Klara Young-Chin had been tending to a large property for many years, so when she retired to Niagara-on-the-Lake, she wanted a home that would require less maintenance.
Although lawns look pretty, they require a substantial amount of upkeep which is time consuming and expensive. But her main concern was about the water consumption and the environmental effects of lawnmower emission, fertilizers, and pesticides commonly used to keep the lawn looking good.
Klara took this all into consideration when she purchased a townhouse with a small yard which would be easy to care for. Soon after moving to town, she joined an environmental group of people who also lived along One Mile Creek, they called themselves Friends of One Mile Creek.
FOMC’s goal is to collaborate with the community and relevant agencies to work efficiently toward restoring and revitalising the water, wildlife and natural environment of the One Mile Creek Watershed. Including reintroducing native pollinator plants along the creek banks.
As a member of FOMC she became aware of a community stewardship initiative from Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), to help with their water quality improvement program. The project provided free wildflower plugs and guidance on how to plant and care for these flowers. Klara’s only responsibility was to plant and water the flowers until they were established. With their help, Klara was confident that she could replace her entire front lawn with a wildflower garden. It would be low maintenance because native plant species are perfectly adapted to our climate and soil and, once established, don’t require watering, pruning, or fertilizing. These indigenous plants are generally perennial, self-propagating, and drought resistant with deep roots that help prevent soil erosion. But, most importantly, their flowers and seeds provide the perfect nutritional food specific to our native birds, insects and bees.
“Beginning a pollinator patch is easy,” Klara said. Early in spring she began by removing the existing sod in the front yard to prepare for planting the seedlings. She then seeded Dwarf White Clover as a ground cover to keep unwanted seeds from germinating. Clover produces nitrogen which is a natural fertilizer for enriching the soil. In early July, she received the plant plugs and placed them according to height and the amount of sunlight each required. She grouped individual species in large clumps so the insects could easily locate their favorite flowers. She was careful to include many different varieties that would bloom at different times throughout the season thus providing a constant supply of nectar and pollen. It only took a few weeks of watering for the plants to become established and then they were on their own.
“We all have a role to play in increasing biodiversity. One of the easiest ways is to create a pollinator garden in our yards. No matter how small, it will make a difference for the pollinators who need many pit-stops to fuel up with nectar and pollen. The need for creating corridors for wildlife and biodiversity is more important than ever before. We need to keep in mind that with increased urbanization, the landscape gets more and more fragmented. It is vital that we all do our part as good stewards of the land by adding native plants, trees and shrubs to help keep our natural environment healthy for ourselves and wildlife.” Klara Young-Chin, Coordinator with FOMC Friends of One Mile Creek.
This all began in 2008 and Klara now has a very well-established pollinator garden in her front yard. At first, she thought the neighbours might not approve of her unconventional approach, but she has since found the opposite to be true. It didn’t take long for passers-by to start taking notice of the prolific blossoms and the wildlife activity in the garden. “People would stop to look at all butterflies and bees at work, the beautiful flowers, and the abundance of birds. If I was outside, I would answer their questions and educate them on the benefits of pollinator gardens.”
2012 FOMC planted a large pollinator garden at William Street Park. They also added Oak and Tulip trees, which are considered to be ‘keystone plants’ for our ecoregion. According to entomologist, Dr Doug Tallamy, “Intentional use of native plants, which have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over millions of years, creates the most productive and sustainable wildlife habitat. While some plants play a singular role for one or limited types of wildlife, others are essential to the life cycle of many species. Just 14% of native plants (the keystones) support 90% of butterfly and moth lepidoptera species.” The research of horticulturist Jarrod Fowler has shown that 15% to 60% of North American native bee species are pollen specialists who only eat pollen from 40% of native plants.
2016 FOMC planted another pollinator garden at the corner of King & John Street. There you will see some great examples of native wildflowers such as Milkweed, Spotted Joe Pye weed, Ironweed, Asters, Dense Blazing Star, Wild Strawberries, Big Blue Stem Grass, and Wild Bergamot. This garden was created together with the Town, Communities in Bloom Committee, and NPCA. Look for the large interpretive sign at the site for more detailed information.
In 2020 adjacent to the King & John pollinator garden, an additional half acre was naturalized as a riparian buffer with 490 native trees and shrubs. These were planted along the One Mile Creek which flows through the Commons. In the last two years the seeds of some of the wild flowers have migrated to the naturalised area which is a beautiful site in the summer.
In 2022 at the entrance to Upper Canada trail, at the Corner of Charlotte and Paffard, a more formal pollinator installment was created with permission of the town and support of FOMC and NPCA.
The FOMC hopes to add more pollinator gardens, but there is limited public space available so they need individual home owners get involved. The pollinator populations are critically low so hundreds of pollinator gardens are needed immediately. If more and more people join in, we can expand quickly and provide safe zones for pollinating insects to feed and reproduce throughout the region. Your contribution may seem small but it will be part of the bigger picture.
Tip of the week: Pollinator gardens are low maintenance, economical, biodiverse and ecologically beneficial, so dig in and get started!
Take a look at the NPCA website for ideas and a list of plants that are suitable to Niagara.
Guide to Maintaining a Pollinator Habitat
