Win a free native plant kit from PollinateTO - Contest closes tomorrow!

[Claire Davis]

 

The City’s Live Green Toronto program is offering free pollinator-friendly plants to help expand pollinator habitat in Toronto.

 

Kick start your pollinator garden with a free native plant kit. Enter to win yours!

 

Getting yours is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

 

1. Enter the contest online by April 30, 2025.
2. Winners can pick up their kit at the Toronto Botanical Garden on May 17, 2025.
3. Get planting! See our tips below for creating a pollinator-friendly garden.

 

Important:

• Kits are available to Toronto residents only.
• Quantities are limited to one kit per household.
• Kits can be picked up in person at the Toronto Botanical Garden on May 17, 2025 during event hours. Event will run from 10:00 am – 1:30 pm.

 

Each kit includes everything you need to welcome pollinators to your garden:

• Ten native wildflower plants selected based on your site conditions (see list below)
• Your choice of a native shrub (optional)
• A small garden sign
• Planting guide including tips on creating pollinator-friendly gardens
• A list of the best native plants for Toronto gardens
• Tailored info sheet on the species in your Native Plant Kit

 

PollinateTO Native Plant Kits:

 

These native plants are rich in pollen and nectar that bees and butterflies need. They’re also easier to grow and maintain because they’re adapted to local growing conditions.

 

Sunny Sites:

• Hairy beardtongue (Penstemon hirsutus)
• Wild bergamot / Bee Balm (Monarda fistulosa)
• Swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida)
• Harebell (Campanula rotundifolia)

 

Shady Sites:

• Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata) 
• Wild ginger (Asarum canadense)
• Blue-stemmed goldenrod (Solidago caesia)
• Heart-leaved aster (Symphyotrichum cordifolium)
• Virginia waterleaf (Hydrophyllum virginianum)

 

Container Suitable:

• Wild columbine (Aquilegia canadensis)
• Virginia mountain mint (Pycnanthemum virginianum)
• Grey goldenrod (Solidago nemoralis)
• Wild Strawberry (Fragaria virginiana)
• Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium montanum)

 

Native Shrubs:

 

We’re excited to offer an optional native shrub as part of the PollinateTO Native Plant Kit. Winners will have the choice of the following species:

 

• Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis)
• Bush Honeysuckle (Diervilla lonicera)
• Nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
• Grey dogwood (Cornus racemosa)

 

Note: Species have been pre-selected based on site conditions and are subject to availability. Unfortunately, we are not able to accommodate requests for specific plant species and different combinations.