On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we honour the Survivors of residential schools, their families, communities and the children who never came home. Just as seeds carry knowledge and resilience through generations, we recognize the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities and their relationship with the land. Today, we pause to listen, learn, and honour paths of healing. May we all grow in understanding truth and act with care for generations to come. Every child matters.
Emily Akikodjiwan Brascoupe-Hoefler, Director at Large, Indigenous Community Leader
The Library’s volunteers have been busy packing seeds for our giveaways! Join us packing seeds together at the upcoming events:
Seed Packing
When: Saturday, October 18, 2025 from 1:00-3:00pm EST
Where: Jack Purcell Community Centre, 320 Jack Purcell Ln., Ottawa, ON, K2P 2J5
About: Join us to help pack seeds into packets! No previous experience required. At the end of the event, you can take home some of the available seeds.
Seed Giveaway
When: Saturday, October 25, 2025 from 1:00-3:00pm EST
Where: Springhurst Park, Corner of Brunswick St. and Springhurst Ave.
About: Stop by and pick up some native plant seeds – packaged by the volunteers of the OWSL. This event will be outdoors, rain or shine! By having the event outside, we’re able to provide a safer space for our immuno-compromised members.
Seed Packing and Garden Walk
When: Sunday, October 26, 2025 from 1:00-3:00pm EST
Where: Fletcher Wildlife Garden, near 865 Prince of Wales Dr., Ottawa, ON, K2C 3K1
About: At this event you can help us pack seeds or join us for a walk through the garden to learn more about seed harvesting
Doors Open Event
When: Wednesday, October 29, 2025 from 7:00-8:15pm EST
Where: Online via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86978367869
About: Join us for a doors open event to celebrate the OWSL’s 5th anniversary. Learn more about the library while hearing from volunteers and board members.
Should you require any type of accommodation to attend our events, please send us an email at info@wildflowerseedlibrary.ca
We want to thank all the volunteers that are harvesting, cleaning and packing seeds. You are helping create inter-connected habitats throughout our city and beyond. The bees, butterflies and other insects thank you in advance for all your hard work. You are changing the world!
The OWSL is celebrating its 5th anniversary on October 20, 2025! Every year, we have been doubling thanks to all of you harvesting, cleaning and packing seeds, and to you that are sowing and growing our seeds and plants! We are really grateful that our community exists and that together, we are making a difference, one person, one plant at a time.
Full Moon Date: Monday, October 6, 2025
The upcoming full moon is the Harvest Moon, which is the name given to the full moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. Due to the angle of the moon’s orbit, the Harvest Moon rises above the horizon faster than usual and appears to rise at the same time for several days. As the moon rises shortly after sunset, it provides additional light in the evenings, helping farmers when harvesting their crops. While the Harvest Moon usually appears in September, this year the moon will be filling our skies in early October.
Contact us at wildflowerseedlibrary@gmail.com to drop your seeds off at one of our locations in Alta Vista, Barrhaven, Nepean, Kanata and Orléans.
Purple Giant Hyssop (Agastache scrophulariifolia) has hybridized with Korean mint so until a new source is identified, we will not be accepting nor offering these seeds.
Straw Coloured Flat Sedge (Cyperus strigosus) was in fact the non-native Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus). Until we identify a new source, we will not be accepting nor offering these seeds.
Smooth Aster (symphyotrichum laeve)
Smooth Aster, also known as Smooth Blue Aster, Smooth-leaved Aster and Glaucous Aster is an autumn blooming flower with pale purple-blue petals surrounding bright yellow centers. As the plant ages, the centers of the flowers turn a shade of purple-red, signaling to pollinators that less pollen is available. The rich green leaves of the plant are long, smooth and often snacked upon by rabbits. Due to the frost hardiness of the plant and their many clusters of flowers, they are an important food sources for pollinators late in the season.
The Smooth Aster, like many native asters, is an important host plant for butterflies and especially moths. Roughly 40 species of moth rely on native asters, including the Smooth Aster, as a host plant. Its seeds also are a valuable source of nutrition for birds.
It’s that time of year again when the leaves on many trees begin to change from verdant greens to hues of ochre, vermillion and gold. It can be a relaxing autumn pastime to enjoy the sun and watch the leaves gently fall from the trees – that is, until the inevitable leaf blower begins to howl a few houses down. For many, autumn leaves are seen as a hassle rather than something to enjoy. With yard waste bags beginning to line the curbs, many are eager to rid themselves of these ecologically valuable resources. But why?
There are many myths that surround leaving the leaves. One common myth I’ve heard is that they will smother and damage their lawn – but unless you live in a temperate location with a dense blanket of leaves, this is not the case. In fact, leaving the leaves will not only benefit your lawn and garden but will positively impact local biodiversity.
Leaves are a great source of nutrients for your garden, essentially acting as a free mulch. While some mulches take a long time to break down, are costly, and make it difficult for beneficial insects to bury under – autumn leaves break down quickly, are free, and are light enough for beneficial insects to move through.
Fallen leaves also provide winter habitats for a variety of beneficial insects. From fireflies, to butterflies, to native bees – leaves offer protection for the tiny friends that call our gardens home. For this reason, it’s important not to shred your leaves. Some insects, such as moths, create cocoons that look similar to a dead leaf and hibernate amongst the fallen leaves. By shredding your leaves, you could accidentally harm these beautiful creatures.
If you really do not enjoy the look of fallen leaves in your garden or lawn, you can carefully gather and relocate them to a corner of your yard that is more out of sight. So if you haven’t tried leaving your leaves yet, now is the time to start!
This month’s volunteer spotlight highlights the work of Cally Abraham:
Cally has been interested in native plants and ecological gardening for most of her adult life. She has seen several decades of increasingly desperate news on the loss of biodiversity and pollinators – a reality that has been heartbreaking. She recalls reading books that provided information on native plants but in practice found it difficult to find these recommended plants. For this reason, Cally was thrilled to see an increase in local events and organizations that provided these previously elusive native plants. One of these organizations was the Ottawa Wildflower Seed Library.
Cally has been borrowing and donating seeds and seedlings at OWSL events for the past few years while slowly adding native plants to her garden. Last year, she helped to pack seed envelopes for the Library’s seed exchange events. Her favourite thing about volunteering with the Library is the feeling that she can do something positive to help pollinators and support the local ecosystem from her own home. Even on the smallest scale, she knows that her work makes a difference and that she is creating space for an alternative to our current norms, particularly with suburban landscaping.
While it’s difficult to select a favourite native plant, Cally has a particular affection for wild columbines, cardinal flowers and swamp milkweed. These were the first native plants that successfully grew in her garden and continue to thrive year after year.
Sources:
Rick Gray and Shaun Booth, The Gardener’s Guide to Native Plants of the Southern Great Lakes Region (Ontario: Firefly Books, 2024)
Rao, Joe, “Why 2025’s Harvest Moon is a rare October full moon”, Space.com, 2025. https://www.space.com/stargazing/why-harvest-moon-2025-is-a-rare-october-full-moon
No posts
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.