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Let Your Garden Be Alive
LOVE•LEARN•LEAP•LIBERATE
A Pollinator Garden with Native Plants brings joy, wonder and awe that even the most beautiful ornamental flowers can never achieve. Ornamental plants are introduced and have not co-evolved intrinsic relations with animals and other organisms in our ecosystem. They miss the deeper connection to the whole and the essence of life. By matching the right native plants to the place you care for, you provide food and shelter for many creatures, and you will see biodiversity unfold in front of your eyes.
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Your pollinator garden not only takes action against biodiversity loss but also draws significantly more carbon into the soil and soaks up astonishingly more rain. Therefore it is counteracting climate change and brings hope.
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My mission is to help you learn quickly in a fun and eye-opening way and reconnect you to the marvels of self-healing natural systems so you can enjoy a lavish garden and discover fascinating facettes including the wild side of yourself.
Seed Workshop
Learn how to grow your own native plants successfully
In this workshop, you will find suitable plants for your garden conditions and learn different methods to grow these plants from seed. We will sow some samples, and you can choose more seeds from the list below that will thrive in your garden to take home.
Back in November, 2024
$ 45 per person
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We can also talk about:​
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Hostplants for butterflies and pollen specialist bees and the takeaway for our gardens.
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A step-by-step plan to create a beautiful pollinator garden by next summer.
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The importance of living soil and soft landings.
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Beneficial garden maintenance practices for insects, soil, birds and all wildlife.
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Increase vegetable yields with native plants and how to implement them in a vegetable garden.
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Native plants for container gardening on a balcony or terrasse.
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Practices to improve your soil, its water retention and fertility.
Seed Workshop
Learn how to grow your own native plants successfully
In this workshop, you will find suitable plants for your garden conditions and learn different methods to grow these plants from seed. We will sow some samples, and you can choose more seeds from the list below that will thrive in your garden to take home.
Back in November, 2024
$ 45 per person
​
​
We can also talk about:​
-
Hostplants for butterflies and pollen specialist bees and the takeaway for our gardens.
-
A step-by-step plan to create a beautiful pollinator garden by next summer.
-
The importance of living soil and soft landings.
-
Beneficial garden maintenance practices for insects, soil, birds and all wildlife.
-
Increase vegetable yields with native plants and how to implement them in a vegetable garden.
-
Native plants for container gardening on a balcony or terrasse.
-
Practices to improve your soil, its water retention and fertility.
Nora, Toronto
Thanks for a fun and very informative afternoon! I learned so much.
Jen, Toronto
Thank you, Dorte, for organizing! I am so happy I made some new friends and got all the seeds I need.
Ruth, Toronto
I wanted specific advice to be confident to get started and I got all my questions answered.
Comments from workshop participants
Bring Live Into Your Garden
LOVE•LEARN•LEAP•LIBERATE
A Pollinator Garden with Native Plants brings joy, wonder and awe that even the most beautiful ornamental flowers can never achieve. Ornamental plants are introduced and have not co-evolved intrinsic relations with animals and other organisms in our ecosystem. They miss the deeper connection to the whole and the essence of life. By matching the right native plants to the place you care for, you provide food and shelter for many creatures, and you will see biodiversity unfold in front of your eyes.
​
Your pollinator garden not only takes action against biodiversity loss but also draws significantly more carbon into the soil and soaks up astonishingly more rain. Therefore it is counteracting climate change and bringing hope.
​
My mission is to help you learn quickly in a playful and eye-opening way and reconnect you to the marvels of functioning systems so you can enjoy a lavish garden and soak up fascinating discoveries every day.
Now is the Time to Grow Your Garden From Seed
IT'S FUN AND EASY
Soil Workshop
Work with nature and improve your soil in one season!
Have you ever wondered how wild ecosystems sustain themselves - how plants thrive and are resilient? Have you ever wondered how your soil is fairing - how you can help nature restore her health in the City?
Bring a soil or compost sample, and we will examine the soil's biology under a microscope. You will watch the action in your sample on a big TV screen and learn how the different soil microbes work together to feed and protect your plants.
Each workshop will cater to the group's interests, questions, and goals.
Gardeners coming together always create a beautiful community, so we had extraordinary times in our Winter Seed Workshops.
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Weekends or evenings
$ 45 per person
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After you have expressed interest, I will contact you to arrange a convenient date. We work and learn while enjoying a cappuccino, cup of tea, or coffee in a spacious, clean, and cozy meeting room in the Kingston Road and St. Clair East area.
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Disclaimer: After experiencing the life in your soil, you will never see the world with the same eyes again.
Let Your Garden Be Alive
LOVE•LEARN•LEAP•LIBERATE
A Pollinator Garden with Native Plants brings joy, wonder and awe that even the most beautiful ornamental flowers can never achieve. Ornamental plants are introduced and have not co-evolved intrinsic relations with animals and other organisms in our ecosystem. They miss the deeper connection to the whole and the essence of life. By matching the right native plants to the place you care for, you provide food and shelter for many creatures, and you will see biodiversity unfold in front of your eyes.
​
Your pollinator garden not only takes action against biodiversity loss but also draws significantly more carbon into the soil and soaks up astonishingly more rain. Therefore is counteracting climate change and bringing hope.
​
My mission is to help you learn quickly in a playful and eye-opening way and reconnect you to the marvels of functioning systems so you can enjoy a lavish garden and soak up fascinating discoveries every day.
Share your Garden
WITH BEES, BIRDS AND BUTTERFLIES
A Pollinator Garden with Native Plants brings joy and awe that even the most beautiful ornamental flowers can never do. Ornamental plants are introduced and, therefore, not part of our ecosystem. Consequently, they miss the deeper 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 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.
Save Time and Money
Get Advice.
Pollinator Garden by Dorte is here to help make this season count!
Book a fun Garden Consultation, an eye-opening Biological Soil Examination, an Inspirational Presentation, or a Seed Growing Workshops.
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.
We can help you choose plants that will thrive in your garden conditions and get you started successfully.
If you have children or grandchildren or are a kid at heart, a pollinator garden will bring wonder and awe to your doorsteps. Get out in the morning to look for monarch caterpillars munching on your milkweed, looking bigger every day. Enjoy seeing many butterflies basking in the sun and sipping nectar throughout the day, creating the most stunning colour combinations with their wings and the flowers they land on. Slender through your garden in the evening and find male bees sleeping all curled up in some flowers or hanging from some flower pedals. Discover shiny metallic green bees or bees with black and white stripes during the summer. Notice how wild bee species become numerous and then disappear during the season. Observe how different species of native bees prefer different flowers, how some collect pollen on their legs while others on their stomach and some not at all. Why? Enjoy the birds feeding on the seeds in winter, swaying on elegant flowerheads in the icy wind.
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By creating a pollinator garden, you allow life to unfold again how nature intended it. Exuberant, beautiful, and full of intelligent relations.
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A pollinator garden can also increase your curb appeal, lower flood risk and save time mowing the lawn.
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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
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 all the materials.
Workshops & Zoom Calls
Workshops provide personalized hands-on learning in groups of 3-5 people.
We meet in a comfortable, clean setting for about 3 hours.
Did you get curious about the fascinating microbial ecosystem in your garden soil? Book a biological soil exploration or learn more at www.pollinatorgarden.ca.Also, on the website, find information on seed-growing workshops, which include all needed seeds. I will organize a couple of plant sales throughout the year. If you are interested in specific plants, send me an email to dorte@pollinatorgarden.ca and I will let you know if I can get them, at what price, and if I can deliver them. Let me know the amount needed, your preferred time and your address. On Earthday, April 20th, with the Cliffcrest Butterflyway, I will be at the Scarborough Green Fair Event, organized by the Scarborough Environmental Association. Check out the details on my Facebook.Orders for our Native Tree Giveaway can now be placed. Pick up: May 25th, 2024.The Cliffcrest Butterflyway is organizing a Summer Festival that is taking place on June 22nd, 2024, at 3113 St. Clair Avenue East/ Victoria Park. It is called Connect, Cultivate and Celebrate. We will have a sing-along, a community art workshop, a show and tell and a sale of grasses and sedges.If you are interested in helping with the creative planning of the Summer event or would like to volunteer at the event or the tree giveaway, contact me at cliffcrestbutterflyway@gmail.com.I wish you a Happy Gardening Season, lots of butterflies, bees and birds! And hope to connect with you at one of the events.With best wishes,Dortedorte@pollinatorgarden.ca​
