boulevard garden, garden visits, projects

Nature Improves Urban Life

11/07/2012 svseekins 5 Comments

In the downtown core of BC’s capital city, I’m glad there are some spots where pedestrians enjoy some separation from the vehicle traffic as they all go about their busy schedules.

the Atrium rain garden - separating pedestrians from vehicle traffic — photo by SVSeekins

But in this spot, on the northeast corner of Yates & Blanshard streets, it’s more than just a pretty boulevard. Here nature is working hard as a public utility: a rain garden.

A rain garden is basically a ditch.

Most cities have been done with ditches for ages, favouring underground storm drain systems to pipe rainwater away quickly. Although that sounds pretty civilized, it means:

water drains so fast that there’s no time for it to soak in and nourish boulevard trees & landscaping, much less refill the natural water table
street pollution washes into the storm system and then dumps directly into streams or the ocean
in heavy rains, the storm drain system can’t handle the rush of runoff, so streets flood anyway

the Atrium rain gardens - parking & street drains into ditch — photo by SVSeekins

The rain garden acts as a bit of a pond containing the flow for a small rain event (about 2.5 cm rainfall). That’s the amount that washes the oils & chemicals off the street.

The trees, plants, and soils in the ditch are not only nourished, but they also break down the pollutants before the water infiltrates more deeply into the earth beneath.

It sounds kinda crazy that plants can break down pollution, doesn’t it? Science swears it’s true.

the Atrium rain gardens - ditch grate — photo by SVSeekins

In a heavier rainstorm, the runoff gathers in the rain garden, and the excess water flows more slowly away in that handy storm drain system.

It sounds like a win-win situation to me.

The rain irrigates the garden naturally.

Pollutants are treated by an effective process.

There’s less flooding now & the storm drain system won’t need expensive pipe enlargements to handle the increased rains we’re getting over the past few years.

the Atrium rain gardens - nature assisting urban life — photo by SVSeekins

I especially appreciate that the gardens provide some natural beauty to an otherwise glass, steel & concrete desert.

Now the curiosity rises in my mind: which trees & plants thrive in one of these ditches? They’d need to be happy with both very wet feet in winter and very dry in summer…. ideas?

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© copyright 2012 SVSeekins

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Forsythia Through Four Seasons

11/01/2012 svseekins 16 Comments

It’s taken a couple of years for me to really appreciate Forsythia in all seasons.

ws - Forsythia in April — photo by SVSeekins

Yes, Forsythia is at its best in spring. Every morning through March, I sit with my coffee & ponder the coming growing season. As I’m peering out the kitchen window, my anticipation builds as the buds on the Forsythia show more & even more promise.

I’m energized by the sunny yellow blossoms in March & April.

Each year I feel so desperate to see any spring colour. Forsythia will never be challenged over its prominent real estate between our driveway & the kitchen entrance.

For all that hoopla, it’s easy to forget about Forsythia for the rest of the year. But that would be ignoring the assets.

ws - Forsythia in May — photo by SVSeekins

In April & May, the yellow blooms give way to yellow-green leaves. Like the rest of the garden, the shrub begins to fill out, supplying much-appreciated privacy.

ws - Forsythia in June — photo by SVSeekins

By June, Forsythia is a steadfast background green and working hard to compliment the new flowers in the garden parade throughout the entire length of the summer and into the fall.

ws - Forsythia in early October — photo by SVSeekins

When the brisk winds of October arrive, Forsythia again steps up for a more significant share of the garden interest. The yellow, apricot and red leaves add lovely colour to the fall palette.

For Halloween, they’re even more vibrant. No wonder Forsythia has become one of our garden mainstays!

ws - Forsythia in late October — photo by SVSeekins

ws - Forsythia in late December — photo by SVSeekins

By December, Forsythia is naked again. That’s not my favourite look for a shrub… but I understand that without the barrenness of winter, the spring probably wouldn’t be as exciting.

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Fall Fun with Friends

10/25/2012 svseekins Leave a comment

It rained over the past week. What a transformation. It’s truly fall now.

entrance to Jeneece Place — photo by SVSeekins

Woo hoo! Wishes granted.

Because I’d already committed to helping out in the garden at Jenecce Place, I was especially grateful for the wet. The West Coast might be damp & chilly in the fall, but weeds are a whole lot easier to dig if the ground isn’t concrete dry.

the spot for the future kitchen garden — photo by SVSeekins

There were 2 challenges presented to the volunteers from the View Royal Garden Club on Sunday afternoon.

The first was to create space for a veggie garden near the kitchen area of the house. The chosen site was previously planted with native kinnickinnick for ground-cover & a blue fescue grass for architectural interest.

the weedy slope along the sidewalk at Jeneece Place — photo by SVSEekins

The second challenge was the slope running along the entrance sidewalk. There were Yarrow, Oregon Grape, and the occasional grouping of blue fescue tufts planted close to the walkway, but nothing further up the slope. The staff’s concern was the upcoming rainy season would bring erosion problems.

What complimentary challenges! One site needed plantings removed – – the other needed plantings added. Kismet!

the crew gets busy weeding & digging transplant holes — photo by SVSeekins

We set about weeding & preparing planting holes. The effort kept us warm.

When gardening in a team a fair amount of visiting can be accomplished while still continuing the task at hand. I like that 🙂

I also found it interesting to see the different tools each seasoned gardener chose for her/his tasks. Perhaps I’ll try some new tricks next time I’m in my own garden.

Dark clouds gathered, but happily the rain stayed away. We progressed to moving plants from one bed directly into the other.

I’m always amazed at how proportions & space gets mixed up in my head. I figured the plants to be moved wouldn’t come close to filling up the space available on the slope. I was mistaken. Near the end of the afternoon we squeezed in extra holes between new transplants just to finish clearing out the kitchen garden bed.

muffin / tea break before heading home — photo by SVSeekins

With a sense of satisfaction we sat down to muffins & tea knowing that the job was done. it’s so nice when a project starts & finishes in one gathering.

A bit more visiting was a lovely wrap to the afternoon before I headed home to a warm shower.