Grand Bend & Area Horticultural Society

06/18/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/4527127627521590/?fs=e&fs=e

06/16/2026

https://fb.watch/HNwWsM9Vxr/?fs=e

06/16/2026

https://www.hemlockgrove.ca/

Hemlock Grove Nursery is Ontario's largest grower of Canada Hemlock. Want more native plants? Check out our Sugar Maples, White Pines, and Northern White Cedar trees.

06/15/2026

A month's gone by too fast, and we are wrapping up our "Sponsor a Flower" Commercial Sponsorship this week. A few of our local supporters continue to come through this week.....THANK YOU!!

06/11/2026

Big shout out to my newest top fans! 💎

Karen Hodgins, Stephanie Allen, Olia Dallimore

Drop a comment to welcome them to our community,

06/10/2026

A big thank you to Bob Beath, who created this beautiful sign featuring the birds of the Warner Preserve, and Kerry Teskey and John Smits for mounting it. You guys rock!

06/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1573220680833678/?fs=e&fs=e

06/09/2026

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1427513969179583&set=a.519255783338744&type=3

It spent two years underground. It has three weeks.

The firefly that rises from your lawn on a warm June evening — Photinus pyralis, the common eastern firefly — ate nothing as an adult. It has no functional digestive system. Every calorie it will ever spend on flight, courtship, and signaling was accumulated during two years as a larva in the leaf litter and damp soil of your garden, hunting slugs and snails in the dark.

Then it emerges. And it has 21 nights.

Night 1 — it climbs a grass blade and takes its first flight. Tests its light: a bioluminescent reaction more energy-efficient than any bulb humans have manufactured.

Nights 2-10 — it pulses its species-specific flash pattern above the vegetation. Photinus pyralis males make a distinctive J-shaped dipping flight with a half-second flash every 5.5 seconds. The female waits low in the grass and answers with a precise two-second delay. He is looking for that specific response.

Nights 11-15 — he finds her. The next generation is secured.

Nights 16-21 — energy reserves depleting. Slower. Lower. The light dims with each flight. On the last night it simply doesn't rise.

504 hours. No food. No second chance.

How to keep them in your yard:

🌿 Turn off outdoor lights from dusk to dawn during May through July. Artificial light drowns their flash signals — males can't find females and females can't see males through the light pollution. This is the single highest-impact action.

🍂 Leave the leaf litter in your garden beds. Firefly larvae live in moist soil and decomposing leaves for 1 to 2 years before they become the lights you see. A tidy, bare-soil garden has no fireflies.

🚫 Avoid broadcast insecticide applications in your yard — they kill larvae and the slugs larvae feed on underground.

🌙 Don't mow after dark in early summer. Females rest low in the grass. A single pass can eliminate an entire local population.

The magic of your summer nights took two years to build. It has three weeks to shine. 🌟

06/08/2026

🌿 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘 2026 #𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗜𝘁𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗥𝗔𝗪 🌿

Want to be part of something BIG?
We’re working toward 60,000 native plants — one for every person in Huron County.

And it starts with just one 🌱

📸 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟭: 𝗣𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗧
Add a native plant to your space:
🌿 Garden • Container • Lawn • Cottage
Seeds, seedlings, shrubs, or trees — it all counts!

📸 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟮: 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣 𝗔 𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢
Take a photo of your newly added plant

📸 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟯: 𝗦𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗘
Post your photo publicly on Facebook
and tag 👉 𝗛𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘆𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀

✅ 𝗧𝗢 𝗤𝗨𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗬:
✔️ Your plant must be within Huron County
✔️ It must be newly planted in the 2026 growing season
✔️ Your post must be public
✔️ You must tag the page so we can see your entry

🎉 𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗭𝗘𝗦

📅 Monthly draws:
May • June • July • August • September

🌟 PLUS a 𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝘇𝗲 at the end of the season!

👉 And yes… the prizes are even better this year 👀

🌿 𝗪𝗔𝗡𝗧 𝗧𝗢 𝗚𝗢 𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝗙𝗨𝗥𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥?
Add #𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗜𝘁𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 and share a little about your plant —
what it is, why you chose it, or what it supports 🐝🦋

(It helps inspire others and grows this movement 💚)

💚 𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗜𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗦

Every plant you add:
🌿 Supports pollinators
🌿 Builds habitat
🌿 Makes a real impact right here in Huron County

🌱 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀.

Because one plant becomes habitat…
And habitat changes everything.

📌 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 — come back anytime!