Niagara-on-the-Lake is sure to be abuzz this summer with a new pollinator garden freshly dug and planted.

Members of the NOTL Horticultural Society have been busy working in the community garden at the corner of William and Nassau streets.

Club president Joanne Young told The Lake Report the group was mostly planting native pollinator species to support the native populations of pollinators – the birds and the bees. 

Young said there are 400 different species of bees native to Ontario.

“If we all just put a couple of plants in our gardens, then it makes a big difference,” she said.

Many of the pollinators planted are also drought resistant, she said. 

As a club, Young said when members hear about gardening projects across town, “we want to be a part of it, whether it’s by volunteering or by making donations.”

The horticultural society meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month at the NOTL Community Centre starting at 6:30 p.m.

Young said the group has about 175 members, “hard workers and keen on helping out.”

The group hosts a different speaker every month to help teach the public about gardening, said Young, who also writes The Lake Report’s weekly gardening column, “Growing Together.”

She added that she loves working with the natural beauty of the plants and flowers, being out in nature and the physical exercise that comes with it. 

“For me, it’s just great therapy,” she said.

“It’s just nice to be outside and working with your hands,” she said.