Hi friends,
Are you all looking forward to spring? The community gardeners are gearing up and plans must be made because there is a contractual obligation to plant the garden by May 1st. My nephew's girlfriend is still interested in gardening and so we're trying to get her a plot of her own. We should know soon enough. If she doesn't get one this year she can continue sharing mine. My DH Jonah also loves the garden and takes a walk to the garden and park every day in summer. This year he might also share a roundabout plot with another gardener so we can plant some veggies there.
I didn't do much in my patio garden last year. Largely because I heard the strata management was investigating the garden membranes and awaiting a report about whether they need replacement. It seems they do need replacement and one of options for strata members to consider is to do away with the gardens altogether with the exception of what you plant in a container. Not everyone in the building has a garden that has a retaining walls, dirt and trees like I do. Some people have much smaller patios and no gardens, some have large patios and no gardens, some have enclosed sunrooms and no gardens and some have large patios and a decent sized garden. Over the years it seems like there are more and more rules to follow largely due to critters in the city. We can't even feed the birds or grow vegetables. We can still plant flowers. I think most people with no garden will not support the idea of replacing everything for those that do because of the cost and also the cost of living increases. I'm okay with this outcome to be honest. I too don't want to be shelling out extra money for a garden I don't really enjoy with the unpredictable climate we've been having year after years for many years now. The decision about the garden will be made soon. In fact I'm surprised I haven't received notice of the Annual General Meeting though it should be delivered any day now.
I loved my garden when it's done well. But I'm at the point where I really don't want the responsibility of the garden any more. Not only is the weather very unpredictable but I'm not a natural gardener and I don't keep to a gardener's schedule very well. I have one bush that has such extensive roots that it's very difficult to grow anything in the rest of the garden. I have another tree, my favourite Dogwood. It died last year after hanging on for several years. I'm not actually sure what happened to it because my neighbours Dogwood has done very well compared to mine but that corner of my garden isn't very good in general for growing as the sun very seldom reaches it and it remains cold a lot of the time. On my neighbour's side, the sun's rays reach her Dogwood tree a good deal of the time. Perhaps that is why her tree is much healthier.
There is also the building's structural issues to consider. I understand there are some concerns about the weight of the gardens and the impact on the structure. To be honest, I wondered about that when I first moved in. Not only is the dirt very heavy, but some gardens like mine have bushes and trees planted in them. When you add the weight of all the watering, it can all get very heavy indeed. So I've come to appreciate there are lots of good reasons for eliminating the buildings 'planted' gardens.
Indoors there are plans underway for gardening too. I started buying plant soil so I can replant my succulents and tropical plants. I got started on the planting but before I can finished I to find some of pots which I stored outdoors. For now I've cleaned off the mantle. My it sure collected a lot of spilled dirt from the plants over the winter . I've made do with the pots I had indoors but I may need to repot the one in the terra cotta planter. I love terra cotta pots and largely use them outdoors. The colour doesn't go well with the gray, white and black theme on the mantle.
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