Buying Plants

We took a tour of three plant centres to see what they are stocking this year. There is a frost warning in effect for tonight, so we have not yet bought anything but can't resist looking anyway.

The centres are really just begining to set up for the season. This weekend is the May long weekend, Queen Victoria's birthday, popularlly known as the May 24.

This is the big weekend for anybody selling retail plants. The racks of annuals are out but covered up so we could not see much. We'll go go back next week. I am looking for a few perennials for the backyard and the greening project next door.

The Community Garden

Some people do not have their onw place to garden. This does not mean that they have to be denied the pleasure of growing whatever it is they wish to grow.

The community garden provides gardners without a garden; the opportunity to engage in the oldest profession, gardening. The community garden also enables people to become neighbours, not just people who live on the same street or nearby but people who stop and say hi, share a few minutes with one another.

To be a neighbour requires more than just living side by side or across the street, it involves interaction and not just a quick nod because you don't know what else to do and would rather avoid doing anything. You are making a connection with another person and developing a relationship.

Gardening can teach us a lot about being good neighbours. A successful garden relies on the interactions of all the elements that make up a garden. Plants, insects, soil, sun, water, birds, butterflies and, of course, the gardener, all working together to create a thriving plot. A plot that produces food and/or for all the members of the garden's community, not just the humans.