For the Local Native Plants video, I’m attempting to identify plants from Essex Region Conservation Authority’s (ERCA) “A Guide to Local Native Plants”. The guide covers 31 of the most common local native plants, each with blooming, height, wildlife value, identification tips and other information included, like pictures from various stages of development. The guide states, “Native plants are species that have been growing in a region since before European settlement, have evolved with our climate and are well adapted to survive throughout the year”. For Essex County, that means these plants have been thriving here for over 250 years, that’s a quarter/millennium!
Because native plants “require less maintenance and watering than non-native ornamental plants … and readily re-seed themselves, coming back year after year”, they are an excellent choice to fill your garden with for year-round colour.
I did a ‘tester’ video of this in June. I was able to identify a few plants, plus, I had fun and it’s always nice to admire their pretty colours, so I made another one. I found three native plants for this video, with the two from June that’s 5 of the guide’s 31 that I have identified. I still have a few more weeks for late season plants that bloom in October, like Ironweed and Switch Grass.
The exciting part about this project for me is to bring together a local interest activity and make a video about it. Whether you’re seeking to identify local plants, or (like I do) just enjoy seeing any bit of Windsor on the screen, this video is for you. I found all of these plants while walking the trails at Malden Park, and regular visitors will recognize it. I hope this video helps you recognize plants out on the trail, and that you enjoy my attempt at taking some cinematic footage of local plant-life.