Devon Communities In Bloom

W**d of the Week. Leafy Spurge

Leafy spurge forms dense stands over time and a large plant can produce up to 130,000
seeds. All parts of the plant contain a milky-coloured latex that can poison livestock and
cause skin irritation on humans.

Leafy Spurge - Alberta Invasive Species Council

Noxious W**d of the Week - Oxeye Daisy
Often perceived to be a ‘pretty’ wildflower, this non-native is an aggressive invader.

Oxeye Daisy - Alberta Invasive Species Council

We hope you will join us on the evening of June 24 for a tour of Devon's notable trees. Your guide on the bus tour will be Allan Macaulay, fondly referred to as Devon's Tree Guy. Your friendly guide for the bike tour will be Kristin Walsh. To register for either, go to the Town of Devon's https://devon.recdesk.com/Community/Program and search for "Notable Trees of Devon".

A big thank-you to Allan for hosting tours of his native plants yesterday morning. Thanks also to the Neighbourly Devon program for providing coffee and snacks. Paired with the great weather, it made for an enjoyable and informative way to spend a Saturday morning.
Allan shared a list of places where those wishing to add native plants to their yards can find seed collections and salvage sites on Facebook: Edmonton Native Plant Council, Alberta Native Wild Flowers, Edmonton Native Plant Society, and Manna Parseyan. Other sources include Wild about Flowers Alberta, Greenland Nursery, Salsibury Greenhouse's special sections, Sunstar Nursery, and Blazing Star Nursery.

Noxious W**d of the Week - Dame's Rocket
Dame’s rocket is often a contaminant of wildflower seed mixes – do not purchase seed mixes which do not list the Latin names of the contents.

Dame's Rocket - Alberta Invasive Species Council

We hope you will join one of Allan Macaulay's yard tours to learn about his native garden and other eco-friendly practices. You can sign up for a tour at https://devon.recdesk.com/Community/Program. Registration closes at noon on Friday, June 5.

Prohibited Noxious W**d of the Week - Yellow Flag Iris
Must be removed - Very invasive in wetlands

Yellow Flag Iris - Alberta Invasive Species Council

Love Your Yard! Goes Eco-Friendly

Devon Communities in Bloom’s Love Your Yard! (LYY!) program is taking on a fresh focus this summer—shifting emphasis from aesthetics to environmental impact. While many people associate Devon Communities in Bloom with colourful gardens and attractive landscaping, the program is about much more. It also celebrates the efforts our community makes in tree management, heritage conservation, tidiness, urban forestry, and environmental stewardship.

This year, Love Your Yard! will highlight residents whose yards demonstrate a commitment to sustainability and positive environmental action, recognizing that beautiful communities can also be healthy, resilient, and environmentally responsible ones.

The goals of LYY! 2026 are twofold: 1. to celebrate residents who use one or more eco-friendly practices in their yard, and 2. to encourage sharing of information to increase residents’ confidence to try eco-friendly practices.

Eco-friendly practices help protect the environment, reduce waste, and conserve resources. Examples of eco-friendly practices are composting, avoiding harmful chemicals, having a diversity of plant types, installing rain barrels, being bug and bird friendly, xeriscaping, and many more.

Six of Devon’s yards will be featured between June 3 and August 26. For each yard, a different eco-friendly practice will be highlighted. For example, the native plants displayed in Allan Macaulay’s front yard will be featured. As the Macaulay yard is an example of many other good environmental practices, Allan has generously offered to do tours for small groups between 10 am and 12 pm on Saturday, June 6. If you’re interested in signing up for one of the tours, watch for details in early June on Devon Communities in Bloom page at https://www.facebook.com/DevonCIB.

We are keen to learn about other yards in Devon where eco-friendly practices are followed. If you would like to share information about one or more of these good practices that you follow, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Devon Communities in Bloom hopes that you will find Eco-Friendly Love Your Yard! an interesting and inspiring addition to your summer.

Noxious W**d of the Week. Scentless Chamomile

A single, robust plant can occupy one full square meter and produce up to one million seeds.

Scentless Chamomile - Alberta Invasive Species Council