Nature Regina volunteers undertake restoration of native plant garden
A native plant garden in Regina is undergoing a two-year restoration project being carried out by volunteer members of Nature Regina.
The 70-foot by 30-foot garden, which has been located outside of the Royal Saskatchewan Museum since 1994, is relied upon by more than two-dozen species of birds, most of which are migratory.
Gail Fennell, volunteer leader of the project, said these migratory birds include wild sparrows, goldfinches, downy woodpeckers and nuthatches.
Several different species of bees and butterflies have also been spotted.
“Last year, the entomologist at the museum found several rare species of bees in that garden, so we were quite happy to find out that,” she said.
The restoration, which started this summer, involves tearing out invasive species that have crept in — plants like Canada thistle, quack grass and dandelions — and replacing them with native species.
“Right now we’re looking at a couple of years just because of the way our invasive species grow. You can’t get rid of them in one year,” said Fennell.
Wayne Pepper, conservation director at Nature Regina, has been involved with the native plant garden since the late 1990s. He said the garden started out with around 72 native plant species.
“Some have died out and others have come in, so we figure we have slightly over 50 species now,” he said.
Species blooming in the garden right now include pink wild bergamot (which Pepper said smells like Earl Grey tea), the tall blue giant hyssop and the showy milkweed loved by the monarch butterfly.
He said the restoration project is needed because the garden has become a little overgrown, and Nature Regina is hoping to plant some new species.
“We are using a mulch of newspaper bundle underneath six to 10 inches of bark and pine needle mulch, and that reduces the water and sunlight available to the seed bank of the invasive seeds,” said Fennell. This allows volunteers to control the amount of seeds produced by the unwanted plant species.
“It’s just time for a bit of a renewal, you know, to find some of the plants that we had and make sure they’ve got room to grow,” she said.
There are between six and eight volunteers who meet every Thursday morning to work in the garden, and Fennell said more volunteers are always welcome.
Pepper encourages people to come out and see the garden while it’s blooming through the summer months, and said there are new plants flowering nearly every week.