Midsummer Garden work party

The ubiquitous Urho came by during our work party on Friday to keep us entertained. We were out at the Midsummer Garden lot on Friday with a large crew, and then Saturday and Sunday to do some odds'n'ends. So the photos here are from the weekend.

We moved around some topsoil and started some flower beds. This is the beginning of a shade garden under the trees. An astilbe, two hostas and a lady fern are greening this spot up!

Paula Sullivan lent us the 2 garden gnomes she painted for her daughter, Kristina's, wedding. Kristina's wedding was a garden party, held outdoors. Paula lent the garden gnomes to us to add some colour to our garden and to draw attention to it! Katja and Elijah set them up and later, by chance, we noticed that the sign we made 'faces' the street.

I painted the name of our garden-to-be on the wall of Kivela Bakery. I took a can of paint from home that I wanted to paint one of my kitchen walls with but my daughter refused to allow me to put this colour in the kitchen. So, here is its cheery yellow, recycled. Kaija Maki painted the flowers to add some pizazz.

Two sisters from the neighbourhood tried out the garden gnomes! There's our load of topsoil behind them, waiting to get spread about the lot.

Some of the work crew on Friday included folks from the Roots to Harvest Garden. Bryan Dowkes (up in the 'saving grace' tree) is one of the coordinators of that community garden. It is amazing! I love their non-linear approach to planting! In the foreground are some of their hard-working youth crew that came to help us get started: Keenan, Jesse, Cindy and Sam.

In the center, beside Brian, is Judi Vinni. She's one of the key women of Willow Springs, and she got a lot of things moving on our Friday work party, starting some flower beds, delegating jobs, planning the beds, trimming trees...she's a Jill-of-all-jobs! Next to Judi is Fallon Poile of Anishnawbe Mushkiki, the First Nations health center in town. She is the garden coordinator for a new garden that they are making out in Dorion. She has begun the plant beds by using something called 'lasagne gardening'. Fallon also made a stone for our 'stage'.

The Willow Springs Creative Centre set up the garden stone making workshop. (on their site, check their Lazy Dames workshops). The stones we made on Friday were large square patio sized stones that we will put together to make the 'stage' area around the 'saving grace' tree. It will be a place to hold performances in the park, for musicians, for chanting...whatever strikes the fancy of folks.

Here is a close-u[ of one of the beautiful designs created for the stones. Sharon Ried's hands are in action making this particular stone for our "stage". The Willow women had bits of tiles, mosaics, glass beads, buttons and other interesting bric brac to use for design-making.

I like this photo because the bicycle and the stroller hint that our garden-to-be will be a fun neighbourhood green space!

Here's Elijah, getting to work raking up some twigs and branches.

This ring-billed gull was the overseer. It sat on the chimney of Kivela Bakery, watching the goings-on.

see you there! I will post when we have another Midsummer Garden work party.