ELM REPORT – September 2023 NEWSLETTER August 5, 2023
Despite hail, extremely strong winds and intense sunshine, the flowers our planters and flower beds look
spectacular, providing an abundance of colour at this time! Many different plant varieties were planted in the
various planters, including dracaena, verbena, rudbeckia, marigolds, salvias, cannas, geraniums, various types
of supertunias and creeping Glechoma. Under the watchful eye of our ELM coordinator, Shari Pitka, our
landscaping company is keeping the planters looking fresh and beautiful through regular watering and
deadheading. We are very grateful to both Shari Pitka and Foothills, our landscaping company. The flower
beds are another success story, featuring gorgeous and interesting arrangements of rudbeckias, marigolds,
salvias, cosmos, chrysanthemums, various types of geraniums, petunias and supertunias. All this in addition
to the perennials that were generously donated, blending in beautifully with our annuals. Just a reminder
that if you are planning to split perennials next spring and are considering donating them to the community,
please contact us anytime at [email protected]. Have your plants dug up, and ready for pick up the
last week of May 2024, so they can be planted just before the annuals arrive early June.
At our request, the city continues to address the pocket gopher issue at the Edgemont Disc Golf Course,
although this issue will keep popping up throughout the season, causing issues for the mowers. The noxious
henbane weeds that had started to show up in the EDG119 park off Edgebrook Boulevard have been
removed from areas in between the rose bushes by our landscaping company. The henbane tends to be
stubborn, so we need to keep an eye on this situation. Talking about weeds, a group of volunteers took on
the arduous task of removing thistles in certain areas in the community, so a big thank you from the
Edgemont community to those who volunteered to participate in this initiative on a very hot day. We are still
waiting to hear back from the city regarding our request to address the thistle issue in EDG119 across from
the pond off Edgebrook Boulevard. Worth paying attention to as well is the fact that the Foxtail Barley Grass
apparently has been thriving in and around Calgary in recent years. This particular grass is especially
dangerous for pets as the awns (seeds) can get lodged in paws, noses, fur etc. The city has recently changed
the bylaw with respect to foxtail barley grass. For details, please check the “parks” section of the city website:
https://www.calgary.ca/parks/natural-areas/foxtail-barley.html
You may have noticed that water features were turned off by the city in our community at the end of July to
help conserve water.
On a positive note: you may have noticed that the city planted some trees along some of major
thoroughfares in Edgemont in July. During the first five years following planting, it is the responsibility of the
city to maintain and water the new trees. The thought process is that after five years, the trees will be well
established and can survive. However, if you see trees with a significant number of dead branches, please
take a picture of that tree and submit it through the 311 app with a request to trim the tree and help prevent
branches from breaking off during bad weather. The city looks after trees on public property.
In addition to their routine tasks, Foothills is continuing to focus on catching up on the 2022 projects that
were not completed last year, such as tree well clean-up, pruning, aerating, fertilizing where required.
Any concerns or questions regarding maintenance and who should do what, city or ELM, please contact us at
and we will be very happy to respond to your concerns.
Kathleen Stewart, Rick Wierzbicki, Shari Pitka