How to Create a Pollinator Garden with Ontario Native Plants

by Rob Van Veghel - President, Dreamscape Landscaping

Pollinator gardens bring life, colour, and sustainability to your outdoor space. By choosing Ontario native plants, you’ll help support bees, butterflies, and birds, while also creating a resilient landscape that fits our local climate. Pollinator habitats are declining, but every yard and garden can make a real difference. Native plants are adapted to regional weather and soil, and they’re four times more likely to attract our local pollinators than exotics or imported ornamentals.

Native oak trees stand out as the most prolific pollinator hosts in Ontario gardens, supporting more than 430 species of caterpillars—far more than any other plant or tree in our region. By including an oak in your landscape, you not only provide essential food and shelter for a huge variety of butterflies, moths, and beneficial insects, but you also help sustain birds and wildlife that depend on these caterpillars for survival. Oaks are a powerhouse for biodiversity, making them an outstanding choice for anyone seeking to maximize the ecological benefits of their outdoor space.

Pollinator Garden Design Principles

Assess your sunlight exposure and soil conditions—most native pollinator plants prefer full sun, but partial shade options exist.
Layer plants for structure: combine groundcovers, wildflowers, grasses, shrubs, and small trees.
Select a variety of plants to provide blooms from early spring through late fall, attracting pollinators throughout the growing season.
Group each species in clusters of three to five, making it easier for pollinators to find flowers and creating visual impact.
Leave some garden corners “wild”—leaf litter, stems, and logs offer essential overwintering habitat for bees and other insects.
Eliminate chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, allowing a natural ecosystem to thrive.

Top Ontario Native Plants for Pollinator Gardens

Plant Name	Type	Season	Pollinator Attracted
Wild Bergamot	Perennial	Summer	Bees, Butterflies
Butterfly Milkweed	Perennial	Summer	Monarch Butterflies
Black-eyed Susan	Perennial	Summer/Fall	Bees, Beetles
Goldenrod	Perennial	Fall	Native Bees, Wasps
Joe-Pye Weed	Perennial	Summer/Fall	Butterflies, Bees
Serviceberry	Shrub/Tree	Spring	Bees, Birds
Asters (New England, Heath)	Perennial	Fall	Bees, Butterflies
Nannyberry	Shrub	Spring	Bumblebees, Birds
St. John’s Wort	Shrub	Summer	Bees
Little Bluestem	Grass	Summer/Fall	Shelter, Native Birds

Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Your Garden

Site Preparation: Clear away turf or invasive plants, loosen compacted soil, and enrich it with natural compost for healthy plant roots.
Layout and Planting: Sketch a plan where taller plants go in the back or the center (island beds), and cluster key pollinator flowers for easy access.
Watering and Mulching: Water deeply after planting and during dry spells. Use mulch like shredded bark or leaf compost to maintain soil moisture and prevent weeds.
Maintenance: In the first year, weed regularly and water as needed. Once established, native plants are low-maintenance, requiring only annual mulch and occasional deadheading.
Additional Features: Consider a birdbath, bee hotels, or a simple log pile to attract and support diverse pollinators.

Additional Tips for Success

Pick plants according to your site’s sunlight, moisture, and soil type.
Mix heights, flower colours, and bloom times for all-season interest and pollinator support.
Let natural areas develop—for the benefit of wildlife and backyard beauty.
Whenever possible, partner with a local landscaping company for best results and peace of mind.
Pollinator gardens are a meaningful investment—providing colour, wildlife, and long-term sustainability for your property.

Local Impact and Community Benefits

When you build a pollinator garden, you're helping to restore habitats, increase biodiversity, and beautify the community. Native plant gardens help combat soil erosion, filter rainwater, and create vital spaces for local wildlife. They also reduce outdoor maintenance time and costs, which means more time spent enjoying nature.

How Dreamscape Landscaping Can Help

Dreamscape Landscaping is your local expert in designing and installing low-maintenance, native plant gardens. Serving Georgetown and Halton Hills since 1987, our team understands the local climate, soils, and microhabitats. We provide personalized consultations, custom garden designs, expert installation, and ongoing care. Homeowners love our professional approach, attention to detail, and commitment to sustainability.

We have been dealing with Dreamscape Landscaping for over 20 years and have been completely satisfied with their work, commitment and creativity.

Dreamscape has been our go to Landscape Company for our last 3 homes creating unique features and designs from front walkways to pool decks and patios and in ground sprinkler installation.

Dealing with Twan and Rob we know that the work will be completed on time and on budget we also use Dreamscape for yearly maintenance of our in ground automated sprinkler system along with fall and spring upkeep of all plants and shrubs. We know we can trust them to do the job right.

We would highly recommend them for any job whether it is landscaping, interlock, sprinkler systems, lawn maintenance they can handle it all professionally.

Liam & Barbara DelaneyGlen Williams
We have been using Dreamscape Landscaping for over 18 years. From the initial sprinkler system installation to adding garden beds right down to installing a flag pole, Twan and Rob have done impeccable work.

Over the years they have maintained our lawn and gardens, from spring and fall clean ups to weekly lawn maintenance and trimming and weeding the flower beds. They are reliable, efficient and always keep work areas tidy. So it was no doubt that when we needed to update our pool area we had them install new interlock around the pool and create a new bbq area. They continued with adding new gardens to finish off our backyard.

We are thrilled with the outcome, and have no hesitation making the highest recommendation for the many services they offer. Twan and his team always go above and beyond to meet the customer’s needs. You never need to follow-up on timing and completion of any size project.

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Kathrockwoode and I wanted to send a note to tell you how thrilled we are with our new trellis, staircase and interlock driveway. As promised, the job was done on time, exactly as we collectively designed and continuously enhanced with little extras.

The communication was always courteous and polite. Your whole group were always on time, cleaned up each day and were a joy to have at our home..

Greg & KathrockwoodeBallinafad
A note to let you know how much we appreciated the fine work you did for us. The job came in on time and on estimate. You and your crew worked closely with us on suggesting different options and making changes and always left the workplace clean and tidy at the end of the day. Everyone was very pleasant and easy to get along with. Please feel free to use this email for your business as I would not hesitate to recommend Dreamscape to anyone.

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