The weather may not have been brilliant, but our gardens are. And what’s nice about Vancouver is the care that citizens have taken to nurture greenery in some unlikely places.
Like under the Burrard Bridge (map here) – where a dedicated resident has been nurturing a show garden of shade-tolerant plants:
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And along an otherwise dismal pathway that leads up to the bridge deck:
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Our garden-city tradition has always made room for boulevards, or planting strips, along our residential streets. But only recently – notably along this stretch of Cambie (map here) – have we made room along our arterials:
The City assumes the adjacent property owners will take care of these strips – and that everyone will respect them. And they do: no litter, dead plants and worn soil here.
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My favourite garden, though, was the result of a special effort by the West End Residents Association(assisted by a planning student, Don Buchanan, from UBC) to get permission from the Park Board to create a community garden on the edge of Stanley Park (map here). It was not easy, especially since some of the adjacent residents were skeptical, if not hostile. But once inaugurated in 2004, the results have, shall we say, blossomed:
2004:
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2012:
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Got some nominations worthy of a green medal of honour? Add them to the Comments .
