As some of you may have noticed the gardens at Benvoulin Heritage Park are looking quite different than they did a year ago. With a lot of hard work by volunteers and the cooperation of our wonderful neighbour to the north, much has been accomplished.
The garden along the roadside had been difficult to keep weed free and many of the plants were overgrown. This was also the case with the north side of the bee garden next to McIver House. There were trees and shrubs that encroached on the farmland to the north and had to be removed. A contractor was hired to dig out these two gardens & remove the debris. With a clean slate we were able to begin the process of bringing the gardens back to life. The city donated mulch and with the help of the youth group from Kelowna Gospel Fellowship Church fabric was laid down and mulch distributed along the roadside bed. This same group took the bricks that had been removed from the edges of the gardens and used them to create a pad for the garbage, recycling and green bins. Over the months (and many volunteer hours) the remaining gardens were weeded, edged, thinned out and covered in mulch.
Now we look forward to Spring so we can get back to work. Plans for the garden have not been finalized however we are hoping to have a rose garden by the front door of the church and perhaps have a row of lavender down the roadside garden.
If you have any ideas or suggestions we would welcome your input.
As we plod through this long winter it’s nice to turn our thoughts to gardening and watching our world blossom again.
