Location: 2901 Yonge St, Toronto, ON M4N 3N8
Pat C. volunteers at a neighbourhood gardening project organized by Pat M. which helps to maintain this beautiful public park.
Pat C. chose to focus on creating an educational opportunity by showing visitors how native plants can be added to an established garden bed with the addition of 60 plants grown by our group members. She has often heard some of the more conventional gardeners say how they don’t like the Canada goldenrod and New England asters because they flop over, so she has a long-term plan for winning their hearts by showcasing some simple solutions for this issue. Her long-term plan for next spring includes adding some “structural plants” such as Ironweed as well as sturdy grasses to support the floppier ones. She is also going to try an early June pinch on some of the asters
She’s hopeful that next year, with the garden planted more densely, the plants will support one another and showcase the true beauty of these species together.
It was a challenge to get comparable before and after pictures but you can see how some tree branches were trimmed back to allow more light to the back plantings. Across the mid-section of the west bed, from left to right: Asclepius tuberosa, anise hyssop (behind the white hibiscus), early goldenrod and spotted Joe Pye weed behind that, and hairy beard tongue on the right side of the bed, just behind the geranium.
Kudos to Pat C. for a great project and check back for updates as Pat has promised to keep us updated on the progress of this garden bed.
