Milky Way Pollinator Garden

The Milky Way  Pollinator Garden was pro-bono project we did for Greenest City and Parkdale Land Trust in Fall 2023. This plot of land on Milky Way Lane is home to a community vegetable garden where local residents, many who are recent immigrants from the Himalayas, go to grow their native vegetables and learn English. Greenest City, asked us to create a pollinator garden on the street side facing the lane. Hopefully the overflow of bees, flies and butterflies, will also help with pollinating their vegetables! (Please see garden introduction following photos below.)

Beyond Pollen—A garden for birds, bees, beetles, flies and caterpillars

In creating this garden, we cross-referenced several studies, articles and pollinator garden guides written by horticulturalists and entomologists. The result is a garden of perennials, bushes, sedges and grasses to support insects and butterflies at various stages of their lifecycles. Some plants provide nectar and pollen for bees, flies, hummingbirds, and butterflies. Other plants are hosts to butterfly and moth eggs. When the caterpillars emerge, they can feast on a buffet of leaves before spinning a cocoon and pupating. The garden also includes grasses and fruiting bushes which provide berries and seeds to support local birds throughout the fall and winter months.

The garden contains over 40 types of plants to maximize species diversity. We’ve included plants such as Pussy willows which provide an early source of nectar for between 14-18 insects, Canada Goldenrod which attracts a large number of hoverflies in the fall, and plants such as Physostegia virginiana (Obedient Plant) which can sometimes be found blooming as late as December.

Based on a 2019 study in the Journal of Insect Conservation, we also included 4 non-natives which were found to be incredible pollinator magnets. Catmint was the standout of the study due to its long blooming period, attracting 112 insect visits per week. Sneezeweed is known to attract the largest number of honey bees and Geranium ‘Rozanne', attracted the largest number of solitary bees.

Watching bees dance around collecting pollen on their legs, and butterflies dipping their long proboscises into the delicate structure of a flower is both a fascinating and relaxing activity. For those interested in learning more about what they are seeing, the iNaturalist App supported by National Geographic, the Canadian Wildlife Federation and the ROM is a great way to learn to identify plants and insects. Post your findings in the APP and help contribute to our understanding of the natural ecology of Parkdale.