What a beautiful summer it’s been!
I spent most of every day in my garden as I undertook a rather daunting renovation in the back yard seeking to create space for more shady trees and fruit-bearing shrubs. My pear tree was loaded and I got my first crop of haskap berries! My roses bloomed with abandon and managed to avoid a major aphid infestation. Overall, I’m quite satisfied with what’s going on in my own yard, but let me tell you – I am far more impressed with what you all have been up to!
This summer was the first year of the Our Neighbourhood in Bloom program, EHS’s replacement for the City’s Front Yards in Bloom. Instead of a competition, we were all able to recognize any garden that spoke to us, whether from traditional standards or from the appeal of barely organized chaos.
It was a true success! We got nominations from all around Beverly and Rundle Heights and a group of us from the Beverly Heights Gardening Group had the privilege of delivering the recognition cards and yard signs supplied by the EHS. This is when the real magic of such programs kicked in…
We met so many fascinating fellow gardeners! Some have spent years puttering away in their yards and others have thrown themselves all in and made massive transformations over short periods of time.
There was one fellow who had a forest grotto in his back yard, so cool in the summer’s heat. Another couple had a yard full of items they’ve repurposed as functional garden decor surrounded by full-grown perennials in wonderful variety.
We met an urban tobacco “farmer”, a rose collector, a container/flower-arranging artist, and a fruit-forest orchardist. We admired everything from neatly kept pots filled with showy annuals to yards completely without lawn and instead filled with vegetables and pollinator gardens. People stepped out just to say hi and offer to fill our water bottles.
I have never felt more connected to the place I live than while on that walk in the sunshine with my good friends paying detailed attention to efforts of my neighbours to make our community a beautiful place.
You have all worked so hard and I appreciate every one of you. Thank you so much for making our neighbour bloom! “It was such a lovely surprise to see the “Our Neighbourhood in Bloom” recognition plaque in our planter one sunny morning! As the information card indicated, there’s a little bit of everything in our yard from food (real and fake!), to flowers, to toys, and a massive swing set. It sparks conversation and it allows me to meet so many people walking by. It’s not the most beautiful yard as there are so many of those in our Beverly neighbourhood, but as the nomination was from the Beverly Gardening Group, I am going to assume that it’s my connection to the people in our community that played a big role in the nomination. It speaks to how important and valuable it is to be connected to the people in whichever community you live. It’s those relationships that allow people to see more beauty in the things around them, such as my jam packed, messy, kind of overgrown yard. I love this neighbourhood and am grateful for all the relationships we’ve cultivated over the years.” Sandy K. from the house on 30th street with the massive swing set on the lawn.