Our nursery is a social enterprise rooted in both the community and soil of Aylmer, Quebec, and our growing practices reflect our deep commitment to biodiversity, ethical stewardship and land healing. Our process is one of learning, transparency and growth
The Core of Localeaf: Our Aylmer Seed Orchard
The majority of the species we offer through the nursery come from seeds that are grown, observed, nurtured and harvested here on-site at our nursery in Aylmer.
Since moving to this property, we have been in a continuous process of converting the land into a biodiverse living seed orchard, which we began preparing for several years ago, largely also from cultivated seed.
Our practices:
- Grown from seed, never cuttings: Every plant, shrub and tree we grow starts as a seed. We never grow from cuttings (which create genetic clones), for two reasons. First, it’s not as fun. Growing from seed is our jam. Second, collecting and growing from seed may be more time intensive, but it promotes genetic diversity.
- Ethical, Minimized Wild- Seed Collection: we are a micro-nursery, and though we grow a large number of species, our seed and plant volume is small compared to larger nurseries. Most of our seeds are either collected from our cultivated plants, or purchased from specialized, Quebec based native seed distributors, but any seeds we do collect are always collected following ethical and sustainable practices
- Multiple seed sources: Whenever possible, we grow and add new seed sources to our existing cultivated populations. By introducing fresh genetics to our seed orchard plants, we increase the resilience and biological health of the stock we provide through the nursery and to the community.
- Pollinators First: We grow for wildlife first. We only collect a small, ethical percentage of seed from our site to disseminate, ensuring the local ecosystem remains the primary beneficiary of our “seed orchard.”
Our Seed Collection Sites:
We sometimes source seeds from specific wild locations in the region. We follow strict protocols—only collecting from large, healthy populations on private woodlands or designated crown land to ensure we never impact the health of a wild colony.
- Gatineau Valley & Blue Sea: Our cottage in Blue Sea and the surrounding woodlands are vital sources of seed for our hardy woodland species. These plants carry the rugged genetics of the Gatineau hills.
- The Ottawa Valley: We occasionally collect from local private properties to ensure our “Hyper-Local” [0] species are true reflections of our immediate eco-region.
A Network of Reputable Seed Partners
When we don’t collect the seed ourselves, and seek out new species, we turn to a vetted network of partners who share our commitment to provenance and traceability.
Our Primary Quebec Partners
We prioritize working with Quebec-based experts who understand our unique climate and soil:
- Akène: Our go-to for high-integrity Laurentian and northern-latitude genetics.
- Arboquebecium: Our trusted source for native Quebec trees and shrubs.
Regional Ontario & Community Collaborators
We lean on our neighbors to the south and west to strengthen and enhance bio-diverisity of our local gene pool:
- OWSL (Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library): A vital local source for adding biodiversity and new genetic lines to our cultivated populations.
- Ontario Specialists: We work with reputable vendors like Botanically Inclined, Northern Wildflowers, and Ferri Seeds to bring in resilient genetics, as well as the North American Native Plant Society and
Specialized Outliers
Occasionally, we trial high-impact species from further afield—such as the Canadian West or the US Midwest (via Prairie Moon). These are strategic experiments in climate adaptation and are always clearly labeled as outliers on our proximity scale. These also account for less than 5% of our seed genetics.
LocaLeaf 