Community gardening
Saturday, May 21, 2011 I woke up to the sound of rain against the window; it's now late morning & though I can't hear the rain, it's still very grey outside. I suspect, at best, today will be unsettled with rain, showers & maybe (?) sunshine. No, none of the latter. I just checked the Environment Canada forecast -- but wished I hadn't because now my hopes are dashed. Sigh. At least we had yesterday.
Sorry. In writing the introduction to this post I got off on a weather tangent & lament. Back to the real topic. Which I'm writing about because of the weather. If it were dry & warm, I'd be out in the garden. The community garden, that is.
Yes, finally after 20 months on a waiting list, I have a plot in the City Hall Gardens. (If you follow me on Twitter, you'll already know as I shared the news a week ago. Thanks for joining in my happiness! Your delight & support made the good news even better. I do believe gardening is like eating -- sweeter when done as part of a community.)
Since early May, I've been a busy bee: I prepped my bed, began sowing seeds & transplanting peas & tomatoes, attended the community garden AGM & work party, & planted the sharing garden with summer crops that will help nourish a local neighbourhood house.
In this post, I'll show you some of the shared care areas. During our recent AGM, each gardener signed up to tend one or more of these groups plots during the coming year.
Entranceway arbour & perennial bed. (I'll tell you more about this area in future posts as I volunteered to help tend it.)
Blossoms on apple trees around the garden's perimeter
Strawberries
Rhubarb (I've already harvested some tasty stalks from this shared plot)
Myosotis (Forget-me-not) in the all white Healing Garden
In a future post, I'll introduce you to my plot, which looked like this when I first saw it two weeks ago:
Yes, I had a bit of a clean-up ahead of me but as I discovered, there be treasure (overwintered 'Dragon's Blood' carrots) beneath the soil's surface.
Reader Comments (4)
Elaine,
I am so excited to share your happiness over your community garden! Even though someone predicted the world might end today, I have a different view. I love the Chinese proverb "Life begins the day you plant a garden." I will eagerly look for your photos and posts. Sorry I have not gone the Twitter route. This is enough for me. :-)
Diana
Thank you, Diana! Yesterday when I was forking through the soil (searching for wire worms - ugh), I thought of you & all the hard, hard work you've done building your farm.
The Chinese proverb is new to me -- so true. These past couple of weeks have felt like a new beginning -- the garden is only 5 minutes away so I've visited it every day, even if it's just to look at the pansies & thyme I inherited as a legacy from the previous gardener.
Hi Elaine
A new gardening plot that comes with treasure? That's got to be a great sign. I like how you can create a story about the previous gardener through the legacy of their plants. Looking forward to your planting list for the new garden and progress pics. Have fun!
Hi, Kim. Yes, two treasures, in fact: the carrots and a gorgeous, lush clump of thyme.
Your balcony is looking so good (I visited it last night) & ready to take advantage of warmer weather (let's hope it comes soon). I especially like those domes for hardening off your tomatoes.