Dropseed Nursery

Young couple grows native plants, shrubs and trees

Bailey Austin-Macmillan and Riley Grund both share a passion for gardening and growing. Ms. Austin- Macmillan was trained as an architect and works as a landscape designer for VTLA Studio in the County. One of her recent projects was the revitalization of London Avenue Park in Macaulay Village, in collaboration with the Prince Edward Learning Centre. The first phase of the project entailed planting trees and building a playground and a shade structure. The next phase, scheduled for later this year, draws upon her permaculture expertise with the creation of a food forest where trees and shrubs yield an edible harvest. The use of native plants is the primary driver of her work. Mr. Grund works as a chef and started gardening as a way of growing plants for the purpose of cooking. Over the years his interests have broadened to include growing perennial plants and native species. The common interest in growing native plants led to couple to create Dropseed Native Plant Nursery, which opened in May 2024. They chose the name after one of their favourite plants, the prairie dropseed. “We wanted a name that was fun and had a meaning beyond just the words,” said Ms. Austin-Macmillan. “As a landscape designer I was sourcing a lot of plant material from southwestern Ontario for our clients, and I realized there was a need. Riley and I both wanted to do something in the agricultural sphere, so we decided to open a nursery,”

This is their second season of operation, and they specialize in native flowering perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees. “The idea behind native plants is that they have genetically co-evolved with the place, so they are connected to the soil and the water. They are adapted to here and they belong here, and so in the context of the climate crisis, planting native plants will be very important,” said Ms. Austin-Macmillan. All of their plants are grown from seed, which naturally conditions them to the microclimate associated with this region. “Seeds have all the genetic information that a plant stores. We want to provide plants that have incredible longevity, not just in years, but for generations. We focus on growing from seed because the quality is there in the genetics,” said Mr. Grund. The seeds are planted in sterilized soil, and are sown in trays in an unheated hoop-house to overwinter before germination in the spring. Many seeds require that winter stratification before they will germinate. The hoop-house offers some protection from the harshest winter conditions, and acts as a barrier to rodents or other animals. During the growing season the plants are regularly watered and fertilized to keep them in optimum health. Dropseed offers trees grown from seed, but as a relatively new operation their trees are quite small and may take several years to grow to a size suitable for transplanting. They have been able to obtain some tree stock from a local supplier who grows trees from seeds collected in Prince Edward County.

The nursery is located on five acres of land the couple is leasing. Currently about one acre is used for nursery operations, but they can also select plants that are growing naturally in the forested area. The seedlings are started in the hoop-house, and Ms. Austin-Macmillan and Mr. Grund have created several demonstration gardens so that customers can get an idea of what a mature plant would look like in a garden setting. They offer over 100 varieties of plants that are suitable for growing in a wide range of soil types. Some examples are eastern prickly pear cactus, spotted joe-pye, cardinal flower, purple flowering raspberry, nannyberry, purple love grass and big bluestem. In addition to offering plants, Dropseed will also offer some programming through the spring and summer. There are forest walks led by Ewa Bednarczuk from the Nature Conservancy of Canada, plant dyeing workshops, nature journalling, and a rammed earth workshop from Aerecura Sustainable Builders. “This is a place for learning and education, where we bring together ecology and art in the different ways to interact with the environment,” said Ms. Austin-Macmillan.

With a successful year behind them, the couple is looking forward to a new season of growing and providing native plants. “Our first year was a labour of love for sure, and lots of learning moments. But when we shut our doors last November, we were excited about opening this year. We had lots of support and it was a positive experience. It was hard work, but worth it,” said Ms. Austin-Macmillan. “I love native plants and I love gardening with them. They are quite beautiful and there’s the ecological value they provide.” Dropseed Native Plant Nursery is located at 1099 Old Milford Road, and the website is dropseed.ca