Gardens aren’t
just pretty. They all do their bit to make the city liveable. The trees improve
air quality, the greenery cools hot summer air, and plants absorb rain. A lush
garden, with a carpet of plants helps to keep water from overwhelming the sewer
system water during heavy storms
Sewers, sewage,
wastewater treatment plants, combined sewer overflows, these things, the
intestines of our city are much on our minds. That's why we must
continue to value gardens, parks and natural lands.
Though many
people “get it”- the value of gardens, many still hold a thinly disguised attitude
that they are a frill, a trifle, a hobby for “ladies.”
When I used to
do a lot of speaking engagements I would often be introduced by a man (sorry
men) who would say something like, “I don’t know a thing about gardening, (or
care about it) but Kathy’s stuff is pretty interesting.”
Well I guess
some folks would be happy living in a house plunked in the middle of a Walmart
parking lot.
The sewage leak
and the coverup has me ten shades of
cranky.
While I try to
focus on the “pretty” things, the gardens and parks in our city, I carry around
a bag full of grudges.
Try going to a
public meeting for a new development. In my neighbourhood some developers of
future condominium blocks are asking to be relieved of landscape requirements.
In plain language all paving, no plants. Oh, maybe there would be a pot at the
front entrance with a dead spruce and cigarette butts in it.
Are these
requests granted? It’s hard to tell unless you follow the development through
all the planning approvals.
I do know the
city has a 50 percent green space requirement for front yards that is supposed
to prevent average Joe homeowner from paving the entire front yard.
But where does
this hostility to plants come from? Notice real estate photos. Houses are
renovated from roof to basement, but the yard is a dismal defeated patch of
grass with a volcano of mulch masquerading as a garden.
The budget for
a home renovation would contain many big-ticket items. Is it so painful to plunk
down a hundred bucks for a pretty, beneficial, tree, or order one from the
city for free?
When the sewer
leak story broke in the Spectator, it caused many to reflect on the state of
our city. It’s not just about the open gate at the holding tank, or the
withholding of vital information, it’s about the way we live and the choices we
make.
Many years ago
when the Parks Canada Discovery Centre was built on the waterfront, Ken Parker
was bought in to advise on landscaping.
Parker had the
wonderful native plant nursery called Sweetgrass Gardens on the Six Nations
Reserve.
Using Ken’s
expertise smart things happened. The parking lot was broken up with plantings
of trees and shrubs. They filtered the storm water run-off and changed the
nature of the parking lot from ugly to intriguing.
On the water
side of the Discovery Centre a garden of native plants and a tranquil pond made
a thoughtful connection to the harbour.
Now not a trace
remains of that little oasis. Paved over for the restaurant that followed and
failed. The trees in the parking lot remain, but Parker has moved on to
Buffalo, where he is helping people understand the connection we need to
protect between plants and a livable city.
So, it’s more
important than ever to treasure our pretty gardens, and to plant more of them.
They improve our mental health, cool and filter the air, and soak up rain.
There is not one single downside to a garden.
In 2020
we have to do better.
