Location: 3539 Lobsinger Line St. Clements On N0B 2M0
In project 5, I showcased the great work that Jenniffer had done with her work on the St. Clements post office gardens. We were eager to see her work and also help her take it to the next level, so Sanam, Rekha and I loaded up Sanam’s car with plants and made the 130 km drive to St. Clements.
It was evident that the community was already quite engaged. Jenniffer had put a pile of rocks with the suggestion of painting them and members of the community had taken up her suggestion and the garden was filled with precious masterpieces.
One thing I noticed right away was a huge butterfly bush which is a highly invasive and non-native. Many people assume that the “butterfly” in the name or the fact that’s it’s often visited by butterflies makes it a good plant, but truthfully it offers little nutrition and if the seeds escape into the wild, it can decimate native ecosystems. It was the elephant in the room and while on one hand I really wanted to remove it, on the other hand I do understand how change can be difficult for some people. Luckily Jenniffer is not change-averse at all and as soon as I said “invasive”, she jumped into action and led our team into removing it. That space is now planted with Joe Pye weed, cup plants, brown-eyed susans and swamp mallows which will look fabulous next year.
While this was the first time Sanam, Rekha and I visited St. Clements, you can be sure it won’t be our last. Together we cleared some non-natives and planted around 160 plants grown by our group. Working with Jenniffer on her heartfelt project was such a great experience that we can’t wait to visit St. Clements again!
