ST. PAUL – A small but very appreciative group of garden enthusiasts enjoyed a tour of gardens in St. Paul and the Owlseye area last week on a tour jointly sponsored by St. Paul Champions for Change, the Town of St. Paul and Mannawanis Native Friendship Centre.
Climbing aboard the big pink bus at Sunnyside Manor, the group’s first stop was at the array of community gardens west of the Centennial Senior Citizens Club, where David Robinson proudly showed off the array of 32 flourishing 400-square-foot garden plots tucked behind rows of round and rectangular raised beds Another 20 plots are located east of the transfer station north of town.
Robinson was particularly proud to point out the shed and one of two greenhouses where garden waste is composted to feed future crops, and noted that no chemical fertilizers are used in the gardens.
The greenhouses, with the second growing everything from cucumbers and tomatoes to eggplant, were purchased with the help of a grant from Agriculture and AgriFoods Canada, along with a tractor that made a major expansion of the garden possible.
Along with the usual garden crops and a colourful array of flowers, Robinson pointed out rows of njama njama, a vegetable that is a diet mainstay in some parts of Africa and can be used in salads and stir fries, and red spinach, which is popular in India.
Accepting a plaque commemorating the tour’s visit from Penny Fox of Champions for Change, Robinson invited the visitors to come back anytime. “I’m always happy to show it off.”
The tour’s second stop was at the Owlseye home of David and Donna Hanson, where the banks of daylilies and bright orange lilies originated in the gardens of David’s grandparents in the same location. “Their house was where the sunflowers are,” Donna said, as she showed the visitors the trail through the woods that leads to the relocated Abilene train station and the path into the garden that leads to a fort she created as a hideaway for the couple’s five granddaughters to enjoy when they visit.
The now well-manicured yard was not always a showpiece, however. “The brush was encroaching when we came here, we had to beat back the bush,” Donna said, adding that many of the thriving perennials were originally on site and have been relocated, while other plants were new additions. Pointing up one of several walkways through the garden, she said of a lush display of tall purple malva, “that was just a package of seeds.”
A large square water feature with a fountain is surrounded by plants, near a vintage building banked with more orange lilies, and not far away, David was busy tossing feed pellets to the very lively rainbow trout in his cattail-bordered fishpond as the family’s energetic Labrador retriever, Vader, prepared to jump in for a swim.
“We love our yard,” the Hansons said, in agreement, pointing out a chair-lined area centered by a fire pit and another small clearing near a small, rock basined fountain that David plans to surround with cotoneasters as another feature yet to come.
The third stop, just down the road, was at the home of Lorraine and Sid Stybel, that is far from the average farmyard, with flowers everywhere and its extensive lawns dotted with everything from an old-style lawn swing to a pond with miniature fishermen sharing its rocky banks with a variety of tall waving grasses, ornamental birds and a tinkling waterfall.
A row of tree stumps behind the pond topped with huge planters of petunias in riotous full bloom, a high-in-the-air birdhouse and a unique bench with a wagon wheel back invited the visitors to stop awhile, but off to the east beckoned another outstanding feature, a huge and prolific vegetable garden, its yard-side border dotted with flowers.
Flowers were very much in evidence everywhere in the yard, including on the porches of small buildings the visitors passed on their way to a large vintage barn filled with Lorraine’s treasures, from antique toys and furniture to hand-embroidered artwork, obviously a place enjoyed at family gatherings.
The visit wrapped up with snacks at tables surrounded by more of the beautiful yard, topped off with Lorraine’s favourite chiffon cake topped with a delicious sauce of raspberries in cream, before Penny presented her with a plaque to add to her collection, this lovely location having also been the site of several other garden tours in the past.
Back on the bus, with a few spots of rain hitting the windshield on the way back to St. Paul, everyone agreed that this had been a delightful afternoon of visiting gardens looking their absolute best.
