Last week a couple of our gardeners had the honour of sharing what they learned about seed sowing to a group of primary students at the local school.
We arrived early to fill containers with soil and distribute them to different tables. Working in pairs mostly, each group planted a different native, pollinator-friendly plant.
They have been learning about pollinator gardens for a while now, so they were very excited to sow some seeds today. Back in December, the students had collected enough single-use yogurt containers, pop bottles and clear clamshell packaging for today’s activity. We also brought extra seeds for them to attach to a worksheet we had prepared.
Some pictures of the containers after the sowing activity, and how they’ve been placed outside for the winter
We introduced the importance of growing pollinator friendly gardens with a story, which P.L. read to the class.
A lovely work of art by our talented photographer, gardener and now resident artist, Priscilla Lee.
A couple of our gardeners attended a talk and workshop today where we learned a great deal about winter sowing of native plants. We also came away with some free seeds to try in our pollinator gardens!
It was a lovely evening. The Scarborough Philharmonic Ochestra and the Bach Children’s Choir gave an outstanding performance of classical music, and beautiful renditions of classic Christmas carols. Scarborough has so much talent to offer, and it was a pleasure to support these talented artists today.
The orchestra was wonderful and the children’s choir sang like angels. Thankfully the conductor gave us a brief background about each piece they performed which made us appreciate it even more. Would do it again!
We gathered in November to talk about “How to Age Dis-Gracefully” written by Clare Pooley. The novel was a positive read to aging. Appreciating the characters’ resiliency to difficult circumstances and how the group came together to save the community centre. They did not let their age refrain them from a sense of adventure or facing situations head on, be it politicians or the police. We realize, no matter our age you are able to learn new things and still have a few tricks up your sleeve.
What difficult circumstances? What tricks up their sleeve? Time for you to read the book for yourself or listen to the audio version.
Our next read in January will be Proof written by Beverley McLachlin.
Don’t know what to prepare for dinner today? Let our Rosewood community help you out with recipes they enjoy preparing at home. Click on image to access instructions. All images belong to the original linked website creator and not Rosewood. Enjoy!
Butternut Squash Curry with Chickpeas submitted by AshifaSpicy Salmon Sushi Bake submitted by ZhenTandoori Chicken submitted by AshifaVegetable Pilau – great dish to go with chicken submitted by AshifaButternut Squash Soup You may also add a granny smith apple for a sour and sweet flavour. submitted by ZhenRaspberry Marzipan Torte submitted by Judy full recipe below:
Judy’s Raspberry Marzipan Torte
1-1/3 cup flour 1 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 egg, beaten 1/2 cup raspberry jam
Blend dry ingredients in large bowl & cut in butter with egg(or pulse in food processor). Mix well and press into a 9 inch greased springform pan. raise the crust on the side of the pan. Spread 1/4 cup jam over dough and refrigerate with plastic wrap until filling is prepared.
FILLING: 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter 2/3 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 tsp almond extract 1 cup blanched ground almonds
Cream butter and sugar. Add almonds and continue to beat. Add eggs one at a time and beat well together. Mix in almond extract. Pour mixture over dough and jam. Bake at 350 for 50 min. Check after 30 minutes of baking, if top is too brown reduce temperature to 325 degrees for the last 20 minutes. Cool in pan until lukewarm; remove sides and let cool completely. Spread remaining jam over top. You may top with toasted sliced almonds .
There’s nothing so rewarding about a pollinator garden as when we get to catch a glimpse of local bees and butterflies actually feeding from the flowers we’ve planted, watered and nurtured for the entire season.
As the growing season ends, our volunteer gardeners have been doing some mulching and weeding, but also collecting seeds for next spring. Here we are collecting seeds from some Joe Pye Weed, Stiff and Zig Zag Goldenrod, and some Bottle Brush Grass.
The Black-Eyed Susans are still flowering, lending a little bright yellow glow to this late autumn, Hunter’s Moon season.
On October 17th Rosewood Reads got together to talk about Crosshairs written by James Patterson and James O. Born. Michael Bennett is a police detective with NYPD who has a very large family and a dad that is a “father”. This particular case forces him to collaborate with the FBI, which brings along more intrigue. The author deftly demonstrates the dark side of humanity and is able to bring in humour at appropriate times to alleviate the seriousness of the situation. A great mystery for your reading pleasure.
What do I mean about a very large family? Why father in quotes? Read for yourself or listen to the audio to discover the answer to these questions and much more.
Since our two first novels have been dark, we have decided to lighten the mood and read “How to Age Disgracefully” by Clare Pooley. A very humourous novel.
Yesterday evening the Scarborough Rosewood Community Association held an official AGM at Alexmuir Jr Public School at 7pm. We were able to vote in our by-laws and officially elect our current slate of directors. Thank you to everyone who took the time out of their busy schedules to attend, update their memberships and help us adhere to the current act governing small organizations like ours. As mentioned in the meeting, all members are welcome to contact us directly if they want a copy of the by-laws or financial statements.
We were also happy to have Tyler and Judy from Toronto 311 come and present about this very useful and important service to our residents. In the future, in cases of potholes, roadkill, unplowed roads and sidewalks, untrimmed trees on city property and other city service concerns, please call 311 (and maybe not Alura, who will simply have to call 311 on your behalf!)
We also thank Councillor Myers and Sana for coming to our meeting and following up on local concerns raised by residents at our spring meeting, including the Montezuma Trail plaza development and the hot water situation at the Agincourt Rec Centre.
Finally, a member of our local 42 Division gave a very informative presentation on crime prevention, especially pertaining to auto theft, break-and-enters and robbery. We will be including a copy of the presentation in the next Rosewood eblast.
P.S. we also presented a certificate of acknowledgement to a very lovely Rosewood resident who has been working tirelessly to rejuvenate our gardens and really re-animate the community activities this year. She doesn’t like her name shared publicly, so we will not be posting her name and photo here, but we all know who you are. Thank you again! Our gardens, website, and so much more, would not be the same without you.
In recent weeks, students from Grades 1 and 2 at the local schools have been visiting the Rosewood Community Pollinator Gardens to explore tree life cycles, the significance of native plants in enhancing Toronto’s biodiversity, and the roles of pollination and environmental stewardship. These visits will continue throughout the year as part of their studies on plant life cycles.
The students have shown great enthusiasm and curiosity, eagerly observing various pollinators like butterflies, bees, and birds at work in the gardens. After the holidays, garden group members will engage the students in winter sowing, helping them grow native plants that will be planted in the gardens in 2025 and shared with students for their home gardens. Additionally, the students will create their own sunflower patch in the gardens using seeds harvested from this year’s sunflowers. The Rosewood Pollinator Garden Group is also assisting Alexmuir Junior Public School in establishing a pollinator garden as part of the school’s 50th anniversary celebrations.
Scarborough Rosewood Community Association 