Spring is in full swing in Montreal; the trees are in bloom, and the pollen is driving everyone a little crazy on the city streets. And before we know it, it will be summer.
June 21 is the summer solstice.The summer solstice isan astronomical event caused by the tilt of the Earth’s axis relative to the planet’s orbit around the sun. From the equinox (March 20) to the winter solstice (June 21), the Northern Hemisphere—which includes Canada—is closer to the sun’s warm rays than at any other time of the year.
On June 30, 2026, at 1:56 a.m., a few days after the solstice, the first full moon of the summer will shine in the Montreal sky—it is the Strawberry Moon.
The Strawberry Moon
The full moon in June has been named the “Strawberry Moon” because it is a time of abundance, the season when berries ripen with the return of the warm summer sun. The name “Strawberry Moon” or “Ripening Berry Moon” is used by the Algonquin, Ojibwe, Dakota, and Lakota Indigenous nations of the Northeastern United States.
Among the Indigenous nations of North America,this full moon is called;
- Blooming Moon(Anishinaabe)
- Green Corn Moon(Cherokee), for young shoots and the start of the harvest
- Hoer Moon(Western Abenaki), for young shoots and the start of the harvest
- Egg Laying MoonandHatching Moon, which refer to the eggs of geese and other birds (Cree)
Flowers in June
In June, perennials emerge from the ground along with vegetables and herbs. It’s the month when Montreal smells its best, and a month of anticipation for those who prepared their garden beds in the fall and have been waiting ever since to see their zucchini plants sprout. We’ll see;
- Clematis
- Iris (Iris reticulata)
- Lilacs (Syringa)
- Peonies (Paeonia)
- Vegetables and Herbs
