I'll never have the self discipline to garden solely with native plants. Not with so many other exciting plants to choose from around the world. This Trillium grows in the dappled shade at the top of my back yard. Trilliums are just one of the many native plants worthy of a spot in your garden. But then it also seems a shame that the vast majority of plants in our local garden centres are exotics, when our native flora is so beautiful. Every yard in my neigbourhood seems to be composed from the same selection of shrubs and trees to frame in their lawns. None of this all too standard template is made up of native plants. And I can't help but thinking that our neighbourhoods would just be more attractive on the whole with fewer lawns, fewer hedging cedars, fewer generic cherry blossom trees, and just a touch more of our natural surroundings. In my own yard, I've begun to add native plants into the mix. I  put in a couple of red huckleberry bushes (Vaccinium Parvifolium) on a rotting stump, and added evergreen huckleberry (Vaccinium Ovatum) to a somewhat shady spot in the front yard. Just as an aside, the red huckleberry was difficult to find, but the evergreen variety was available in several garden centres. I've also planted Rosa Nutkana up near my daughters' playhouse, and red flowering currant (Ribes sanguineum) in amongst an existing patch of tough native Snowberry bushes (Symphoricarpos albus). As for lower growing plants, I've chosen a few of the showier varieties to mix into existing garden beds. They include bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), columbine (Aquilegia formosa), Trillium ovatum, western bleeding heart (Dicentra exema), Lillium columbianum, and blue-eyed grass (Sysrinchium angustifolium). All of this is is planted beneath a couple of existing bigleaf maples (Acer macrophyllum), which were here for many years before we moved into the house. They're beautiful trees, and they always provide plenty of leaves for the compost pile in the fall. These plants are not in my garden as some horticultural version of the CRTC's "Canadian Content rules". They really earn their place in the garden on their own ornamental merits, and there's a list of others I'd like to try out. I had the pleasure of visiting Pacific Rim Native Plant Nursery when they held an open-house a couple of years back. Their garden astounded me. It showed off BC native plants in the only way that allows them to be fully appreciated; surrounded by nature. The garden was carefully composed, I'm certain, but each plant seemed so at home in the environment, you'd swear that they just "happened". It was a rainy day (heck, what better time to see a fraser valley garden) but the Woodwards were extremely gracious to show us around the nursery and answer my questions. They even sent my daughter home with a rose of her own. They do a great job of spreading their obvious enthusiasm for west coast natives, and if you're thinking of "going native" I can't think of a better place to start than their web site. One group that does a great job of promoting BC natives is the Native Plant Society of BC. They've compiled a load of web-based resources to help educate the public on the value of BC natives. One great resource is E-Flora BC, an online atlas of British Columbia, which maps the frequency and distribution of plants. They also maintain a list of commercially available plants and seeds, and the companies that make them available. Another nursery with a good selection of BC native plants is Fraser's Thimble Farms. Located on Salt Spring Island, this a great source of unusual plants from all over the world, but is particularly interesting for supplying some BC natives that aren't usually available elsewhere. One example would be Cypripedium Montanum, an interesting hardy orchid native to BC.