The rain threatened, but it held off for our Butterflyway project June 17th at the Mary Comber Miles Indigenous Plant Garden in Lions Bay. There was standing room only in the little seating area of the garden. Approximately 30 avid nature gardeners attended in all. Thankfully, the Village Works Department had dropped off a dozen chairs and this, together with the seats already in the garden, provided seating for most of the attendees.
First on the agenda was a presentation by Master Gardener Jane Sherrott who explained how to plant for 4 seasons of pollinator friendly native blooms. She also discussed which plants attract the greatest number and diversity of pollinators, and how to convert grass lawns into pollinator friendly lawns.
Jane’s presentation was followed by a short talk by Val on native bees and, particularly, specialist bees and how to plant native plants which support them.
Following some questions and answers, attendees were welcome to fill a tray with specially selected native plants, many of which were purchased from local native plant nurseries (Coast Salish Plant Nursery, B.C’s Wild Heritage Plants, and Satinflower Nurseries). There were also many plants that had been grown from seeds from last year’s crop or from seeds obtained from Douglas College Seed Library.
Everyone enjoyed delicious scones, cookies and brownies while selecting their plants.
