Spring is broom time.
Highlanders are being encouraged to cut broom, invite neighbours and “make it fun.”
Blooming roadside broom, not “woody dead broom,” are to be cut, according to the district’s spring council newsletter.
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The brooms can be stacked in piles beside the road with stems pointing out. Pickups can be arranged by calling 250-478-7885.
As the weather gets hotter, scotch broom, an invasive species, proliferate where there’s sunlight.
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They form “dense thickets” and crowd out native plants, according to the Broom Busters help website for locals.
Scotch broom is flammable, causes allergies and harms plant diversity and regrowth.
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It takes over unused land, is toxic to the soil, and one plant produces 18,000 seeds, which stay “viable” for 30 to 40 years, they write.
“Fortunately, big broom dies easily when cut. Don’t panic, don’t pull,” the group advises.
swikar.oli@goldstreamgazette.com