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.
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.
Last month, the ladies of the Rosewood Women’s Wellness Group enjoyed a delightful trip to Evergreen Brickworks, where nature and creativity beautifully come together. It was an afternoon filled with rejuvenation and new connections, in a vibrant community setting. Nestled in the scenic Don Valley, the Brickworks offered picturesque trails for exploration, along with meaningful conversations over tea and delicious homemade snacks at the Picnic Café.
Photo from the trail – credit to Sandra
Our upcoming adventures include a visit to Toogood Pond Park and Main Street Unionville, a holiday concert by the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salvation Army Citadel, and a celebratory Holiday lunch at the Queen Victoria Pub. Additionally, the Rosewood Women’s Wellness Group will be collecting items to donate to the Qajuqturvik Community Food Centre to support Inuit families living in Nunavut.
This September we were able to partner with our local elementary schools and have some of their students visit our gardens. The students did some planting and winter sowing of native plants, in the process learning about native plants and their importance in saving our pollinator friends.
We also received a very generous donation of tree stumps and mulch from Birch Cliff Tree Care, providing some additional mulching, habitat and seating.
We held our first book club meeting on September 12th. The ladies gathered to discuss the novel “How to Bury Your Husband” by Alexia Casale. The novel takes place in the UK, so we gathered around the dining room table with our fascinators and enjoyed refreshments while discussing the novel.
It was the first time any of us have read a novel by Alexia Casale but it will not be the last. The topic was compelling and the author quickly drew us in. The women in the novel came from varying backgrounds and developed a close bond through each of their tragedies. It demonstrated their strength and a will to move forward in their lives. We found ourselves feeling compassion for the four women in each of their difficult situations, and an unlikely ally surprised us all.
What was the difficult situation? Who is the unlikely ally? You will have to read for yourself to find the answers to these and many more questions.
Some of the book club ladies with their fascinators and book!
Our next read will be “Crosshairs” by James Patterson. We’re looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this one!
Our book club, Rosewood Reads, was launched the first week of August. The book club is headed by our very own Lisa B. The group will read one book a month, and meet once a month on a Friday evening to discuss the book. The first book we will be reading has an interesting title and an equally interesting plot: The Best Way to Bury Your Husband by Alexia Casale
Readers can choose any format to enjoy the book(e-copy, print or audio). This is a fun way to read books, get to know more people in the community, take a break from our regular routines, dive into great discussions, open up our worlds, discover new authors and stories, and have a laugh too! This is a safe, non- judgmental environment in which to enjoy good discussions, you don’t have to be a bookworm to join, and language is not a barrier.
Who we are: The Rosewood Women’s Wellness Group was established in July 2023. It is a volunteer led, grassroots organization for women of all ages, cultures and backgrounds in the neighbourhood of Rosewood. Our membership has grown from 7 to 40 women in the last year. The Rosewood Women’s Wellness Group is a proud recipient of the certificate of recognition, from Councillor Jamaal Myers, for outstanding contributions to the well-being of the community.
What we do: We organize activities that strengthen the support network of women in Rosewood and increase their circle of friends. Our activities focus on the mental, physical and social well-being of women.
Our Activities: So far, we have been on hikes in the Rouge Urban National Park, bowling, visited the Aga Khan Museum, had a Mother’s Day Celebration Lunch, organized a weekly walking group, had a Christmas Potluck, collected donations of care packages for a local women’s shelter, participated in the community clean up and gardening activities in the Rosewood Community Gardens, and attended webinars and workshops on mental health organised by the Scarborough Women’s Centre. We are launching a book club for the Rosewood Community in the in the Fall and planning to do much more!
If you would like to join the Rosewood Women’s Wellness Group or need more information, please email us at: Rosewoodwellness2023@outlook.com
Who we are: The Rosewood Pollinator Garden Group was established in September 2023. Our group of 25 gardeners are from the Rosewood Community. They are of different ages, cultures and backgrounds. While our group has expert and novice gardeners, we all learn from each other. We also offer volunteer hours to high school students and will involve local elementary schools to engage students in creating pollinator friendly gardens. The Rosewood Pollinator Garden Group is a proud recipient of the Certificate of Recognition, presented by Councillor Jamaal Myers, for outstanding contributions to the community.
What we do: Our main goal is to rehabilitate the Rosewood Community Gardens. These are located on the Northeast and Northwest corners of the intersection at Alexmuir Boulevard and Finch Avenue East. We are creating pollinator-friendly gardens to help preserve and increase the population of pollinators in our city. Some of the pollinators that we are trying to help are butterflies, bees, moths and birds.
the Rosewood gardens before the update
What we are growing in the community gardens: Most of the plants that we are growing are native to Canada. These include, Serviceberry trees, Black-eyed Susans, Echinacea, Golden Rod, Bee Balm, Sunflowers and Butterfly Milkweed. Native plants provide pollinators with food, nectar and nesting sites.
If you would like to join our group or need more information, please email us at: rosewoodpollinators@gmail.com
Our Proud Partners and Sponsors We are grateful to the following partners and sponsors for helping us to create our beautiful community gardens: – Scarborough Rosewood Community Association – Canadian Tire, Agincourt – Birchcliff Treecare: https://birchclifftreecare.com/ – Pollinate TO – Cliffcrest Butterflyway, A David Suzuki Foundation Community Project: https://www.cliffcrestbutterflyway.com/
Scarborough Rosewood Community Association 