Services
- Garden Consultation
- Garden Design
- Plant Selection & Identification
- Presentations on a variety of topics, with a focus on naturalisation of gardens
- Workshop Wednesdays
Nestled along central Lake Erie in the heart of Ontario's Carolinian Forest Region, South Coast Gardens provides landscape design services and offers a selection of trees, shrubs and perennials, including many species native to the southern Great Lakes ecoregion and eastern North America. A display garden features a diversity of plants, including many that are being tested for their cold hardiness in our USDA zone 6a/6b climate. These include Southern Magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and Sweetbay Magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), Sweetgum (Liquidambar syraciflua), Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum), Alabama Snow-wreath (Neviusia alabamensis), Willow Oak (Quercus phellos) and Sourwood (Oxydendrum arboreum) among many others. Mixed in are nearly 350 species and varieties of Rhododendrons and azaleas which add colour through the spring season. Frost-hardy sub-tropical plants ideal for outdoor container gardening further enhance the garden display from spring until early November.
The first garden beds at the nursery were established in 2006 and have been expanding each year since then. Although the gardens are still young and many specimens are still in the process of getting firmly established, from the time the first Rhododendrons and Magnolias come into flower in late April until the Asters and Witch Hazel finish blooming in October, the gardens provide a myriad of colour and attract a wide assortment of butterflies and birds. The owners are avid naturalists and record much of the wildlife seen at South Coast Gardens including more than 230 species of birds have been observed at the property!
Hours
We welcome visitors to the nursery but encourage you to contact us in advance to ensure that someone will be available to assist you.
Summer hours for June, July and August: 10:00am to 5:00pm on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
We can also provide curbside pick-up services if requested. For this service plant orders must be placed at least 24 hours in advance. Once the order is confirmed, specific curbside pick-up times will then be arranged. If you have an interest in this service, please email us and Kevin will follow up with you.
Location
Workshop Wednesday Series
Success with growing Azaleas and Rhododendrons
This workshop will be led by Kevin Kavanagh and will be of interest to gardeners who want to succeed in growing this beautiful and diverse group of flowering shrubs in Ontario. This is an outdoor and hands-on workshop. It will cover:
- An introduction to the major groups of azaleas and rhododendrons to assist with plant selection and garden design
- Site preparation in the garden
- Planting techniques
- Plant care (feeding/diseases/pruning)
- Winter protection
- Companion plants
This workshop will be held twice this spring. There is a registration fee to attend ($17.70+HST = $20.00). The dates and locations are:
- May 24th in the well-established Yarmoshuk Rhododendron gardens in St. Catherines
- June 7th in the nursery gardens at South Coast Gardens, Norfolk County
These will be evening workshops held from 6PM - 7PM with each event limited to a maximum of 15 participants. Participants must register at least 24 hours in advance of the event by emailing southcoast@kwic.com and noting which workshop date they wish to attend. Details will then be provided on how to pay the registration fee along with more specific details on location, parking, and rain dates.