Toronto neighbourhood is getting a massive and beautiful butterfly garden corridor

Toronto may still be in the grip of winter but garden planning has started and one part of the city is getting a massive butterfly garden.

The Junction BIA is will become a huge corridor for butterflies and bees by expanding its butterfly garden in 19 additional concrete raised beds, The Junction BIA announced.

The neighbourhood started with three beds last year at the corner of Keele and Dundas, Carol Jolly, executive director for The Junction BIA, tells blogTO.

"It really needed some TLC," Jolly says. They thought wildflowers would beautify the area while at the same time help the butterfly and bee population.

The gardens were a success so they decided to go bigger this year and applied for the city's PollinateTO program and got $5,000 in funding to expand.

The bees and butterflies are dwindling all over the world and this is something urban areas can do to help.

"It's unfortunate, but the urban cities are taking a lot of this (green space) away," Jolly says. "We don't actually have a lot of green space. So the fact that we're able to take over these gardens and make improvements will be really good for the neighborhood."

Here's how YOU can support local businesses & beautify our main street🌻 - https://t.co/IGidOIl9D5 pic.twitter.com/6w37WV1vuJ

— The Junction BIA (@TorontoJunction) March 24, 2022

They will add butterfly gardens in the 19 concrete raised tree beds in the BIA, creating a pollinator corridor across Dundas Street West. The gardens will be planted around the existing trees in each of the beds, improving the soil.

The garden beds are all on the sidewalks on Dundas Street West and planting should start in early May if the weather is good. The BIA is working with landscaper Parkdale Green Thumb Enterprises on the butterfly gardens plan.

Toronto has an (un)official butterfly, the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) and a Toronto initiative, Project Swallowtail was started to enhance pollinator habitat. The Junction BIA aims to support that project with the new gardens and at the same time beautify the community.

"So we're doing a little bit to help the bees and butterflies and also give people a reason to linger," Jolly says. "We find the more flowers we put in, the more people will stand around and spend time and enjoy it."