The Brick Works – nature in the heart of the city

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Last weekend we went to The Brick Works. It’s an old brick factory that’s been turned into an eco-preserve and I suppose tourist attraction. Likely the bricks that make up my 1927 Triple Brick house were made at this old now defunct factory.

The quarry where the company dug into the earth to get the clay to make the bricks has been turned into hiking paths, ponds and is surrounded by forest. All in the heart of the city (BTW Toronto is the 5th or 6th largest city in North America). It’s gorgeous!

Native plants grow at the Brickworks and you can find flora and fauna that are rarely seen elsewhere in the province thanks to the protective nature of this eco-preserve.

I took close to 200 photos during our few hours at the Brickworks last Saturday. It’s taken me two days to go over them, crop them and upload them to my Flickr account. That’s why my GTS posts are more than a little late today!

The first photo is a blue dragonfly (I don’t think that’s it’s main name, that’s just what I’m calling it). Apparently there are 11 species of dragonflies that make their home at the Brickworks. Dragonflies are losing their nesting grounds so this area is one of the few places in Ontario where you can see so many different types of dragonflies (and other creatures).

This is native Malva. I grow some of this in my front boulevard garden as well. It’s very pretty and under the right condition spreads moderately.

I used to know the name of this plant, but for the life of me I can’t remember what it’s called at this moment. It’s lovely, especially when it spreads throughout a field and mixes with other wild flowers.

I’m not sure what this lovely yellow flowered plant is either. It stands about two feet tall and is covered in tiny yellow flowers – at least at the beginning of July it is. Any ideas?

This is Sumac. It’s a small tree that can be seen all over Ontario. It’s leaves turn red in the fall and it’s fruit (the reddish spike) grows fuller and turns a bright red. It puts on quite a spectacular show.

I’ll have more flowers from The Brickworks on two of my other blogs – Tricia’s Musings and You are in My World Now in a few minutes if you’d like to see some more great nature photos. You can also see the whole series of “Brickwork” photos by visiting my Flickr account.

Gardeners, Plant and Nature lovers can join in every Sunday, visit As the Garden Grows for more information. GTS participants remember to check in at As the Garden Grows each week so that we’ll know you made a new post!