Siri Luckow: The Garden as Wildlife Sanctuary

Siri Luckow’s  garden won first place in the Environmental category in a city-wide garden contest, and on her street in the northern part of Toronto it stands out as a beacon of hope in a desert of lawns.  Look at this, in late spring.  It’s hardly a sacrifice in the name of the environment, is it?

Siri Luckow-Front garden

She proudly proclaims her intention with this beautiful garden right out front, where passersby can be inspired.

Backyard habitat sign-Siri Luckow

I visited Siri’s garden first in 2015 with a group of garden bloggers, and she was a delightful host.

Siri Luckow-Toronto

I then asked to return the following year to absorb a little more of what can be done on a small property, like the drainage made possible by a dry stream bed.

Dry stream-Siri Luckow

In her front yard, Siri mixes lots of natives, like the dwarf chinkapin oak (Quercus prinoides)….

Siri Luckow-Quercus prinoides-dwarf chinkapin oak

….with old-fashioned non-native favourites like tree peony (Paeonia suffruticosa).

Paeonia-Siri Luckow

But it’s not all ‘native this’ and ‘non-native’ that. Siri’s garden contains loads of edibles as well, front and back. In her front garden, she mixes shrubs like gooseberries….

Gooseberries

….and blueberries with the ornamentals….

Blueberries-Siri Luckow

…. and she includes leafy crops in her containers, too. Here’s kale with pansies.

Kale & Pansies-Siri Luckow

Moving around to the back, you’re greeted with a lovely flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) underplanted with sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum).

Cornus florida-Flowering dogwood

Nearby in a sunny spot is the vegetable garden.  The plastic mesh panels deter her kitties, which love to dig here.

Vegetables-Siri Luckow

In her shade garden, Siri grows ostrich ferns and white bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis ‘Albus’)….

Shady garden-Siri Luckow

…. and spring natives like (Geranium maculatum)….

Geranium maculatum-wild geranium

…. and this uncommon white form of Virginia bluebell (Mertensia virginica f. alba).

Mertensia virginica f. alba-White Virginia bluebells

There are beautiful painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum), paired here with the foliage of early-flowering native bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis).

Japanese painted fern & bloodroot

Siri’s garden art tends to be organic and ecological, like this rotting tree section melting into cranesbills (Geranium sp.)….

Geranium & tree trunk-Siri Luckow

…. and this vine sphere…..
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Vine sculpture-Siri Luckow

…. and this dead branch cradling a smooth rock.

Stone sculpture-Siri Luckow

There’s a bit of lawn in the sunny part, and behind it a wonderful mini-woodland that acts as ‘edge’ habitat, bringing many birds.

Back garden-Siri Luckow

Chickadees nest in a house Siri set up here…

Chickadee nesting box-Siri Luckow

….and birds are able to secure nesting material in the wool holder or nesting ball that hangs in the garden.

Bird-nesting wool-Siri Luckow

There are always birds feeding here. Here’s a male northern cardinal eating from a simple plastic plant pot feeder,

Cardinal male-flowerpot birdfeeder-Siri Luckow

…and the female eating a sunflower seed, too.

Cardinal female

Hidden away in the trees is a brush pile for birds and other wildlife – the value of which too few gardeners understand.

Brush pile habitat

It’s easy to plant some pussytoes (Antennaria sp.)……

Antennaria flowers

…. and wait for the painted lady butterfly to lay its eggs on the leaves, which then become the larval caterpillar’s diet.

Painted Lady Caterpillar on Antennaria

Siri’s sunny woodland front features native shrubs like Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus)…

Calycanthus floridus-Carolina allspice

…. and native trees like the paw paw (Asimina triloba), with its dusky maroon flowers…..

Asimina triloba-Paw paw flower

…. and native perennials like prairie smoke (Geum triflorum).

Geum triflorum-Prairie smoke

But she’s a plant collector, too – so there are a few rarities like Syringa afghanica.

Syringa afghanica-Siri Luckow

During the Garden Bloggers’ Fling in 2015, we were invited to climb the ladder to look at the Luckows’ Green Roof. Here’s Toronto garden designer Sara Katz taking a photo under tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipfera)….

Green roof-Siri Luckow-Sara Katz photographing

… and here’s my photograph of the top of the roof.

Green roof-Siri Luckow

Thank you Siri (belatedly) for opening up your garden to gardeners – and to the rest of the wild creatures you welcome daily.

4 thoughts on “Siri Luckow: The Garden as Wildlife Sanctuary

  1. Oh, I loved that garden as well – so much to see and, of course, the veggie area was of particular interest to me. I’m looking forward to meeting up again in Washington!

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