Another year at the Corner Garden and the flowers are blooming and the bees are buzzing!
Pollinators are a huge part of what makes your garden grow! Bees, butterflies and birds are just a few of the busy creatures that keep everything blooming. Insects and animals like these ones drink the nectar from the flowers and while they are on the flower, pollen sticks to them and then comes off on the next flower they visit. The transfer of pollen from plant to plant is important because it enables fertilization later on which allows the creation of new seeds from the plant.
Here at the Corner Garden we have planted all different kinds of milkweed in the hope of attracting some Monarch butterflies. We have Swamp Milkweed, Joe Pye Weed and of course Butterfly Milkweed! Because Monarchs are classified as a species of special concern in Ontario, planting Milkweed in your garden helps ensure that we can keep these beautiful butterflies around for years to come. Milkweed is important for the Monarchs because the females lay their eggs on the leaves and they also like to drink the nectar from the flowers.
Another pollinator we have seen in the garden this week are bees! They love the Purple Coneflower!