Butterfly Rangers Tour in Riley Park Community Garden

As part of Pollinator Week celebrations, RPCG hosted David Suzuki Foundation Butterfly Rangers to a tour of the garden.

Right on cue, a Western Tiger Swallowtail butterfly landed on a large grouping of fireweed in the Rewilder section of the garden.  We have also been visited by a Painted Lady Butterfly, who also joined us for the event Lori Weidenhammer, also a Butterfly Ranger, and a passionate pollinator advocate, has observed that RPCG has the greatest diversity of pollinators in any community garden she’s visited!  After Selina Pope, Master Gardener & Butterfly Ranger, gave a tour of all the pollinator borders, the group was hosted to a light lunch of homemade falafel’s, using lettuce, mint, and chard from the garden, and cooling herbal ice tea made from mint, holy basil and the stevia (sweet) plant, all grown in the garden.  The group also enjoyed free pollinator plant giveaways, and a variety of pollinator plant seeds, to take away to ‘cross pollinate’ in their own gardens and community garden projects.

“Your garden is fabulous!!! Wow! Thank you for the tour!” – Melissa Haynes

“Thanks so much for hosting an awesome event!” – Lori Weidenhammer

A huge thank you to TD Parks People for funding!

SGGS: A Big Harvest Day!

🌱 Wed July 7th, Small Group Gardening Session at RPCG 🌱

Harvested red, yellow and black raspberries, blueberries, tayberries, & strawberries today. Potato harvest also started today with the early Warba potatoes, dug up about 10kg worth! And our zucchini harvest is starting to steadily climb. A portion of this harvest will be donated to Little Mountain Court Seniors Day. Today’s snack consisted of herbal tea from the garden and tayberry muffins.

SGGS: First Tomato Harvest & A Sweet Treat For Lunch

🌱 Sunday July 4th, Small Group Gardening Session at RPCG 🌱

July 1st weekend is the last planting weekend for fall/overwinter carrots. On Sunday we planted 2 varieties of carrots and will add turnips and beets to the same bed over the next few weeks. It was the first tomato & zucchini harvest and last pea harvest. Next week cucumbers!! A big thank-you to the new horizons for seniors grant for funding our ice cream ‘sandwiches’ for lunch. A perfect finish to a warm summer day.

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