Gardening: Small choices make a big difference
Megachile (leafcutter, mortar, and resin) bee on swamp milkweed (Photo by Sarah Ludlow)
Well, it is that time of year again — when the hope of spring and warmer temperatures is edging ever closer, especially in my home province of Saskatchewan. It is also the time when I begin starting my seeds to plant in my garden this...
Native plants look different across Canada
My garden has come a long way in two years! (Photo by Jaimee Morozoff/NCC staff)
As my colleague Wendy mentioned in her blog post, native plant gardening is full of trials and tribulations. Depending on where you live in Canada, sometimes the “typical” native plant looks quite different. Across the Prairie...
Trials and tribulations of native plant gardening
Oblique streaktail on my wild nodding onion plant (Photo by Wendy Ho/NCC staff)
A few years ago when my Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) colleague Jaimee was still residing in Alberta, we had a fun email exchange on the topic of native plant gardening. She has since moved to Nova Scotia, where she has a new array of native...
Planting trees for a greener planet
Conservation Volunteer planting a tree in Happy Valley Forest, ON (Photo by Mimi Chan)
I recall in the 1990s when a news crew came to my school to film us — a bunch of 10-year-olds — planting trees in the perimeter of our playground for Earth Day. It was a novel experience, as a new immigrant to Canada from a concrete...
My native species bring all the pollinators to the yard
Northern crescent butterfly on swamp milkweed flowers (Photo by Jaimee Morozoff/NCC staff)
Now that spring has finally made its way across Canada (in some places it was slower in arriving than others), gardening season is in full swing! With all of the choices present at our local nurseries and big box stores, it is easy to get carried...
A pumpkin’s tale – life after halloween
Carved pumpkin (Photo by Ylanite Koppens, Pexels)
The moral of this story is a reminder to people not to discard pumpkins into forests or natural areas and how they can be recycled after Halloween. I, Jill-o-Lantern, remember being so excited when you scooped me up, and chose me over my...
Leave those leaves on the ground
Tuliptree leaf in fall (Photo by Bernt Solymar)
As a child, I heard somewhere that if you catch a leaf as it falls from a tree, it’s good luck. So, naturally, I spent most autumns staring up at the huge trees in the conservation area behind my house, waiting patiently for a leaf to dance...
The Wildflower Blog: Three favourite wildflowers to grow
Bloodroot (Photo by Thomas Noland)
Bloodroot, Dutchman's breeches and Virginia bluebells are three lovely spring-blooming wildflowers that are worthy of any flower garden, not just a wildflower garden. In my garden, its always a race between bloodroot and Dutchman's breeches for...
To mow, or not to mow, that is the question
Maria Olkinitskaya picking dandelions at Baie Verte CV event, NB (Photo by NCC)
During the month of May, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is encouraging people to hold off on trimming their lawn in favour of letting the flowers and grasses grow, to provide habitat for insects and birds. The idea is to reimagine our...
Create a messy garden for nature
Gardening is a great way to connect with nature (Photo by Lisa via Pexels)
As the warmer weather rolls across the country, many people have started tidying their garden for spring planting. But did you know that by leaving some of the stems and stalks that we traditionally clean up in the spring, you can create habitat...
