by Jami Blaauw-Hara If you've seen a twining vine with glossy, oval leaves, small pinkish/purple star-shaped flowers, and long pods later in the season that release silky, milkweed-like seeds, you've likely encountered dog-strangling vine. The name actually refers to two invasive plants native to Eurasia: black swallowwort (Vincetoxicum nigrum) and pale swallowwort (Vincetoxicum rossicum). Most common in the GTA is the pale swallowwort, featured in these photos. Photo: Jim Natale,...

By Jami Blaauw-Hara Spring landscapers are out at many condominium complexes and buildings as they blow leaves and pull away fallen limbs. It’s bustling work and accepted as basic maintenance for many homeowners, but at Blooming Boulevards, we know that clearing away leaves and twigs too early disrupts pollinators who rely on fall detritus for nesting and laying eggs. If you allow leaves to remain in place until the days are consistently 10 degrees or more, you will protect habitat for the...

By Jami Blaauw-Hara While all of us at Blooming Boulevards are drawn to the beauty and diversity of native gardens, we each have a different canvas on which to paint the colours and shapes of our favourite plants. Some of us have spacious yards on wide streets; others have smaller, circumscribed plots in townhouse complexes or on the patios of tall condo buildings. Liz Piggott has spent the past 30 years in her Mississauga neighbourhood of neat brick townhouses, each with a tiny garden in the...