#greenercities — Public Fediverse posts

UK - Key plants for a #ClimateChange garden

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Thursday, 24 November 2022 at 11:30 am

Take a look at our pick of key plants to grow in a changing climate.

"With temperatures and levels of pollution on the rise, plants can help gardens and gardeners thrive in changing times.

"This might seem like a daunting prospect, but the good news for gardeners is that there are steps we can take at a local level to help ease the effects of these big issues.

"While we can use drought-tolerant plants to cope in raised temperatures, the long-term solution lies in reducing the heat. Some plants have been proven to actively improve the #microclimate of a garden and surrounding buildings. For example, plants like #jasmine, #EnglishIvy and #viburnum are able to cool a building by between 7-14ºC. Plants can also trap pollution by absorbing particulate matter. #Conifers have been found to be especially good at this due to their smaller leaf size and shape.

"On top of this, the more ecologically resilient we can make our gardens with increased planting, the better they will serve us as places to relax, reduce stress and improve our mental well-being."

Read more:
https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/grow-plants/key-plants-for-a-climate-change-garden/

#SolarPunkSunday #ClimateChangeGardening #ClimateChangeAdaptation #KeepingCool #DroughtTolerantPlants #GreenerCities

This place sounds so cool!

#Toronto - The Children’s Garden at #EvergreenBrickworks is where kids can explore and connect with nature. It’s a place for kids to get hands on the natural world, including exploring the garden’s rich array of plants.

- Summer weekdays, July and August: 5:30pm to dusk (after Summer Camp programs)
- School-Year weekdays, September through June: 4pm to dusk (after Children’s Education programs)
- Year-round weekends and holidays: 8am to dusk

Ecology at the Children’s Garden

"Our #UrbanAgriculture beds within the garden offer space to grow familiar veggies and herbs. Garden spaces like these can play a vital role in bringing together community members to work to grow food collectively. They can also teach us some valuable lessons on the value of farms and protected local agricultural land, which are able to produce food on a much larger scale.

Located inside the Children’s Garden, the Guild Garden is designed with children in mind. Made possible by support from Forester’s Financial, the garden is built around a central cherry tree surrounded by many species of plants (including fruit shrubs, berries, vegetables and herbs) to create a rich and diverse garden for children to explore. The plants chosen for this garden support #BeneficialInsects, help deter pests and protect the soil.

Lining the alley leading up the garden, stockpots and metal container were installed in 2021 by Foresters Financial, to showcase a regenerative landscape, while also providing food for both pollinators and people. The art on the planters was designed by #Délı̨nę #FirstNations artist and printmaker #LauraGrier.

Milkcrate containers are a legacy left over from the #BoweryProject, which seeks to set up mobile urban farms by setting up #ContainerGardens in urban lots. Initially installed in 2015 with an urban agriculture focus, the milkcrates were revitalized in 2023 into a native container garden concept. This project aims to demonstrate to visitors that NativePlantGardens can be planted anywhere, even without a yard. The containers also aim to model the creation of #GreenCorridors that connect fragmented pieces of habitat throughout the city; to this end they were planted out with plants donated by #ProjectSwallowtail, which aims to connect #greenspaces across the city.

The milkcrate containers in the alley contain edible native plant species. In 2023 they were planted out with the following:

• Anise Hyssop (Agastache foeniculum)
• Blue Vervain (Verbena hastata)
• Spotted Beebalm (Monarda punctata)
• Violets (Viola labradorica)
• Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)"

FMI:
https://www.evergreen.ca/evergreen-brick-work/activities/the-childrens-garden/

#SolarPunkSunday #SpendTimeInNature #NatureBasedLearning #BuildingCommunity #EdibleGarden #GreenerCities #UrbanGardens #MoreGreenTimeLessScreenTime #ChildrensGarden

The #depaving groups reclaiming #UrbanGreenSpace

by Jennifer Cole, Mar 21, 2026

"It took two years, but finally, in 2025, Jean Norwood’s dream of turning the parking lot at #MorningstarMissionary Baptist Church in #PortlandOR, into a play area for children and a #FoodGarden with #FruitTrees came true. Working with Norwood to bring her vision to reality was #DepavePortland. Since 2008, the Portland-based nonprofit has been digging up paved surfaces, freeing the trapped soil underneath and #regreening the newly reclaimed space.

"There are an estimated 2 billion parking places in the United States, an area comparable in size to the entire state of Vermont. That figure does not include #sidewalks, schoolyards or other paved surfaces, which, along with #CarParks, trap heat, intensifying the urban #HeatIsland effect in some cases by up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit compared with surrounding areas. '#Asphalt makes your space hotter in the summertime, and colder in the wintertime,' Norwood says.

"When asphalt is removed and the soil beneath is exposed, those dynamics begin to reverse. The ground can absorb and store #carbon, and #rainwater is able to filter into the soil rather than running off into sewers. #Trees and #gardens can be planted that provide shade and a #habitat is created for #birds, #insects and other #wildlife.

"This was Norwood’s dream for the parking lot at Morningstar. Going from concrete to fruit trees, though, takes patience. 'First,' she says, 'there was about six months of planning and submitting requests for permitting.'

"Depave guided Norwood and the church through all of it, even seeking out grants to help cover costs. When it came time to depave the parking lot, volunteers recruited by Depave used crowbars, shovels, bare hands and wheelbarrows to lift out the pavement and daylight the soil beneath. Depave also worked with Morningstar on finding contractors to build the play area and raised #GardenBeds, and on choosing the plants for each newly #regreened space. It’s a process Depave has perfected at more than 82 sites across Portland."

https://www.rewildingmag.com/the-depaving-groups-reclaiming-urban-green-space/

#SolarPunkSunday #MoreGreenCities #GreenerCities #RewildingCities #MoreParksLessParkingLots #WildlifeHabitat