Stories from the Pollinator Patch

John's garden!

We love hearing from our "pollinators- supporting" community! check out these stories from gardeners whose gardens have been certified by our Pollinator Paradise certification program, and who are on our Pollinator Corridor Map Stay tuned for many more!

John Forbes writes:.
What's changed for me in becoming a pollinator gardener is that now I feel connected to anyone who tries to restore, renew or revitalize our planet.  It doesn't take much: planting lots of lovely native perennials instead of rows of soldiering municipal annuals (do bees even like petunias?). Off seeing my first flittering Monarch at the milkweed this year; though wondering where the hell are all the bees. Harvesting overripe serviceberries amidst construction beeps and whishing-by traffic, on an island of grass, in a downtown street.

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Anne's place!

Anne Vallentin writes:
After moving to Hamilton in 2014, connections with the newly formed Crown Point Garden Club led to an adventure in turning the grass on my front yard into a Pollinator Paradise. What a wonderful learning experience this has been. I have benefited from the generosity of this club's members - their knowledge, their plants and even some garden stones which have been used in the front and back yard. It has been amazing to witness all the life that has come to visit my yard, from early spring when the delightful white anemones first appear, right through to the fall with asters and purple cone flower brightening the yard and my neighbourhood. Rather than "tidy up" my yard in the fall, I have learned that plant stems, leaves and sticks in the yard provide a home and shelter for some of our tiny, native solitary bees. The seed heads of the "dead" plants can provide food for some birds during the winter.

As a participant in a Hamilton Naturalist Club workshop, I was able to assemble a bee box and have it installed in my yard. Thanks to Environment Hamilton's Pollinator Paradise information I have been able to incorporate some of my learning into my yard by focusing on including native plants.Some small, clay dishes for water are present to provide moisture for the smallest insects. A young neighbour stopped by last fall and told me that she had been admiring my garden all year and showed me a gorgeous photo she had taken of a monarch on one of my purple cone flower blooms. The Virginia Mountain Mint provides a gorgeous fragrance whenever I walk by and is literally humming with insects when it is in bloom. Managing storm water has led to installation of two rain barrels and learning how to make a rain garden - also incorporating native and pollinator friendly plants.

Thanks to the efforts of the Crown Point Garden club members and our partnerships with the Hamilton Naturalist Club and Environment Hamilton, there are a number of pollinator gardens on my street and close by in the neighbourhood. This area has become a good home for our friends, the pollinators.

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