And as we wind down another great growing season this year, I wanted to give to you some of the gems our stewards, specifically, have shared with me this past week.
1. Patience will fill the garden.
When planting our gardens, we create a planting plan based on what the garden will look like once it is fully grown in. This means we space our trees, shrubs, and perennials according to their size at maturity. As a result, a garden may look sparse in their first year or two (e.g. Spadina garden on planting day) but by year three every one of our gardens has shown its true (and enthusiastically wild!) colours (e.g. Bathurst garden last summer). Exercise patience and hold off on assessing for additions until after the third year – or they may end up crowding and competing with the existing plants!
2. Love = potential.
Poor soil still has the potential to yield amazing results when you add dedication. And that dedication comes in the form of diligent watering, mulching, and general care by a team of committed individuals: a labour of love. Take the St. Clair garden for instance. In 2010, our team of stewards used a pick-axe to break up soil (along with remnant concrete and rebar) to originally get the plants in the ground. Yet in 2012, exuberant dogwoods, towering cranberries, and colourful blossoms could be found in every corner of the garden.
3. People notice (way more than you might think).
Our stewards can’t count the number of times that people have stopped and thanked them for their contribution to greening the community. From a daily commuter on their way into the TTC, to a neighbour “just down the way,” to a new acquaintance who lives in a completely different end of the city – all of them are impacted by the care that goes into these vibrant pockets of the urban forest and they let our volunteers know it. So much so, that some days it’s hard to get any actual gardening done because you’re so busy talking!