Projects
Projects currently underway
Kanata North Pollinator Patch
demonstration garden
Soon after seedlings planted August 2023
24 Ontario native plant species to support diverse pollinators with variety of colorful blooms from April through October.
What appears to be tall grass is a cover/nurse crop of oats for native wildflower seeds to be sown after the first hard frost. The garden will look a little uneven for a year or so. 🌱Most native wildflower seeds tend to follow a progression of sleep, creep, leap, over a 3-year period.
10 June 2024 Update: the winter-sown native wildflower seeds couldn't compete against the longstanding non-native invasive weeds. We are slowly adding more seedlings to fill in the empty spaces and have added 17 new species. Scroll down for the complete species list below.
Before it became a garden
KNPP full of non-native invasive plants before it became a native plant garden.
KNCG Friendship garden
Early September 2023 surrounded by non-native invasive plants before expansion
Smothering the weeds before it became a garden
June 2023
KNCG Friendship garden expansion in progress
Cover/nurse crop of oats planted for native wildflower seeds to be sown after first hard frost
*note: the KNCG wood sign was made by a KNRegens volunteer to help support the community garden
Volunteers clear non-native invasive plants
Canadian Wildlife Federation Wild Outside Youth joined the KN Regens in a collaborative effort
2 June 2024
The restoration work we do involves some experimentation to try and limit supply costs. Like all experiments, some fail big. Our winter-sown native wildflower seeds were outcompeted by long-standing non-native invasive plants in both gardens. We will need to fill many square feet with native plant seedlings in the next few weeks.
As a learning community though, a failed experiment provides good data to plan our next steps for the future.
Onwards!
7 September 2023
27 June 2024
27 June 2024
27 June 2024
17 July 2024
17 July 2024
17 July 2024
17 July 2024
First year Lanceleaf Coreopsis blooming already
Talented young artists use non-toxic paint to decorate border rocks for the garden pathway.
At 1,131 sq. ft. the new Kanata North Pollinator Patch is hard to capture in a single image. The 5-September-23 adjacent infographic shows the seedlings heavily mulched due to a heat wave and stiff competition from long-standing perennial weeds.
A successful pollinator garden must provide: pollen-rich flowers and nectar for food, nesting sites, butterfly host plants to feed their caterpillars, and a variety of flowers of different shapes and sizes with continuous blooms from April to October.
This garden contains all of the above pollinator habitat requirements through 41 native plant species including:
Anise Hyssop, Agastache foeniculum
Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa
Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata
Butterfly Milkweed, Asclepias tuberosa
Canada Anemone, Anemone canadensis
Canada Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis
Canada Milk Vetch, Astragalus canadensis
Common Blue Violet, Viola sororia
Cylindric Blazing Star, Liatris cylindracea
Early Goldenrod, Solidago juncea
Early Sunflower, Heliopsis helianthoides
Fireweed, Epilobium angustifolium
Golden Alexander, Zizea aurea
Gray Goldenrod, Solidago nemoralis
Hairy Beardtongue, Penstemon hirsutus
Lanceleaf Coreopsis, Coreopsis lanceolata
Little Bluestem grass, Schizachyrium scoparium
New England Aster, Symphyotrichum novae-angliae
Nodding Onion, Allium cernuum
Obedient Plant, Physostegia virginiana
Pearly Everlasting, Anaphalis margaritacea
Philadelphia Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus
Prairie Smoke, Geum triflorum
Purple Coneflower, Echinacea purpurea
Purple Prairie Clover, Dalea purpurea
Showy Tick-trefoil, Desmodium canadense
Shrubby St. John’s Wort, Hypericum prolificum
Side-oats Grama, Bouteloua curtipendula
Sky Blue Aster, Aster azureus
Smooth Blue Aster, Symphyotrichum laeve
Smooth Rose, Rosa blanda
Stiff Goldenrod, Solidago rigida
Stout Goldenrod, Solidago squarrosa
Sundial Lupine, Lupinus perennis
Tall (Prairie) Cinquefoil, Drymocallis arguta
Upland White Goldenrod, Solidago ptarmicoides
Virginia Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum virginianum
Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa
Wild Strawberry, Fragaria virginiana
Yellow Coneflower, Ratibida pinnata
Late summer blooms support our foraging pollinator friends, and plenty of seeds for the birds. 15-Sept-24
🌱 There’s a neat phrase to describe the progression of a native planting from seed:
Sleep, Creep, Leap.
SLEEP: The first year, perennial native seeds germinate, but primarily channel energy down into their root structures. Top growth is minimal; the planting seems to be “asleep.”
CREEP: Year two brings more foliage growth, but it may appear a bit juvenile or gangly; this is the slow, “creeping” development.
LEAP: The third year, native perennials “leap” into action and show their true potential, with sturdy foliage and eventual flowers.
credit: Prairie Moon Nursery (a great resource for detailed native plant information)
Eco-District Urban Mini-Meadow project
Our latest and largest restoration project will be ongoing for sometime to come. We are currently removing non-native invasive plants and noxious weeds from a large area, and then using arborist chips to help smother and prevent invasives from regrowing. This allows us to help preserve and protect native plants that are struggling to survive amongst the weeds.
Native Common Milkweed and New England Asters struggling to survive amongst multiple non-native invasive plants and noxious weeds.
After removal of a number of invasives and adding arborist chips to help keep them at bay, the native plants are making a strong comeback.
Many thanks to our sponsor Trillium Tree Experts for supplying us with free arborist chips. We greatly appreciate their support.
22-Sept-24
New England Asters and Common Milkweed flourishing after non-native invasives removed.
22-Sept-24
View of KN Pollinator Patch and Mini-Meadow from the main path.
Volunteers in Action
Wrapping up after removing invasive plants for the KNCG Friendship garden expansion.
Sometimes it takes an older person with a good shovel to get those invasive plant roots out.
Taking care of the small details.
No, aliens haven't landed.😁 Volunteer donned in personal protective equipment.
Crew removing Wild Parsnip
It's fun to work with volunteers who maintain their sense of humour, even when hot and uncomfortable.
Checking equipment before Wild Parsnip removal
Dog Strangling Vine removal South March Highlands Conservation Forest
Dog Strangling Vine removal on a rainy day
Our most flexible volunteer. 😎
Bee in the know fun facts:
*Female bees sting, but only in self-defence or in defence of their hives.
*Male bees have no stingers.
*Most species of bees are solitary and never aggressively defend a home space.
*Most bee stings come from honey bees.
*Foraging bees are passive and not aggressive. They’re focused on gathering as much nectar and pollen as they can.
