Gardening for Backyard Biodiversity in Canada This forum is maintained by UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research to promote backyard biodiversity and habitats in Canada as part of the Garden's partnership with the <a href="http://www.cwf-fcf.org/" title="Canadian Wildlife Federation">Canadian Wildlife Federation</a>. Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:52:40 +0000 Tue, 10 Mar 2026 11:52:40 +0000 UBC Botanical Garden Forums https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/forums/gardening-for-backyard-biodiversity-in-canada.339/ Vancouverites stepping up to keep hummingbirds safe this winter Fri, 19 Jan 2024 07:48:51 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/vancouverites-stepping-up-to-keep-hummingbirds-safe-this-winter.103986/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/vancouverites-stepping-up-to-keep-hummingbirds-safe-this-winter.103986/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Vancouverites stepping up to keep hummingbirds safe this winter | Vancouver Sun​
Related: Extreme cold leading to 'dramatic increase' in injured hummingbirds, says rescue organization | CBC...

Vancouverites stepping up to keep hummingbirds safe this winter]]> Cold snap taking a toll on B.C.'s Anna's hummingbirds Wed, 31 May 2023 11:30:54 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/cold-snap-taking-a-toll-on-b-c-s-annas-hummingbirds.101776/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/cold-snap-taking-a-toll-on-b-c-s-annas-hummingbirds.101776/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Cold snap taking a toll on B.C.'s Anna's hummingbirds​]]> 14 Eyesore or urban oasis? Vancouver's 'roadside meadows' mow up controversy Wed, 15 Jun 2022 16:47:32 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/eyesore-or-urban-oasis-vancouvers-roadside-meadows-mow-up-controversy.102444/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/eyesore-or-urban-oasis-vancouvers-roadside-meadows-mow-up-controversy.102444/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Eyesore or urban oasis? Vancouver's 'meadows' mow up controversy | Vancouver Sun​
Reference:...

Eyesore or urban oasis? Vancouver's 'roadside meadows' mow up controversy]]> 1 Bird baths, feeders should be removed to stop spread of avian flu: B.C. SPCA Fri, 06 May 2022 06:44:13 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bird-baths-feeders-should-be-removed-to-stop-spread-of-avian-flu-b-c-spca.102253/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/bird-baths-feeders-should-be-removed-to-stop-spread-of-avian-flu-b-c-spca.102253/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Bird baths, feeders should be removed to stop spread of avian flu: B.C. SPCA​
]]> 1 Avian Death Mask Thu, 20 Jan 2022 17:12:32 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/avian-death-mask.101857/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/avian-death-mask.101857/ invalid@example.com (Eric La Fountaine) Eric La Fountaine
I was having my morning coffee at our Tucson home. I looked out the large windows of the front veranda and the sun was illuminating a pattern on the window. Looks like a bird, I thought. Then I realized it really was an image of a bird! It was the dead bird we had found when we arrived. When it hit the window, the impact must have knocked sticky dust from the bird and it left an impression of the bird's final moment on the glass! It's creepy as you can...

Avian Death Mask]]> Hoping someone can identify a bird Mon, 01 Nov 2021 09:35:21 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/hoping-someone-can-identify-a-bird.98978/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/hoping-someone-can-identify-a-bird.98978/ invalid@example.com (pmurphy) pmurphy It has appeared only twice at the waterfall and appears to be a little smaller than an american robin. Can anyone put a name to it?]]> 7 2011 "Most Attractive to Bees" plants! Thu, 03 Jun 2021 16:21:59 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/2011-most-attractive-to-bees-plants.71114/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/2011-most-attractive-to-bees-plants.71114/ invalid@example.com (WesternWilson) WesternWilson
Lots of plants attracted bees, but three plants in particular were MOBBED by bees, and to make things better all have long, long bloom periods:

1. Sweet Cicely (Myrrhus odorata) (nice as it blooms so early in the spring)

2. Bronze Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare)...and it looks fab in...

2011 "Most Attractive to Bees" plants!]]> 8 Remove your bird feeders: SPCA warns of salmonella transmission Wed, 24 Feb 2021 16:18:55 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/remove-your-bird-feeders-spca-warns-of-salmonella-transmission.99772/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/remove-your-bird-feeders-spca-warns-of-salmonella-transmission.99772/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Remove your bird feeders: SPCA warns of salmonella transmission | Vancouver Sun​
Remove your bird feeders: SPCA warns of salmonella transmission]]> 2 Flowery diets help predatory insects help farmers keep pests in check Sat, 23 Jan 2021 08:13:27 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/flowery-diets-help-predatory-insects-help-farmers-keep-pests-in-check.99762/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/flowery-diets-help-predatory-insects-help-farmers-keep-pests-in-check.99762/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Flowery diets help predatory insects help farmers keep pests in check​
]]> Another bird... Thu, 08 Oct 2020 05:27:02 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/another-bird.99100/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/another-bird.99100/ invalid@example.com (pmurphy) pmurphy 10 Looking to identify another bird... Fri, 18 Sep 2020 22:08:06 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/looking-to-identify-another-bird.99078/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/looking-to-identify-another-bird.99078/ invalid@example.com (pmurphy) pmurphy No white on the top of the head but appears to have a yellow spot near the eye.]]> 4 Ecologist’s wild garden is a challenge to lawn order Mon, 31 Aug 2020 08:16:58 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ecologist%E2%80%99s-wild-garden-is-a-challenge-to-lawn-order.98915/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/ecologist%E2%80%99s-wild-garden-is-a-challenge-to-lawn-order.98915/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Ecologist’s wild garden is a challenge to lawn order​
]]> 1 Urban beekeeping can be bad for wild bees Sat, 08 Aug 2020 04:52:19 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/urban-beekeeping-can-be-bad-for-wild-bees.98722/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/urban-beekeeping-can-be-bad-for-wild-bees.98722/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Urban beekeeping can be bad for wild bees​
]]> Couple battling municipality over 'nuisance' wildflower garden Wed, 22 Jul 2020 07:28:27 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/couple-battling-municipality-over-nuisance-wildflower-garden.98525/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/couple-battling-municipality-over-nuisance-wildflower-garden.98525/ invalid@example.com (Junglekeeper) Junglekeeper Couple battling municipality over 'nuisance' wildflower garden​
Couple battling municipality over 'nuisance' wildflower garden]]> 2 American Green (article on the pursuit of perfect lawns) Sat, 20 Jul 2019 00:18:44 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/american-green-article-on-the-pursuit-of-perfect-lawns.95969/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/american-green-article-on-the-pursuit-of-perfect-lawns.95969/ invalid@example.com (Daniel Mosquin) Daniel Mosquin American Green

Settle down for a read.

You may have noticed we don't (and won't) have a forum dedicated to turf and lawns.]]> 1 visit from Municipal Law Enforcement officer Tue, 24 Oct 2017 22:53:53 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/visit-from-municipal-law-enforcement-officer.83420/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/visit-from-municipal-law-enforcement-officer.83420/ invalid@example.com (Ken Scheffler) Ken Scheffler
visit from Municipal Law Enforcement officer]]> 22 Help to ID an Insect found in the garden May 25 2016 in North Vancouver Sat, 28 May 2016 22:46:12 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help-to-id-an-insect-found-in-the-garden-may-25-2016-in-north-vancouver.88648/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help-to-id-an-insect-found-in-the-garden-may-25-2016-in-north-vancouver.88648/ invalid@example.com (SusieS) SusieS 2 Robins in the garden Wed, 02 Mar 2016 04:35:09 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/robins-in-the-garden.77916/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/robins-in-the-garden.77916/ invalid@example.com (Sundrop) Sundrop 8 My Saguenay garden to preserve biodiversity. Wed, 08 May 2013 16:52:19 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-saguenay-garden-to-preserve-biodiversity.78302/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-saguenay-garden-to-preserve-biodiversity.78302/ invalid@example.com (jardinier) jardinier
Im from Saguenay City, 500 km at north of Montreal.

The mission of my garden is to preserve prennials and native plants in hardiness zone 2-5. I landscaping with many garden projects.

The name of my private garden is Domaine Le Jardin des Patriotes.

Making a web...

My Saguenay garden to preserve biodiversity.]]> Black centipedes attacking garden worms Thu, 05 Jul 2012 03:51:58 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/black-centipedes-attacking-garden-worms.68916/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/black-centipedes-attacking-garden-worms.68916/ invalid@example.com (Justine M) Justine M
Hoping you can offer insight. I have read that centipedes are vegetarians and that it is the millipedes that are the carnivores, but I am witnessing lots of assaults on worms of all sizes (1 inch to 7 inches) by fat black centipedes. I am a huge fan of those worms so it's stressing me out to see them being attacked. How common is that here in the PNW? The bed that is the scene of these crimes (!) is a raised one with lots of strawberry plants and lettuce seedlings that keep...

Black centipedes attacking garden worms]]> 12 |Nature in my backyard the new NIMBY Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:36:24 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/nature-in-my-backyard-the-new-nimby.69129/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/nature-in-my-backyard-the-new-nimby.69129/ invalid@example.com (Lysichiton) Lysichiton By David Suzuki
Published: June 09, 2011 8:00 AM

On reading about the growing resistance to a mega-quarry being proposed in Ontario, I had an epiphany about the media’s use of the term NIMBY, for “not in my backyard.”
NIMBYism has taken on a negative association, often implying naive or parochial resistance to projects that challenge the status quo.
But NIMBYism isn’t always bad. Although it can arise out of fear of something new or different in a...

|Nature in my backyard the new NIMBY]]> 1 Help Deciding on a Hedge/tree Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:39:39 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help-deciding-on-a-hedge-tree.69825/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/help-deciding-on-a-hedge-tree.69825/ invalid@example.com (ameteurnewbie) ameteurnewbie
Help Deciding on a Hedge/tree]]> 2 My guide to insects, a few phots. Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:42:44 +0000 https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-guide-to-insects-a-few-phots.69574/ https://forums.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/threads/my-guide-to-insects-a-few-phots.69574/ invalid@example.com (Kildale) Kildale Guide to bugs.]]>