Getting out in the garden is a chance to soak up some sun during the warmer months.

But if summers that have varied from scorching hot to cool and wet have wreaked havoc with your flower beds, you may want to consider planting some trees or shrubs.

"We're seeing all kinds of strange weather with fluctuations in temperature and precipitation, so we have to choose plants that are able to withstand whatever Mother Nature's going to throw at it," said Karen Buschert, a conservation outreach specialist with the Grand River Conservation Authority.

"Shade, actually, is a really good opportunity for selecting native species in Ontario. Much of southern Ontario was covered in forest before lots of us came along and cleared the land, so there's all kinds of woodland species that are great underneath big shade trees," she noted.

Butterflies gather on goldenrod. The native plant can be great for pollinators, but can also be a bit of a bully in your garden. ((Bruce Reeve/CBC)) Ontario gardeners know summer weather can vary wildly each year. Buschert offered these tips for gardening with a changing climate in mind.

Plant native species

Native species are used to changes in weather conditions and will be able to withstand drought or cold better than annuals.

Native species that are well adapted for the shade inlcude trilliums, Virginia waterleaf, jack in the pulpit and wild columbine.

They tend to flower in the spring, so gardeners may want to mix in the native species with annuals or just enjoy their green leaves in the summer.

If you've got full sun, go for Prairie species such as grey goldenrod, New England asters or grey-headed coneflower.

"They'll give you a lot of the nice flowers later in the season, instead of in the springtime, so you'll have a nice looking colour garden probably starting in July/August," she said.

The other benefit of native species?

"If you do put in native species, then you're more likely to get some of those native pollinators coming."

Don't be afraid to make the cut

Canada goldenrod is either a great flowering plant that benefits pollinators or an invasive weed that hogs space in your garden, depending on how you look at it.

Buschert said you need to focus on the goal for your garden. If you want to create a garden for pollinators, let it go.

But if a plant is getting out of control, you can cut it back.

"If you're worried about things becoming too invasive just because the plant is native, doesn't mean it can't also be invasive," she said.

Plant trees and shrubs

Shade, as Buschert said above, can be great for your garden.

"When you're dealing with climate fluctuations, weather fluctuations, trees really help to moderate those changes and create cool environments in the summertime," she said.

When you go to your local greenhouse, ask where their they source their native species. (Eric Anderson/CBC) "In the case of deciduous trees, they lose their leaves in the wintertime, so they're not shading in the winter if you want a little bit more sun."

Research before you buy

Some nurseries carry native species, but you should ask where those plants originate.

"You have to be careful," she said. "You have to ask a few questions and try to ensure that you're not buying plants that have been collected from the wild."

She suggested talking to nurseries that propagate their own plants and who specialize in native species. You could start your own plants from seeds, but cautioned the process can take a bit longer before the plant grows and flowers.

Sit back and enjoy

Buschert's own garden has many native species and she says the best part is that she doesn't have to do a lot of work.

Ensuring she had the right species for where she wanted to plant them in her garden means they thrived.

"Once I put them in, as long as the conditions were right, it's nowhere near as much as work as dealing with annuals or dealing with a food garden," she said.

"I put the stuff in, every now and again I check it and I try to keep some of my shrubs from getting browsed [eaten by animals or insects], but otherwise they're pretty happy where they are."