It was well worth the half hour walk up the neighborhood trails into Mt. Tolmie Park this morning. What a sight – – the camas is in bloom!
I like garry oak meadows. They’re especially inspiring when colored with a sea of blue. Spring is really here.
photo by SVSeekins
Who would expect wilderness just a short 5km from Victoria’s inner harbour?
Checking out the wildflowers in April & May is at the top of my list for reasons to be a tourist in Victoria.
photo by SVSeekins
AND if you’re fortunate enough to be around during the last saturday of April, it’s worthwhile checking out Camas Day in Beacon Hill Park. Its hosted by Friends of Beacon Hill Park & has wildflower tours & speakers. 🙂
BEFORE (photo by SVSeekins)AFTER (photo by SVSeekins)
Don’t you just love Before & After photos? I do! I lose appreciation when measuring small day-to-day changes. Progress is so much more apparent when distanced by time.
That’s why I’m excited to compare the changes of the Fisherman’s Wharf Park after its 1st birthday.
Careful plant selections of natives & non-local species provide potential for a low maintenance park.
As any new transplants need regular watering until established, Victoria Parks department installed irrigation into the beds.
The plants, trees & shrubs prospered. The water requirements will diminish as the beds mature.
The holding pond of the rain garden is coming into its own.
BEFORE (photo by SVSeekins)AFTER (photo by SVSeekins)
For the past year, rain has been redirected from the neighboring parking lots & streets, and into the catchment pond.
Check out the height of the drain. It shows how deep the pond will get before overflowing into the storm drain system. Any standing water is filtered by the rain garden. It returns to the natural water table, instead of being sent to out to sea.
These plants / filters sure don’t look any worse for wear, considering they clean up any of the runoff’s pollutants. Isn’t science & nature groovy?
BEFORE (photo by SVSeekins)AFTER (photo by SVSeekins)
They’d hoped it wouldn’t cause concern that they were expanding their garden empire. It was only removing the fence delineating their yard from the street. It was only replacing some weedy grass with dry habitat native plants . Wasn’t it beautifying the neighborhood, safeguarding water resources, and educating the community about our natural environment?
photo by SVSeekins
Happily, the neighbors welcomed the expanded forest glade. Passers by often complimented Rainey Hopewell and Margot Johnson as they tended the public area beside their home on Asquith street, not far from the downtown core of Victoria, BC.
photo by SVSeekins
The dynamic couple encouraged neighborhood involvement. The boulevard grew into an active native plant urban demonstration garden with volunteers, workshops, and planting parties..
Building on that success, expansion spread to include the boulevard on the Haultain street edge of their corner lot. This time the intention was to bring to mind issues of local food security. The community pitched in, developing the common area into a shared food garden,
photo by SVSeekins
Now known as Haultain Common, the boulevard between the sidewalk and curb was first sheet mulched. Over a west coast winter the mulch smothered the grass and weeds below it, developing into nutrient rich, composted soil. By spring it was ready for planting.
photo by SVSeekins
To start, they chose vegetables that often volunteer in a compost pile: tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins & squash. They share with whomever chooses to join in: parents & kids learning to grow food, seasoned gardeners exploring permaculture, and even urbanites tasting their first home-grown tomato. All are welcome to share in the harvest.
photo by SVSeekins
Some neighbors donate plants, and even more contribute leaves or compostables on a regular basis, gaining a sense of ownership & belonging in the common and in the community.
photo by SVSeekins
Over the past several years Haultain Common has grown in profile as well. It’s not unusual to see a university class exploring the garden one day, and a Day Care tour on another. It’s been so well received that a local irrigation company & a landscape company donated the equipment & installation of a watering system for the Common.
Boulevard gardens have cropped up on other properties along Haultain street. They’re also growing in other neighborhoods around the city. To Margot and Rainey, its been an experience in growth in so many ways.
Garden Variety Life 