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Share your Garden
WITH BEES, BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES
A Pollinator Garden with native plants brings joy and awe that even the most beautiful non-native ornamental flowers can never achieve. Ornamental plants are introduced and, therefore, not part of our ecosystem. Consequently, they miss the connection to the whole ecosystem and the essence of life. By matching the right plants to the place you care for, you provide food and shelter for many creatures and will see biodiversity increase quickly in front of your eyes.
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In the big picture, your pollinator garden helps draw more carbon into the soil and counteracts climate change.
PawPaw Tree
Fundraiser
Get Pawpaws this Fall to Support Green Thumbs School Programs
The mission of Green Thumbs Growing Kids is to cultivate environmental stewardship through hands-on garden and food education for urban children and their communities. Green Thumbs grows food in elementary school gardens, a rooftop mini-farm, a local community garden plot, and City of Toronto greenhouses to contribute fresh food to school lunch programs and farmers' markets. Since 2017, thanks to support from the Urban Forestry Division of the City of Toronto, students have grown trees from seed, like these pawpaw trees. Check out the excellent work at GreenThumbsTo.org.
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All proceeds go to the Youth Program of Green Thumbs
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Pawpaws are between 12 and 18 inches tall and should be planted in a part shade area with moist soil this fall.
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Fall is the best time to plant trees.
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For long-term tree health, it is ideal to plant trees as small as possible so they can grow a healthy, undisturbed root system.
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Trees need to be planted in Toronto.
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Tree Pick up: October, 21st 2023, 10 am to 1 pm,
3595 St. Clair Avenue East,
Community Farm of the Scarborough Food Security Initiative.
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You can buy the pawpaws in the Upcoming Events Section right below by clicking Buy Tickets on Pawpaw Fundraiser.
PawPaw Trees (Asimina triloba)
Help to bring these unique and rare trees back
​Upcoming Events
Sat, Oct 21Feed Scarborough, TorontoOct 21, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Feed Scarborough, Toronto, 3595 St Clair Ave E, Scarborough, ON M1K 1L8, CanadaOct 21, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Feed Scarborough, Toronto, 3595 St Clair Ave E, Scarborough, ON M1K 1L8, CanadaGet some pawpaw trees in support of the Green Thumbs Youth Program. Pawpaw trees need part shade, moist soil and be planted in small groups to produce fruit. You can get 3 pawpaws for $30.- or 2 pawpaws for $20.- by ordering here and e-transferring to plantmorenativeplants@gmail.com.
Sat, Nov 18Toronto Public LibraryNov 18, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Toronto Public Library, 1515 Danforth Rd, Toronto, ON M1J 1H5, CanadaNov 18, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.Toronto Public Library, 1515 Danforth Rd, Toronto, ON M1J 1H5, CanadaLearn in a small group how to grow native plants successfully from seed. Together we choose 15 species of native plants that will grow well in your garden. You get free seeds for those 15 species and learn how to grow them successfully.
Thinking of Creating a Beautiful Pollinator garden
GET AN
IN-GARDEN CONSULTATION
AND FAST-TRACK YOUR SUCCESS
A Pollinator Garden is a Feel-Good Garden
Go on a vacation right in your garden.
Experience the sweet scent of vanilla, luxurious colours and outrageous colour combinations, a relaxing soundscape, long bloom times and always someone visiting, if bee, bird or butterfly.
I can help you choose plants that will thrive in your garden conditions and get you started successfully.
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Low maintenance since native plants are adapted to our climate:
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Less watering once the plants are established and planted in the right place
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Less weeding​
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Less mowing means less noise & pollution
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No fertilizer need
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Financial benefits:
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A beautiful pollinator garden increases curb appeal
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Better pollination increases the yield and quality of your vegetables, fruits and nuts
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Deeper root systems lower flood risk
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Brings back biodiversity:
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Contributes to conservation efforts
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Beneficial insects and birds create a balanced and vibrant ecosystem
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Heals the soil
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Climate change solution:
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Help to restore the natural water cycle
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Sequesters more carbon than lawns
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Less fossil fuel inputs from the purchase of plants to their maintenance
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Greater cooling effect
Health benefits:
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Stress relief
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We are hard-wired to enjoy a deeper connection to the natural beauty and processes
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​By creating a pollinator garden using Ontario native plants, you allow life to unfold again how nature intended it: exuberant, beautiful, and full of intelligent relations.
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A Pollinator Garden benefits everyone:
Toronto butterflies in my pollinator garden
Ever Wondered Which Microorganisms Are in Your Compost or Soil?Find Out With A
Biological Soil Examination
GET SOME FUN PICTURES OF MICROORGANISMS WORKING IN YOUR SOIL OR COMPOST
What You Get:
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400 x magnified digital pictures of microorganisms in your soil/compost.
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Information about the function of the organisms in your soil with an easy-to-understand explanation of their role in your garden.
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​Information on which microorganisms are missing and the implication.
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Simple to follow techniques to improve your soil.
Nutrient Cycling is Key to Fertile Soil
The soil must be alive to be the foundation of a healthy and low-maintenance garden. Living organisms like Bacteria, Fungi, Protozoa, Amoebae, and Nematodes are crucial for nutrient cycling, meaning providing plants with enough of the proper nutrients at any time. Fungal hyphae in symbiosis with plant roots can make your garden more self-sufficient. As an extension of plant roots, the symbiotic fungal networks make plants more drought-resistant and fungi, as chemical wizards, will supply the plants with the required nutrients. It turns out that the traditional chemical soil tests and determining the pH of soil don't provide the information that is needed for a holistic garden approach.
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As a powerful climate solution, fungi store carbon longer and in higher concentrations in their hyphae in the soil than plants in their tissue. Even in your garden, you can create conditions to promote the underground network of fungi through less - but more thoughtful - maintenance practices, and you will help to counteract climate change. As a side effect, the soil chemistry will change, bringing your garden into a more advanced successional state which will not allow weeds to dominate.
POLLINATORS· SOIL·NATIVE PLANTS
Inspirational Presentations
About Dorte Windmuller
I am very passionate about solutions to counteract climate change and biodiversity loss and concerned about the effect on human mental and physical health caused by alienation from nature. I have been studying native plants and their associated fauna, soil, and societal norms for the last four years. Science and traditional Indigenous knowledge offer powerful and often straightforward solutions to these daunting problems of our time. I have gained practical knowledge through the experience of converting my garden into a pollinator paradise, organizing community volunteer work and sharpening my observation skills. We are in a time when positive environmental change gets embraced exponentially. I am excited to take you on this journey. This experience often sets people on fire or, as the elders say, wakes up the blood memory to reconnect, act and ultimately inspire others again.
Grow Your Garden From Seed
IT'S FUN AND EASY
Learn How to Grow Your Garden From Seed
It is very easy and satisfying to grow your garden from seed. You don't need grow lights or anything fancy. Some soil, containers, protection, water and a part sun location are all you need.
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Come to a hands-on workshop where you will learn from many years of my experience and will get started with lots of seeds and some materials.
