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Trees, Plants and Flowers
Trees play an important role in the beauty and environmental health of our city. Trees clean the air by giving off oxygen, storing carbon and recycling moisture into the atmosphere. They help prevent soil erosion, help modify temperatures and act as windbreaks. Foresters – tree experts - refer to trees in towns and cities as “urban trees”. Urban trees provide much more than attractive landscaping. They remove carbon dioxide from the air and help to produce the oxygen people breathe. They also act as visual barriers and reduce noise pollution.
Brampton’s urban forest is not just in ravines and natural areas. It includes the trees and shrubs growing along streets and in people’s backyards. A healthy urban forest is varied, both in species and age and supports wildlife.
Each year, the Urban Forestry Section of the Parks Maintenance and Operations Division inspect more than 5,000 trees to maintain the trees’ health and integrity, while planting about 8,000 trees yearly to contribute to the health of our planet. Urban Forestry protects, maintains and manages the urban forests in our community.
 Plants and Flowers
Did you know that the City plants and maintains over 900 annual, perennial and mixed flower beds located in parks, on boulevards, at recreation facilities and at City owned buildings? The entire process – from design, to planting, to removal takes about 1 ½ years.
22 full-time gardeners, all with education and experience in horticulture, are responsible for the complete design and maintenance of their part of the City. They design the beds during the winter, and then the plants are grown by a local greenhouse the following winter for planting in the spring.
Spring cleanup and bed preparation starts in mid April, with planting scheduled to start the Monday following the long weekend in May, weather dependent. Approximately ½ million annuals are planted over a period of 6 weeks. A slow release fertilizer is incorporated into the beds to help feed the plants throughout the season.
Once the beds are planted, they are maintained through the season by the full time gardeners, assisted by students and season staff. Maintenance involves watering, weeding, deadheading, pruning, cultivating and monitoring for insects and diseases.
Once the frost comes in the fall, most of the annual flowers begin to decline and are removed as they stop blooming. Removal takes place over several weeks and is generally completed by the beginning of November. Compost is then added to the beds in preparation for the next spring, and the cycle starts all over again with design.
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