You’ve probably seen or heard that famous Native American proverb: “We don’t inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” As gardeners, we likely view the care of the earth in this way: that it is a blessing and a gift that we must do our best to care for, not just for ourselves but for future generations. We do this in small ways in our gardens, but we are also aware of the big picture and how fragile the health of the earth can be.
I received a wonderful Christmas gift from my dear hubby: an adoption of a burrowing owl who resides at the Saskatchewan Burrowing Owl Interpretive Centre in Moose Jaw. Along with a picture of our owl and our adoption certificate, we also received wonderful information about the burrowing owl population, which, sadly, the brochure says has declined 94% since the late 1980’s. These are amazing little birds that nest in abandoned burrows, and their habitat has been shrinking as grassland is disappearing. Years ago I was lucky enough to see Cricket, one of the Centre’s ambassador owls who was on tour, and when a calendar came with our owl information, I was thrilled to see that Cricket was still doing well.
The burrowing owls are just one more example of nature’s gems that are in trouble; and as gardeners we know that nature’s ecosystem is a very delicate balance. If one thing is suffering, other things fall out of balance as well. Education is one of the best tools for change. If you’d like to learn more about the burrowing owls, and perhaps become an adoption sponsor yourself, visit their site at www.skburrowingowl.ca to find out more. This could be a very special nature-related project you might want to be part of this year! I like the idea of setting a goal or thinking of a project, something that can make a difference in or for nature. It gets us motivated and focused!
In recent years you and I have been talking about planting various plants that will provide food for bees and butterflies; and while we are starting to think about our 2018 gardens, let’s continue to keep that goal in our minds. The plight of the bees may not be quite as dire as a couple years ago, but they are still in a delicate situation, and need our help. I probably shared this with you already, but last year we planted just a few extra short rows of flowers in our garden. We were rewarded by the sight of many bees drifting from flower to flower, and the soft drone of their buzzing on a hot summer afternoon was music to our ears! I liked to think that while our little patch was just one small pit-stop in their daily travels, there were other gardeners, like you, who planted up a little something extra for the bees. Working together, it makes a difference.
And it’s not hard to do: for example, the T & T Seed catalogues includes a butterfly icon by those plants that are butterfly friendly. So it is easy to make a list of possible plant choices.
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their first meeting of 2018 on Wednesday, February 21 at 7:00 p.m. at SIGN on North Street. It’s not that far away, so mark the date on your calendar! Everyone is welcome! And if you would like to see what’s new with the group, visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca
We look forward to seeing all our members, and we also extend an invitation to interested gardeners to join us. We have gardeners at all levels of ability, from novice greenthumbs to experienced gardeners. But when we are all together, we are all students, eager to learn more about one of our favorite things: gardening! So if you haven’t already, consider joining us, you’d be most welcome! Have a great week!
