CottageGardener Ⓥ
@cottagegardener.bsky.social
770 followers 220 following 360 posts
Southern Ontario-based wildlife gardener, animal lover, environmentalist 🇨🇦🌱 Working towards a 100% native plant garden. About 2/3rds done with removing the lawn.
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cottagegardener.bsky.social
From pollinator food (September 21) to becoming winter bird food (this week) - Dog-tooth Daisy (Helenium autumnale), aka Sneezeweed, looks amazing in the wildlife garden. I have it next to Joe Pye, as its blooms peak as the JP fades.

#nativeplants #gardening #ontarionativeplants
cottagegardener.bsky.social
An amazing story highlighting nature’s resilience. It was so exciting when 100+ year old seeds started growing as part of this wetland restoration. Now scientists have discovered historic fauna too.

#nativeplants #rewilding #climate #nature

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Creatures buried in soil for over a century burst back to life in Toronto waterfront
A project to restore coastal wetland leads to astonishing discoveries of a host of life: seeds and plant scraps, as well as water fleas, worms, larvae and plankton
www.theguardian.com
cottagegardener.bsky.social
One bumblebee 🐝 sheltering in Anise Hyssop this morning as we head into what will likely be our first round of overnight frost.

#inverts #gardening #nativeplants
Reposted by CottageGardener Ⓥ
ginnystibolt.bsky.social
Is your yard bird friendly? Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) built this nest using Spanish moss & more in a coral honeysuckle thicket. They also are the primary consumers of the honeysuckle berries. Read, "Coral honeysuckle creates habitat," greengardeningmatters.blogspot.com/2025/08/cora...
Photo of an empty birdnest built from Spanish moss and other fibers.
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Vegan - because the animal suffering at the hands of animal-use industries is unbearable. Because it makes a massive difference to my environmental footprint. The health benefits are a bonus, but I’ll take it.
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Staking season. 🤓

My experiments with the #ChelseaChop in late spring yielded promising results this year. Planning to be a little less conservative with it in 2026.

#NativePlants #gardening
Reposted by CottageGardener Ⓥ
aintright.bsky.social
A Ladybird sheltering in an unfurling bracken frond. #naure #wildlife #insects #InsectThursday
cottagegardener.bsky.social
So uplifting! Thanks for a lovely post. 😀
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Asters providing great colour and pollinator food in the garden today:

Flat-topped aster
Sky Blue aster
Calico aster (behind the Pearly Everlastings)
New England aster

#nativeplants #gardening #bloomscrolling #wildflowers
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Ladybird / Ladybug nesting in a curled up New Jersey Tea leaf this morning . 🐞❤️

#nativeplants #inverts #gardening
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Native Clematis (Clematis virginiana) in August (left) and September (right). It can be a prolific reseeder. But flowers emerge on new growth each season, so you can cut it back as needed or remove seed heads.

#nativeplants #whatyouplantmatters #gardening #ontarionativeplants
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Hope the vertigo goes away quickly.
Reposted by CottageGardener Ⓥ
themagikgarden.com
I was asked how to keep Japanese honeysuckle from coming back after pulling. You need to get these nodules at the base. Pulling just detaches the stem. If you leave these, they regrow. Usually giving it a purple nurple as you pull gets it out, but a soil knife works too. #invasivespecies
Green gloved hand holding Japanese honeysuckle root with a swollen bulbous structure from which the stem grows. Photo taken in the woods with forest floor and detritus visible beneath
cottagegardener.bsky.social
City of Burlington priorities: fighting these naturalised gardens with harsh penalties ($400k?!), by-law changes and court action. 🤦‍♀️

#ontario #burlington #nativeplants #gardening #ontarionativeplants

rabble.ca/environment/...
Burlington penalizing two residents with a naturalized garden
The City of Burlington is taking a mother and daughter to court over their naturalized garden.
rabble.ca
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Can we leave honey for the bees - please? And grow native plants that are still blooming this time of year?

It’s so sad that honeybees are trying to survive in North America, where they are not native, and are this desperate for food.

#vegan #nativeplants #inverts #bees

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...
Thousands of 'robber bees' invade B.C. apiarist's shop in attempted honey heist | CBC News
"Robber bees" hunt for dwindling resources in the late summer and early fall, but they usually only attack other beehives. So the owner of Rushing River Apiaries in Terrace, B.C., was shocked to find ...
www.cbc.ca
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Insect acrobatics this morning. 🤓

#inverts #nativeplants #gardening #whatyouplantmatters - in this case, Stiff-leaved Goldenrod (Solidago rigida), which tolerates dry conditions.
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Who needs all those mainstream chrysanthemums (🥱) this time of year when Bottle Gentian (Gentiana andrewsii) looks so showy from late summer to first frost and provides pollinator food?

#nativeplants #gardening #bloomscrolling #ontarionativeplants
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Not native plant related, I know. But this sheep is just so cute!

#sheep #animals #vegan #sentientbeings
minisanctuary.bsky.social
For anyone who needs a pickmeup —Jim at your service 🫡

Did you know sheep LOVE dandelions? 🌼

Whilst we’re busy foraging flowers, our hay bales are going down quickly due to poor grazing —if you can buy the sheep a bale or two, Jim would be so HUGELY grateful:

www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding... ❤️
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Finally found Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa) for the garden this year and it’s turned into a gorgeous, showy plant with long-lasting flowers and attractive seed pods. Highly, highly recommended.

#nativeplants #gardening #bloomscrolling
cottagegardener.bsky.social
Such wonderful overnight rain here and I was wondering where ‘my’ bumblebees found shelter. It’s so cute and ingenious- they did not disappoint. 🐝🌧️

#animals #inverts #nativeplants #gardening #bloomscrolling #sentientbeings