2025-2026 Pollinator Garden for a Neighbour

Cara Gardens worked with a local neighbour to create a diverse pollinator garden designed to support wildlife while also becoming a beautiful and peaceful outdoor space for people to enjoy.

The garden was planned with a blend of native and non-native plant species, balancing ecological value with ornamental appeal. The goal was to create a planting that could support pollinators throughout the growing season while still feeling welcoming, colourful, and visually enjoyable for the homeowner and the surrounding neighbourhood.

The planting design included a wide range of nectar, pollen, foliage, and habitat-supporting plants, including creeping thyme, hairy beardtongue, nodding onion, false wild indigo, false sunflower, milkweed, purple hyssop, white turtlehead, cardinal flower, obedient plant, harebell, Jack Frost brunnera, gayfeather, Shasta daisy, scarlet bee balm, catmint, silver wormwood, weigela, tickseed, woolly blue violet, and dwarf Susan magnolia.

By using plants with different bloom times, flower shapes, heights, colours, and growing habits, the garden provides season-long interest for bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, and other beneficial insects. Early, mid-season, and late-season flowers help ensure that pollinators have access to food across more than one short bloom window.

This project was designed to be more than a private garden. Future phases will include a flagstone pathway and a public seating area near the adjacent bike path, allowing walkers, cyclists, and community members to pause, rest, and enjoy the space.

The long-term vision is to create a small neighbourhood sanctuary where people can slow down, connect with nature, and experience a quiet moment of beauty. More than just a pollinator garden, the space is intended to become a peaceful destination, a little piece of heaven within the neighbourhood.