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Ecoman releases the 2021 Hardscape Plants Master List!
Hardscape plants is:
The product of an extensive literature review of plants that grow on cliffs and alvars around southern Ontario.
The result:
A palette of hardy, local, and beautiful plants that will thrive on patios, walkways, walls, stairs, roofs, terraces and balconies.
Every dozen plants you order will include:
- 1 conifer
- 1 deciduous tree/shrub
- 1 grass
- 1 strawberry
- 8 wildflowers
Your order will be selected from this curated palette of plants:
1 Conifer
Made it to the top 10 trees for birds list!
Super hard to find for sale and tough as nails.
Grows for 1000 yrs on the escarpment and will last longer than the condos we plant them on.
1 Deciduous Tree or Shrub:
Beautiful evergreen foliage that cascades down over planters.
Didn’t believe birch could grow in gravel but I was so wrong. Its growing in my stairs!
Aromatic fern like foliage. Handled gravel soil and full sun in sizzling parking lot for four summers in a row!
Tough as nails with beautiful chevron shaped chartreuse fruit.
Definitely had to rethink what the literature says about this tree. It has been growing in gravel soils without complaint or stress.
Ecologists describe this tree as a bird feeder.
Grows in limestone pavements called Alvars. Probably would make the next great street tree as it can handle high pH soil, constricted roots and drought.
By far one of the toughest and fastest growing shrubs we offer.
Rarely sold in the trade but super tough!
Blueberries growing in gravel on balconies, need we say more?
1 Grass:
Basically evergreen. By far one of the toughest plants I have ever grown in gravelly soils.
Fine textured foliage resembles (green) combed hair.
1 Wild Strawberry:
And Finally 8 Wildflowers!
Fine textured silver foliage on woody stems.
Aster flower with large bold foliage.
One of the first plants we tested in the towers. Super tough with delicate pale pink flowers.
Flowers very early in spring and survived winter in recycled concrete soil planter.
Spring flowering violet, foliage has purple and silver tones.
Full Hardscape Plants 2021 Master List:
Trees:
Abies balsamea
Alnus viridis ssp. crispa
Betula papyrifera
Carya ovata
Juglans cinerea
Ostrya virginiana
Pinus resinosa
Populus tremuloides
Quercus macrocarpa
Quercus robur
Thuja occidentalis
Shrubs:
Amelanchier spp.
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Comptonia peregrina
Ceanothus americanus
Diervilla lonicera
Gaultheria procumbens
Ligustrum vulgare
Juniperus virginiana
Juniperus horizontalis
Rhus aromatica
Rhus typhina
Sambucus pubens
Shepherdia canadensis
Taxus canadensis
Vaccinium angustifolium
Perennials:
Allium cernuum
Aquilegia canadensis
Artemisia campestris
Asclepias verticillat
Asplenium scolopendrium
Calamintha arkansana
Campanula rotundifolia
Coreopsis lanceolata
Cystopteris bulbifera
Danthonia spicata
Dryopteris goldiana
Dryopteris marginalis
Eurybia macrophylla
Euthamia gymnospermoides
Fragaria vesca
Fragaria virginiana
Galium boreale
Gaura biennis
Geranium robertianum
Juncus tenuis
Lespedeza hirta
Maianthemum canadense
Penstemon hirsutus
Polypodium vulgare
Pteridium aquilinum
Ranunculus fascicularis
Ranunculus rhomboideus
Sporobolus heterolepis
Verbena stricta
Viola labradorica
Zizia aurea
Source Identified Seed (from OPRA)
Some of the plants listed above were contract grown using seeds collected from remnant populations of plants in southern Ontario (see below).
Aquilegia canadensis
Asclepias verticillata
Aster Laevis
Carex eburnea
Echinacea pallida
Euthamia gymnospermoides
Gaura biennis
Lespedeza hirta
Liatris cylindracea
Penstemon hirsutus
Sisyrinchium montanum
Solidago squarrosa
Verbena simplex
Verbena stricta