2025: a year in review

MAPP had a very productive year in 2025, from seeing our gardens flourish to creating new ones, and even meeting with city staff. In every garden we put in we saw an influx of pollinators calling them home, and our sales were even busier than ever! We are extremely grateful for the support our community shows us.

Seedlings and Sales

MAPP held two very successful native plant seedling sales on July 6^th and August 17th at Agincourt Park.  We had many varieties for sale and were able to offer advice and information for new and experienced gardeners.  

A sampling of some of the available plants: 

• Coreopsis
• Purple Love Grass
• Black-Eyed Susan
• Blue-Stemmed Goldenrod
• Butterfly Milkweed
• Cardinal Flower
• Calico Aster
• Wild Bergamot
• And more!

For our sales next summer, we’ll start winter sowing in January to give seeds the longest time possible outside under the snow. We source all our plant seeds from the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library, and as fall is well underway, we’re deciding on the plants we’ll grow for next year.  If there are plants you would like to have, please send us a message here, and we’ll see if we can find seeds for them.  Please note, we usually only sell plants that we ourselves have grown.   

NCC Experimental Farm Pathway Area / Woodroffe Storm Ponds

At the end of April, Andrea and Pam met with Alex Stone, NCC Acting Biologist, at the NCC multi use pathway between Maitland Ave and Woodroffe Ave.  We were there to ask questions about the removal of 2 hectares of invasive species, including the invasive European Spindle Trees.  The remediation, cutting and tarping was completed by contractors experienced with NCC lands, ensuring that only necessary trees were removed.  The affected areas will continue to be monitored for invasive species regrowth. Follow-up restoration to replace the invasive species will use native plants, shrubs, grasses and a seed mix.   We had a good tour of the area, discussing future plans and how MAPP could help.  We asked about having a MAPP raised bed near the  storm ponds that would be a teaching/demonstration garden.  Alex felt that this would be a great benefit to the area.  

In early October, Pam and I again met with Alex as well as with Forestry staff, Nicole. Alex offered MAPP six raised garden beds at the Woodroffe Avenue storm ponds to plant native pollinator plants. Signage and plant tags will be a joint task, but MAPP will provide the plants and put them into the beds. We’ll be putting out a call for volunteers for help with this project!  

Ainsley Park Multi Use Pathway Gardens 

In June, Harry and Andrea met with the city project manager for the new Multi Use Pathway installation at Ainsley Park, Chris Geen, to discuss the project.  We wanted to learn about the environmental impact, as well as the impact to the baseball diamond, which is heavily used for both league and neighbourhood games of baseball, softball, and cricket.  We were happy to learn that the diamond would not be adversely impacted as work would be done after the season was over.  

At this meeting, we also asked if a couple of native plant gardens that we would tend could be dug on the side of the path.  He was very agreeable, and in August, Harry, Chris, and two new City staff members who are managing the Community-led Greening Initiatives and Gardening Program met in Ainsley Park.  At this meeting the location of the new native gardens was determined.  During work the markings for the gardens were disturbed and will need to be replaced.  Once the pathway project has passed the final inspection, the gardens will be outlined again and dug by the contractors.  We will be looking for mulch for the gardens and a water source for spring planting.  

Since Ainsley Park is primarily in Copeland Park, we have contacted Stephen Harrod and Adrian Mckeague of the Copeland Park Community Alliance regarding a larger community collaboration, Copeland Park/Bel-Air/MAPP, for these gardens.  They’re very keen, and we hope we’ll be able to enlist volunteers to help plant and manage the gardens over the next three years.

Agincourt Rd. Boulevard Gardens

After nurturing the Agincourt Rd. Boulevard Gardens through two winters and one very hot summer, the beds are a marvel.   For anyone walking by the area, the difference between before and after is night and day.  A boulevard strip that was grass and weeds, offering no pollinator support, is now a vibrant, colourful and bio-diverse garden bed that attracts all types of pollinators.  Karina designed our new permanent signs that were installed in early August!

Fall has brought many new sightings in these gardens.  Continuous blooms are still attracting many bees, moths, bunnies and birds that have been visiting daily.  Spring blooming plants such as Native Columbine have dropped seeds and little seedlings have started to put down roots for next spring.  Some late Asters  (Lindley’s Aster and Heath Aster) are still blooming with bees hovering around once the sun has warmed them.  Goldfinches have found the Purple and Pale Purple Coneflowers and have stripped them of seeds.

Ainsley Boulevard Pollinator Garden

MAPP’s latest boulevard project was completed in June on Ainsley Dr.  This small ROW bed is packed with native plants and packs all the punch of a larger garden.  Karina MacIsaac designed the garden with help of the homeowner and on June 8^th, with help from the homeowner and son,  Karina and Andrea mulched and planted.  A small fence has since been installed.  With help from a few volunteers, this garden has been weeded and is filling in very well.  It will be wonderful to see the change in it next year.  More flowers and more pollinators to come!

Agincourt Road Public School Gardens

In January 2025, Pam and Andrea spent six days at Agincourt Road Public School giving a 3-part workshop to the Grade 6 students on the ecological importance of pollinators and native plants. The presentations gave the students opportunities to ask questions and conduct simple research. On the last day, they were given materials for winter sowing seeds. The containers were then placed in the raised beds in the school’s quiet yard area.  These plants were for the remediation of the gardens at the front of the school.

MAPP members and some generous volunteers spent a few arduous days digging up years of old plants, weeds, shrubs and even trees to renew the school’s front entrance gardens.  The beds were overrun with weeds and invasive plants.  The School Board generously supplied 4 cubic yards of mulch.  On June 26^th, almost the last day of school, the Grade 6 classes planted in the gardens.  Unfortunately, the students’ seedlings were too small to plant. However, with MAPP’s own stock and  donations received from Sandy Garland at Wild Pollinator Partners, the students had plenty of larger plants to place in the ground.  Students who wanted to were able to take some of their own seedlings home to plant.

Agincourt Road Public School Quiet Yard Gardens

Last summer Harry, Andrea, and Pam spent much time clearing overgrowth and planting native plants in the Quiet Yard.  This spring there was some damage to these plants; however, after a general tidy up and trimming of shrubs the gardens looked much better.  

Over the summer Pam, with some help from Andrea, covered the area with mulch and planted more plants from their own gardens and from seedlings picked up at an Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library give away.   Signs reminding people to keep out of sensitive areas were replaced, and by September, the gardens were looking quite good.  We did have to water these gardens because of the new plantings, but the plants should be established next year and will require less maintenance.