Newsletter #7 - April 2021 |
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Help us protect more pollinators in Mississauga - share this newsletter with your friends and family! |
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Pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) is an April blossom in Mississauga. Photo ©2021 Peeter Poldre |
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Message from the President Dear BB Members and Supporters, Hope you are well and enjoying the gorgeous pageant of spring wildflower blooms in our meadows and woodlands – and if you’ve “gone native”, in your gardens, too! The month of April has been busy for our BB volunteers who are growing plants for this year’s boulevard gardens. They’ve done a great job! All our new garden stewards are looking forward to the plant deliveries starting in late May. It’s exciting to think of the new habitat pathways we are making for pollinators. The beautiful new gardens lining Mississauga neighbourhood streets will be a delight for people as well. You’ll want to keep an eye open for the boulevard pollinator gardens sprouting up all over the city. Why not plan to grow some native plants of your own? You can pick up some beauties at our Second Annual Native Plant Sale on June 19 - 20. Our members will receive an email invitation with all the Plant Sale details. It's coming soon! |
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Still struggling with mowing, watering and weeding the grass on your boulevard?
Members may apply for a boulevard garden! We will provide you with up to 50 FREE native plants so you can create a LOW MAINTENANCE boulevard pollinator garden. What’s not to love? We still have a few openings, so apply soon (our cut off quota is 75 gardens or May 15, whichever comes first). Covid is in the news these days, but our climate crisis remains as the largest major threat to human health. It’s not going away anytime soon. More than ever, we need to support biodiversity. Click here to see a talk I recently gave about Climate Victory Gardens for Riverwood Conservancy. |
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Here are more ways you can help: Sign up/Renew: Help us help pollinators. Get your membership for 2021!
Volunteer to help us collect seeds and grow native plants!
Register for a workshop and learn more about gardens, native plants and pollinators!
Donate! All amounts will be deeply appreciated and applied directly to keep our garden program going.
“Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good.” - Jochen Zeitz
Happy gardening!
Jeanne
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Meet a Member Going native: a plan to help save the planet
Liz Primeau Jitendra Chaudari, last year's BB Garden Steward of the Year, shares his love of gardening and pollinators in this month's Meet a Member article. Read more here >> |
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Why Native Plants? Part 3: Do you like butterflies?
Murray MooreDo you like butterflies? Me too. And do you like hummingbirds? Me too. If you want butterflies and hummingbirds in your yard, you can offer food that butterflies and hummingbirds need. Butterflies and hummingbirds need high energy-producing nectar to survive. Nectar-rich native wildflowers provide the fuel that will keep your hummingbirds humming and butterflies fluttering. Read more here >> |
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Emerging foxglove beardtongue in its second year, showing a light application of mulch around the plants. Dead stems have been clipped off and placed on the ground beside the plants. Photo by Jeanne McRight, 2021. |
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Garden Buzz Native Garden To Do List for April Jeanne McRight Now it’s pretty safe to cut down dead stems, but leave the lower 30 cm (a foot) to protect the crowns of your newly-emerged plants. The plants will soon grow to cover these shortened stems. Compost and rotted leaves are perfect for top-dressing around your plants, to improve soil texture and porosity, and to nurture your soil’s microorganisms Lightly mulch your young native plant gardens until they are big enough to fill in the spaces between them. This usually happens in their third year. Shredded bark is good. You can also break up your dead stems and use as mulch! Each spring…remove a little more of your lawn and expand your garden. Tuck native plants into your vegetable garden. They attract beneficial insects that devour pests. This is a great time to plant native flowering shrubs and trees! Our native oaks, cherries and willows top the list of species valuable to wildlife. Harden off your indoor seedlings for at least a week when weather warms in early May. Put in a sheltered spot outdoors (bring indoors if frost threatens) before planting in the garden in mid-late May.
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Education & Outreach News Mark your calendar We share our passion for pollinators, plants and people by offering workshops and presentations by expert horticulturists. Our Summer Workshop - July 24, 10-11am - Design Your Own Pollinator Garden
Provide food and shelter for native pollinators in a gorgeous landscape. - more workshops upcoming in the fall - check our website for info!
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* Covid-19 update: We will be conducting our 2021 workshops as FREE online presentations with a question period afterward. Helpful information sheets are available as handouts, and emailed to you on request. |
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Membership Annual memberships cost just $10 (single) or $15 (family). These fees provide the resources we need to do our work helping pollinators in Mississauga.
Please renew your 2021 membership today, or apply for your first membership below. | | |
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Donate As a volunteer-run not-for-profit, every dollar donated goes to our work of providing habitat and food sources for native pollinators and animals. We rely on the generosity of donors who care about pollinators, native plants and the environment. | | |
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Our 2020 - 2021 Board of Directors Jeanne McRight, Founding President Ramona da Cunha, Secretary Mary Jean Kucerak, Treasurer Wayne Cardinalli Angela Jordon Murray Moore Tim Oliwiak Jim Judge, Advisor Communications Jeanne McRight Murray Moore
Peeter Poldre
Liz Primeau
Pamela Sleightholm Photos: Peeter Poldre and Jeanne McRight |
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Blooming Boulevards is a proud recipient of a 2021 Community Grant from the City of Mississauga. Thank you for your support! |
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