community gardens/title> </head> <body> <table width="680" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><strong><em><font size="5" color="#009966" face="Trebuchet MS, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif">Infinite Outdoors</font></em></strong></td> </tr> <tr> <td></td> </tr> </table> <table width="400" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <table width="500" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0" align="right"> <tr> <td> <table width="420" border="0" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td><strong><em><font size="5" color="#990000" face="Trebuchet MS, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif">Gardening </font></em></strong><strong><em><font size="5" color="#990000" face="Trebuchet MS, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif">in the spirit </font></em></strong><strong><em><font size="5" color="#990000" face="Trebuchet MS, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, SunSans-Regular, sans-serif">of community</font></em></strong> <p></p> <p><em>July 4, 2009</em></p> </td> <td><img src="henry1.jpg" alt="" height="360" width="240" border="0" /></td> </tr> </table> <p>In the far northeast corner of Lethbridge sits a perfect illustration of what community is all about. The 94 garden plots tucked around the animal shelter are tended by people with a common interest in, well, gardening.</p> <p>But, the pride they have in sharing space and resources shines in the dianthus and petunias on plot E4, lupins and columbine on D9 and the vines already sporting small zucchinis under the flags of Belgium and Canada. Guy planted the flagpoles and the zucchini.</p> <p>“It’s just fun,” he says, and that’s a common sentiment.</p> <p>As you walk along the mulched paths, you’ll see mostly plants like potatoes, tomatoes, beans, beets, peas and onions, the odd celery, corn stalk and strawberries.</p> <p>Ernie prunes runners from his strawberry plants to promote fruit production and control the plants. As he stuck a moisture gauge into the earth beside the strawberries earlier this week, he was particularly proud he had only had to water once so far.</p> <p>“The mulch between each row really helps.” He has soaker hoses neatly installed in each row for when he does need water.</p> <p>Down the way at A6, Alice and her 20s-something granddaughter Megan hand water with a hose attached to the water source provided as part of the community garden package.</p> <p>“This is so wonderful out here,” says Alice. Megan, who has only enough space on her apartment patio for a few herbs, agrees: “It’s like being out in the country.”</p> <p>Ernie has a meadowlark friend who keeps him company.</p> <p>“I like it best at 6 a.m. That meadowlark sits on top of the post over there and just sings.”</p> <p>Wayne, president of the community garden association, says gardeners range in age from 18 to 90, but most are retired. The plots range in size from 250 to 1,200 square feet (23 to 111 square metres).</p> <p>”I used to live on an acreage where I had 10,000 square feet. When I moved into the city, there just wasn’t enough room in the yard,” so Wayne got a plot at the community garden.</p> <p>The gardens were relocated from the 13<sup>th</sup> Street N. site in 2005 to the southwest corner of 43<sup>rd</sup> Street and 18<sup>th</sup> Avenue N. But, the newer site has 26 fewer plots.</p> <p>“We have a long waiting list each year,” says Wayne. “We lose people because there’s not enough room.”</p> <p>The community garden at the U of L started this year, but Wayne says people inquiring about another community garden across the river should know “it’s up in the air. The community services department at the city wants a committee to take the initiative. As well, they want a site that would be close to bathrooms. Seems to me there’s lots of room in Nicolas Sheran Park and restrooms nearby.”</p> <p>Otherwise, it becomes a little far for west side residents to drive to the far northeast corner of the city.</p> <p>Henry at B7 says his drive from near the college is a little long as well, but worth it.</p> <p>“It’s like a little garden of Eden.”</p> <p>You get the feeling more gardens like this would make Lethbridge an even better community.</p> <p></p> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <p><a href="../index.html"><font size="3">Crows</font></a><a href="../index.html"><font size="3">nest River Flyfishing Home Page|</font></a><font size="3"><a href="../oldmanTU.html">Oldman TU page</a></font></p> </body> </html>