Deer and Native Plantings

Without wolves or cougars (in any permanent residency) on the island, the deer population is doing extremely well. And they love hanging out around our gardens.

Gabriola's deer are like all deer: accomplished browsers. They see a plant, have a sniff and a nibble, or a heaping helping, and move on.

They much prefer tender shoots and new growth of just about every shrub and forb. Everything is on the menu! But there are some native plants they pass over if there are tastier plants nearby. 

This list is from a document on the Pacific Northwest Native Plants website, and we have found on project sites where we were not able to entirely fence out deer or cage transplants, several of these native plants were lightly browsed, or not at all! And of course you need to plant in groups, not just a single plant all alone and looking tasty. Keep in mind, native plants have evolved alongside deer; they can survive some browsing, just not a full-on, repeated assault. If you can fence out, cage or drift-fence your native plantings until they are well established, that will help tremendously.

EVERGREEN TREES

Abies sp., True Firs

Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Alaska Cedar

Picea sp., Spruces

Sequoia sempervirens, Coast Redwood

Tsuga sp., Hemlocks

Umbellularia californica, Oregon Myrtle or California Bay

DECIDUOUS TREES

Acer circinatum, Vine Maple

Betula papyrifera, Paper Birch

Fraxinus latifolia, Oregon Ash

Rhamnus purshiana, Cascara

SHRUBS

Arctostaphylos sp., Manzanitas

Gaultheria shallon, Salal

Mahonia sp., Oregon Grapes

Myrica Californica, Pacific Wax Myrtle

Pachystima myrsinites, Oregon Boxwood

Potentilla fruticosa, Shrubby Cinquefoil

Rhododendron sp., Rhododendrons and Azaleas

Ribes sp., Currants & Gooseberries

Spiraea douglasii, Douglas Spiraea

Vaccinium ovatum, Evergreen Huckleberry

Viburnum sp., Cranberry bush

GROUND COVERS

Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Kinnikinnick

Fragaria chiloensis, Beach Strawberry

PERENNIALS

Achillea millefolium, Yarrow

Aquilegia Formosa, Western Columbine

Armeria maritima, Sea Thrift

Aster douglasii, Douglas Aster

Campanula rotundifolia, Harebell

Carex sp., Sedges

Dicentra formosa, Western Bleeding Heart

Erigeron speciosus, Western Fleabane

Grindelia hirsutula, Hairy Gumweed

Iris sp., Irises

Lupinus sp., Lupines

Penstemon sp. Beardtongues

Sisyrinchium sp., Yellow-eyed and Blue-eyed

Grasses

Late-fall to early-spring is the best time for native plant gardening and re-wilding landscape projects

Introducing Nature's Way - Gabriola

​"It's a good time to get a little more wild."

 If Blogger video doesn't play, here is  direct YouTube link:

 https://youtu.be/mACmYUyBov0

About Nature's Way -- an eco landscaping collaborative venture

 

Specializing in landscape restoration and re-wilding with native plants.

We are a group of gardeners, landscapers, restoration ecologists, arborists, PBio's and conservationists that collaborate on various ecological landscaping and re-wilding gardening projects on Gabriola Island.

No project is too small or too big!

Do you have an area you want restored or rewilded back to a more healthy native landscape? E-mail our restoration Team Lead, Ken Gurr today.

natureswaygabe (at) gmail.com

or landline: 250.247.7510

Helping islanders with:

  A)  Project planning, coordinating fieldwork and service providers, advice and follow-up care plans;

  B)  Naturescaping/rewilding for more native plant biodiversity, rainwater overflow rain gardens, and restoration projects -- from small, pocket garden projects to large landscape areas, we can help;

  C)  Removal of invasive plants;

  D) Ethically sourcing and providing native plants from local recovery sites and from our own on-island native plant nursery (grown here or supplied by nurseries on Vancouver Island).

The collaborative team of Nature’s Way is here to help!  We meet you, assess the needs, come up with a plan and cost estimates and organize all the work and native plant sources to get the job done.

Summer and early fall is time to do initial prep work, then we schedule all the native plant restoration activities on your property for the late-fall to early-spring months (the best time to give native plants a chance to take hold).

​"It's a good time to get a little more wild."

Our Team

 

Nature's Way Collaborative Includes the Following Fine Folks and Businesses . . .

Jay Baker-French -- restoration ecologist (marine and riparian)

Moe Hill -- gardener

Stephen Levesque -- permaculture specialist

Hilary Masson -- gardener

TreeSwift --  Lynn Bowerman & Team -- gardeners and pruning specialists

Luka Rajkovic -- gardener

Jeff Strohm -- ecologist and gardener

Erin Udal -- pollinator specialist and gardener

Undaunted Blackberry Removal -- Jim Phillipoff

Ken Gurr -- project coordinator, gardener, landscaper

All the Above Tree Service -- arborists

Aquaparian Environmental Consulting Ltd. - PBios (Nanaimo)

Coast Alive Services - Chris Drake – Salt Spring Island restoration ecologist colleague

Grounds Control  -- AJ Hustins, landscaping and gardening  

Gulf Islands Tree Service -- Ian Liebelt

Mack Shaw Excavating

 

Do you have an area you want restored or rewilded back to a more healthy native landscape? E-mail our restoration Team Lead, Ken Gurr today! 

natureswaygabe (at) gmail.com

or landline: 250.247.7510

​"It's a good time to get a little more wild."

Recommended Native Plants Lists for our Region

 Recommended Native Plants Lists for our Region

From our experience, here are PDF links to two of the best and easiest to read native plant guides/lists for Gabriola (concise too!)

BC Nature -- Native Plants List

Habitat Acquisition Trust - Victoria -- Gardening with Native Plants Guide 

And here is the main page full of practical info and resources about Gardening With Nature -- that the good folks at Habitat Acquisition Trust have put together.

How we do a Site Assessment and Plan of Action for Your Project

Our Site Assessment and Plan of Action for Your Naturescaping/Re-wilding Project

When you contact us, we will arrange a site visit with you to suss out what is possible on your property, or hone-in on a specific area you would like us to work on . . .

Here is our checklist:

Make a Conservation Pledge as a GaLTT Nature Steward

Support the Gabriola Land & Trails Trust Nature Stewards Program

Our island's citizen-led initiative to conserve at least 30% of the land area for wildlife habitat biodiversity on privately-owned land. It is a voluntary pledge of stewardship and NOT in any way a land-titles restriction or legal agreement. It's about honour and care for the land you love.

Find out more via the link to the program page above. 

The GaLTT Nature Stewards page also has a curated list of recommended web-links and free resources for learning more about nature stewardship.