Growing a Garden

Space is at a premium in Vancouver. The small balcony in my apartment is stacked with plants, hanging pots dangle from the roof, and my windowsills are lined with hardy succulents. There is not much space to garden. When I was small, my building stata built a few raised beds on the narrow strip of land beside the building. I spent hours digging in the dirt – I grew rhubarb and peas and herbs. It’s something that I’ve missed. The building where I live now has a similar piece of land beside it. It was empty and fenced off, and people would throw rubbish over the fence into it. There was nothing in it, and the ground was covered in pebbles and cigarette butts. But it had light, and the two trees in the space provided some shade, and it was quiet because it backed onto the alley. I spoke to the strata council, and I applied for a Neighbourhood Small Grant.

The original space 

 The grant committee looks for submissions from members of the neighbourhood who want to run projects that build community. Right now, they’re looking for projects that build community – at a distance. I thought that a garden was the perfect answer. My building has many elderly residents who enjoy having green spaces, but aren’t able to get to local parks. There are lots of parents with young children who would welcome an area for children to play, but may be too busy to seek one out. And there are people like me – who love gardening, but lack the space.

I received a grant for $500, and began construction. I built raised beds out of discarded pallets, and sourced free plants on my neighbourhood notice board. My mum and I searched local listings for good deals on soil, and enlisted the help of friends to help us haul buckets of dirt in the bed of their pickup truck. Slowly, it began to take shape. We shovelled away the slippery pebbles on the ground and lay down bark mulch paths. I planted a communal herb garden and painted small signs to encourage people to share the space. We set out seats and a small children’s playhouse.

Construction! 

planting

welcome to the garden 

the communal herb garden 

Gardening often feels like creating something out of nothing. You plant shrivelled dried seeds in damp soil and wait and wait and wait, and then life emerges, and food, and nourishment. Building a garden is the same. You take a dead space, full of plastic bags and rocks and you invest in it, and work on it and spend time on it, and life emerges. The garden is small. There are three big planters and a handful of small ones, but it’s sweet and shady and green, and it smells alive.