ELM REPORT – SEPTEMBER NEWSLETTER July 30, 2022
DONATE YOUR SURPLUS PERENNIALS AND KEEP THEM IN OUR EDGEMONT COMMUNITY!
Many of us divide perennials in our yards when certain plants are threatening to take over areas dedicated to
other plants or shrubs. Should you happen be in that position, we would love to repurpose your plants in our
Edgemont community parks and flower beds! Grown in Edgemont, your perennials have already adapted to
the Edgemont microclimate and should transplant well! Very recently, ELM was informed about a person
who was looking for a home for some native prairie plants that he needed to rescue from a rental property.
We gratefully accepted a sizeable donation of native prairie plants that will be planted in flower beds in
Edgemont next spring.
Examples of plants you may want to divide include aster, coreopsis, monarda, yarrow, sedum, black-eyed
Susan, Iris, daylily, lamb’s ear, salvia, to name just a few! Some perennials love to be divided to have a bit
more space for their roots to absorb nutrients and thrive! Use the internet to find out what the best time is
to split your plants. Should you have additional questions, check with our ELM coordinator through
[email protected] . The timing of donating plants ideally would be next spring; however, we want to
plant this seed now, so you can include it in your yard plans. If the fall is a better time for dividing your
specific perennial, please do contact us! It would be extremely helpful for the ELM committee to know what
perennials may be donated next spring, so we can incorporate it in our plant order for next summer.
Accordingly, we would really appreciate hearing from you by September 30, 2022, if you are at all considering
sharing some perennials with your community! We will have to order our plants for next summer around that
time.
The idea for this came about during one of our “weeding parties”! As you know from previous ELM reports,
cleanup, and enhancement of the park across from the wetlands Storm Pond Area Park on the east side of
Edgebrook Boulevard has been one of our objectives this summer. Areas near the parking lot were invaded
by all kinds of weeds, including copious amounts of thistles. The city removed some dead trees as requested,
and with the help of volunteers (students, residents from the neighborhood), the beds in this area were
tidied up. This area would be a great park for neighbors to adopt through the city’s “Adopt-a-Park program”.
It would not take many residents to volunteer and continue to keep the weeds in this area under control. For
more details see the City of Calgary website: https://www.calgary.ca/csps/parks/volunteer/volunteer-in-
calgarys-parks.html.
The flowers in the planters are in full bloom now and appear to be standing up well against some of our
recent thunderstorms. Unfortunately, the cannas that were ordered were unavailable this year; however, we
will try again for next year! Your feedback on the flowers featured in the planters and the parks this year
would be highly appreciated and can be sent to [email protected] .
On a different note, please be aware that the water in the ponds in our community is not safe for swimming.
We were informed that some children became unwell after wading or swimming in the city owned ponds in
Edgemont. Although the ponds are not under the jurisdiction of ELM, we thought a reminder in the
newsletter might help warn people that, however attractive a little dip in the local pond may seem, it is not
safe!
Kathleen Stewart, Shari Pitka, Rick Wierzbicki
