pollinators," she said. "Approximately 90 per cent of insects have a specific relationship with native plants. The most famous example is the monarch butterfly. The western population has declined by 99.9 per cent since the 1980s, and a big part of that is the loss of milkweed on the landscape."
The female butterfly can only lay her eggs on specific types of plants, and some native bees can only feed on certain flowers. "A lot of other insects have these specific relationships," Pelletier-Ahmed said. Those relationships continue up the food chain, with the entire ecosystem ultimately supported by native plants. "It's something that anyone can do to support wildlife. The whole food web of life gets supported, whereas now a lot of this is fragmented because of habitat loss."
Native Plants and Smart Watering: Key to Eco-Friendly Gardening
Canadian prairie grasslands are actually one of the world's most endangered ecosystems, and aren't very well-protected, she said. "A lot of them are on private land as well... so educating folks can not only get them excited about preserving their own land or their own family's land, but also to help to restore. We get more and more folks wanting to have wildflower meadows instead of front lawns or on their acreages to support wildlife."
Some of Pelletier-Ahmed's garden favourites are bee balm, wild bergamot, wild strawberries, and native clump-forming grasses like giant wild rye. By choosing these plants and adopting water-wise practices, Calgarians can create a garden that is both beautiful and resilient.
