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 About Us & the Plants
Wildsome Gardens is currently run as a small family business which also has the good fortune to be supported by friends, neighbours, and a slew of great minds... and change is in the air as you'll see below.
We primarily offer species native to Ontario, along with species from other areas of North America. We do this in an effort to help preserve and restore the natural diversity, wildlife, and rich resources that surround us in Ontario; but also because they are simply beautiful and rigorous in their natural environment. We offer the heirlooms we love as well; mostly vegetables and herbs, and some other favourite or very rare plants.
Our plants and seeds are suited for cultivated home or cottage gardens, and for small scale restoration or naturalization projects. We have a reduced number of native plants and seeds this year as we are working to find more local sources of seed for local projects. We are also working to label native species in the catalogue with locations from which the seed came.
There are so many good reasons to grow native and heirloom plants -- and no need to re-create the wheel -- so we've provided links to resources which help us all learn more about native and heirloom plants, naturalized landscapes and gardens, ecological gardening and sustainable agriculture.
Wildsome Gardens is situated on Full Circle Farm - a 95 acre farm in the friendly village of Warsaw, Ontario. The farm stewards about 16 acres of meadows and limestone alvars, and 52 acres of coniferous and deciduous forest on the Indian River -- a little slice of paradise rich with all the expected species of flora and fauna, and a few rarer species we aspire to preserve. The forest is interesting topographically as well botanically. Like the Warsaw Caves Conservation Area, we are on limestone karst carved out by the glacial melt-waters that created (and continue to create) the Indian River basin. During the spring melt you can hear seasonal streams rush under a limestone alvar on their way to the river. There are caves by the river (currently inhabited by porcupines), that were created by ice and water tumbling huge slabs of limestone.
With an Eye Toward the Future
The idea of the following is that we won't strip the wild of its plants and seeds in order to sell them to you, and that we grow plants with an eye toward the natural resiliency of genetic diversity:
Wildsome Gardens' native plants are grown from seed. We do not harvest plants from the wild to sell. We try to keep the sources of native plant seed diverse to avoid inadvertent selection within wild species. Some seed is purchased from trusted sources, and as stated above we wish to find more local sources of native seed for local projects. The balance of our seed is collected for propagation as outlined below.
Some of the seed we sell is collected from our gardens, some is collected wild (10% or less of a stand/population) on our farm, and in future from other wild stands with permission. We do not collect the seeds of rare native plants. Seeds that have been collected wild will be marked as such, and the location where they were gathered will be included in the catalogue description. As demand for wild species in cultivated gardens is on the rise, we will continue to expand our gardens each year and gather seed from them in an effort take pressure off wild stands of native plants.
Wildsome Gardens tends its gardens and nursery using ecological, sustainable methods. We do not use synthetically based chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or fertilizers. We have a commitment to avoid the use of fossil fuels as much as possible, and choose growing methods that reduce water usage. We compost and use green manures. Our large greenhouse is unheated, and another smaller greenhouse attached to our residence is heated passively by sun, and the wood heat from the house. Seed that was grown on our farm in cultivated gardens will be marked as Sustainably Grown (SG).
Some of the heirloom seed we sell is purchased from trusted growers who are certified organic by the USDA and by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, but can’t be labeled in our catalogue as certified organic under Canadian Standards until the proper protocols have been completed. These seed sellers use similar growing methods to Wildsome Gardens’ methods and standards, so for now their seed will be labeled in our catalogue as Sustainably Grown (SG). We do not knowingly buy or sell any genetically engineered (GMO) seeds or plants.
We are currently keeping our plant and seed operation small, but are working to increase our own production of sustainably grown native and heirloom seed in future. Wildsome Gardens is in the process of restructuring to allow for the development and implementation of horticultural therapy,employment training and educational programming in partnership with local groups and community-based organizations. We'll keep you posted as things progress.
Happy gardening.
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