2011 Season

Restoration work parties

Visit our new demonstration native plant garden!!!

The Osoyoos Desert Centre’s native plant demonstration garden has been completely re-created, and now features many more of our beautiful native grasses, flowers, and shrubs. The garden now has examples of a rock garden, native plant meadow, native hedge, bird habitat garden, silver sage garden, butterfly garden, and hummingbird garden. Many styles of plantings are showcased, and we are sure that everyone will find a style of landscape that would suit their own yard.

Weed control

Staff and volunteers hand pull invasive weeds in “Knapweed Knock-Out”events. Weeds that are removed include knapweed, hounds tongue, Russian thistle, and puncturevine.

Crested wheatgrass control

2 meter by 3 meter plots are weeded of crested wheatgrass (a non-native species that was seeded on the Desert Centre site as cattle forage) and other non-native species, and replanted with a different native plant for each plot. This will allow us to see which species are best at ‘filling the gaps’ left by weeding out invasive bunchgrasses.

Seed mix study

A study is being carried out to determine the best native species to use for seeding disturbed areas. Seeds are collected locally and are broadcast-seeded in a degraded area near the Desert Centre interpretive buildings. Species selected for the native seed mix include sand dropseed, pasture sage, yarrow, needle-and-thread grass, red three-awn, junegrass, Sandberg’s bluegrass, wooly plantain, brown-eyed susan, and golden aster.

Thanks to 2020 labs for donating seed testing services for the study!