We're pretty proud of the big beautiful things coming out of the garden these days.
Thursday 21 August 2014
Friday 11 July 2014
The garden is looking beautiful right about now!
It was a sunny Thursday evening this week in the garden. Flowers are in bloom, the tomatoes are getting tall, and the peas are getting fat. All are welcome at these gatherings! Stop by on Thursdays around 5:30pm because we'd love to show you around.
Thursday 26 June 2014
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Thursday 5 June 2014
Thursday 15 May 2014
Future Design Potential For Sunnyside Shared
On March 31st, of this year, local artist and garden designer Audrey Smith presented her final design for Sunnyside Shared to a lucky few at a pot luck dinner. Audrey had been contracted using a Take Action Grant by Sunnyside Shared to design a garden that utilized the entire space donated by the city, as shown in the picture below. In my mind, I pictured a garden that was both useful yet welcoming, but limited to practicality and not incredibly creative. That's because, for me, the potential space of Sunnyside Shared is overwhelming. The current 6 beds of Sunnyside Shared occupy only a fraction of the potential land space, only about 300 sq. feet to be exact. Nevertheless, the entire green patch in the image below is actually available for use. Such a scale adds so much complexity to the design, the gardeners of Sunnyside Shared thought it best to contract a professional. This proved a wise decision.
Looking at this photo, it's easy to understand what I mean by overwhelming. As size references, that giant path-like structure in the left of this photo is the C-Train bridge and the road running along the bottom is Memorial Dr. Compare them to all that green space in the photo, and the potential for Sunnyside Shared is made obvious. We could garden the whole kit-and-caboodle (avid gardeners and daydreamers know what I mean, bees, rabbits...). But of course that's probably not likely given that both the train, Memorial, and the Bow River path system form the perimeter of the garden. With so much traffic our goat farm would likely catch a little too much attention. The amount of traffic (both vehicular and other) is both an asset and a burden. In my opinion visibility is key when pushing for necessary change--the more people who see the garden will understand its benefits--but it simultaneously requires careful planning and maintenance to ensure a pleasing and positive response. It is vital any design goes beyond functionality to create a piece of art. As I'm sure everyone at the potluck would agree, Audrey's design managed to walk that line.
Bike Theme:
A theme wasn't something I'd ever considered for garden design. Audrey, however, understood the value in choosing a theme. A theme focuses a design. It gives it clarity by specifying an idea. A garden as visual Sunnyside Shared benefits from focalization because it adds to an overall organization. This is necessary when trying to convince the public on the benefit of local food spaces. For Sunnyside Shared, Audrey choose bikes as the thrust for her design. I guess, since we're on Memorial, cars could have been a option too, but clearly bikes are the sustainable, green choice which complement the area well as the Bow River Pathway weaves past the garden.
Below is an example of a fence using bike frames. This is one of the many examples Audrey suggested to incorporate bikes into the garden. Given the surplus of bikes rusting out in garages of backyards, it seems only fair that we acknowledge the strength of their steel frames and apply them to something beyond refuse.
Unlike traditional farm fences, these bike fences add an aesthetic to the landscape while also telling passerbys to respect the garden space without Soviet style concrete. The frames can clearly function as trellises for pole beans and peas, squash, morning glories, etc. They can easily be slipped through. They are a suggestion not force. I like how playful the fence is. How it takes bikes into a new context where we can start applying garden ideas to bicycles: a bicycle powered apple juicer anyone?
I'm confident that a strong, beautiful design will result in more people gravitating towards the garden and ultimately finding themselves digging in the earth. At least that's what I'm hoping for. I want people to come together through the food they eat. If there are only three needs: shelter, water and food it's blazingly obvious that the potential for our lives to be simplified rests on our ability to easily provide these things. Unfortunately most of us aren't intimately connected to our food. We've no idea where it came from. We don't know the travails it's endured. We've developed highly complex systems to remove our needs from personal production. Water is piped in, Houses are built by others, food is grown elsewhere. I'm not suggesting we all become carpenters, plumbers and farmers combined, but I do believe that our relations can be more intentional and personal. Especially in the area of food. I'm reassured when I know my farmers.
Communal Plot/Farm Plot:
One way this problem of alienating our farmers can be reduced is by expanding food production capabilities inner city. Already Calgary boasts dozens of Urban Farming businesses. This year we've even seen the creation of YYC Growers and Distributors : a collective of Urban Farmers within and around the city. These are farmers whose crops you can see by peeking over suburban white fences or by driving out of town for less than an hour. These are farmers you can shake hands with and meet at local farmers' markets. For the farmers digging the dirt inner city, most are farming in backyards donated by the homeowner. But certainly the potential to grow on public land is huge. Calgary boasts acres of gorgeous park space. So what if we permitted farmers to use sections of public land to grow food? Right? How amazing would that be!
Audrey's design took this possibility into serious consideration. She divided the property into two: the communal side and the farmer side. For the use of local farmers, Audrey designed wicking beds made from
metal culverts cut in half. These beds would hold water better than the current wood beds used at the garden by containing a reservoir underneath the soil that could be absorbed as needed by the plants. To keep the water moving, the beds would be built with a water reservoir intake, and an overflow. This would prevent the beds from becoming flooded during a heavy deluge. Pretty clever given our not so distant history.
The added benefit as you can see in the design is that the beds are elevated. Farming these beds would mean less bending which is somehow laughably ergonomic. But there's nothing wrong with that. Why should our farmers have to bend over all day? As shown, the beds rest inside a wooden cradle, which creates a space between the ground and the beds. This space, Audrey suggested, could be used to store tools or compost organic matter.
Personally, I think this design is fantastic. Never in all my dreams had I expected such work of functioning art as the final design. But that is precisely what Audrey presented. Below is the design for the entire space. The angled beds are the culverts for farmers, and the wheel is the communal garden.
To end this post, I would like to open this design up to discussion. I hope people have questions and suggestions concerning anything to do with the garden. Some of my questions include: how will the initial wow factor and maintain itself over years of use? Furthermore, how will the responsibility be shared by the farmers, the community and the city. I also wonder about the potential of food forest? How could more perennial plants be incorporated into the design for an even more sustainable food source. Lastly,what should the responsibilities of the farmers be on such a site? If the land is donated to them, is anything further expected? Join the discussion.
Looking at this photo, it's easy to understand what I mean by overwhelming. As size references, that giant path-like structure in the left of this photo is the C-Train bridge and the road running along the bottom is Memorial Dr. Compare them to all that green space in the photo, and the potential for Sunnyside Shared is made obvious. We could garden the whole kit-and-caboodle (avid gardeners and daydreamers know what I mean, bees, rabbits...). But of course that's probably not likely given that both the train, Memorial, and the Bow River path system form the perimeter of the garden. With so much traffic our goat farm would likely catch a little too much attention. The amount of traffic (both vehicular and other) is both an asset and a burden. In my opinion visibility is key when pushing for necessary change--the more people who see the garden will understand its benefits--but it simultaneously requires careful planning and maintenance to ensure a pleasing and positive response. It is vital any design goes beyond functionality to create a piece of art. As I'm sure everyone at the potluck would agree, Audrey's design managed to walk that line.
Bike Theme:
A theme wasn't something I'd ever considered for garden design. Audrey, however, understood the value in choosing a theme. A theme focuses a design. It gives it clarity by specifying an idea. A garden as visual Sunnyside Shared benefits from focalization because it adds to an overall organization. This is necessary when trying to convince the public on the benefit of local food spaces. For Sunnyside Shared, Audrey choose bikes as the thrust for her design. I guess, since we're on Memorial, cars could have been a option too, but clearly bikes are the sustainable, green choice which complement the area well as the Bow River Pathway weaves past the garden.
Below is an example of a fence using bike frames. This is one of the many examples Audrey suggested to incorporate bikes into the garden. Given the surplus of bikes rusting out in garages of backyards, it seems only fair that we acknowledge the strength of their steel frames and apply them to something beyond refuse.
Unlike traditional farm fences, these bike fences add an aesthetic to the landscape while also telling passerbys to respect the garden space without Soviet style concrete. The frames can clearly function as trellises for pole beans and peas, squash, morning glories, etc. They can easily be slipped through. They are a suggestion not force. I like how playful the fence is. How it takes bikes into a new context where we can start applying garden ideas to bicycles: a bicycle powered apple juicer anyone?Communal Plot/Farm Plot:
One way this problem of alienating our farmers can be reduced is by expanding food production capabilities inner city. Already Calgary boasts dozens of Urban Farming businesses. This year we've even seen the creation of YYC Growers and Distributors : a collective of Urban Farmers within and around the city. These are farmers whose crops you can see by peeking over suburban white fences or by driving out of town for less than an hour. These are farmers you can shake hands with and meet at local farmers' markets. For the farmers digging the dirt inner city, most are farming in backyards donated by the homeowner. But certainly the potential to grow on public land is huge. Calgary boasts acres of gorgeous park space. So what if we permitted farmers to use sections of public land to grow food? Right? How amazing would that be!
Audrey's design took this possibility into serious consideration. She divided the property into two: the communal side and the farmer side. For the use of local farmers, Audrey designed wicking beds made frommetal culverts cut in half. These beds would hold water better than the current wood beds used at the garden by containing a reservoir underneath the soil that could be absorbed as needed by the plants. To keep the water moving, the beds would be built with a water reservoir intake, and an overflow. This would prevent the beds from becoming flooded during a heavy deluge. Pretty clever given our not so distant history.
The added benefit as you can see in the design is that the beds are elevated. Farming these beds would mean less bending which is somehow laughably ergonomic. But there's nothing wrong with that. Why should our farmers have to bend over all day? As shown, the beds rest inside a wooden cradle, which creates a space between the ground and the beds. This space, Audrey suggested, could be used to store tools or compost organic matter.
Personally, I think this design is fantastic. Never in all my dreams had I expected such work of functioning art as the final design. But that is precisely what Audrey presented. Below is the design for the entire space. The angled beds are the culverts for farmers, and the wheel is the communal garden.
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Spring Swap Photos
Here are some of the photos from the Swap May 8th. Some real good things for trade.
Wednesday 9 April 2014
Monday 7 April 2014
Season Starting
Hey everyone,
It's been a long, cold winter. Or...so I hear. To be honest, I spent much of the winter on a warm sojourn throughout various climates of Australia. That being said, the winter's breadth exceeded my expectations leaving plenty of snow and cold days to mark the calendar following my return home. But it does finally look like Spring didn't fully retire. The birds are back. The snow is gone, er. mostly. And people are buying garden stuff.
Sunnyside Shared begins it's third gardening season this year and there's plenty of reason to be excited. Although the garden is small, I confidently say that we've made huge steps both for our growing potential and the community. Last year we began weekly harvest for the WIN society (where I hear kids were getting excited over kale), hosted a Harvest Swap (see previous posts) and harvest over 100 lbs of tomatoes (what?!?). We also contracted amazing local artist Audrey Smith to design a potential future space for Sunnyside Shared Garden.
Here's the design above. North is up here too. I will post the entire design process in an upcoming post, but until then, start spreading the word so we can actually build this amazing space. Wouldn't this be amazing to pass over on the C-Train or walk past while heading to the river?
Well, with our third season underway, I'd like to welcome everyone (new and old) back to the garden and prepare them for the season and the future at Sunnyside Shared Garden. So here is a brief outline of the upcoming season:
Garden Nights: Garden Nights will begin May 1st at 5:30pm and continue every second Thursday until the garden gets busy, then we will garden every week. (schedule to the posted)
Spring Swap: Due to the success of our Harvest Swap, Sunnyside Shared will be hosting a Spring Swap on May 8th. The concept will be the same: a non-monetized space of trade. But because it won't be harvest time yet, bring your seeds, sprouts, seedlings, vermicast, worms, growing pots you made...basically anything DIY that you made that you'd be willing to trade for some other Spring wares.
Donate Produce: This year Sunnyside Shared will continue to donate produce to WINS every Thursday, and we will also be sharing the produce among the volunteers. The split will be 50/50 and will be earned by time worked in the garden. (to be further blogged on)
Of course there's more but I just wanted to start the season with a hello and summary of the upcoming year.
If you want to help out in the garden or have any other questions email sunnysideshared@gmail.com
we hope to see you out there this season,
kye
It's been a long, cold winter. Or...so I hear. To be honest, I spent much of the winter on a warm sojourn throughout various climates of Australia. That being said, the winter's breadth exceeded my expectations leaving plenty of snow and cold days to mark the calendar following my return home. But it does finally look like Spring didn't fully retire. The birds are back. The snow is gone, er. mostly. And people are buying garden stuff.
Sunnyside Shared begins it's third gardening season this year and there's plenty of reason to be excited. Although the garden is small, I confidently say that we've made huge steps both for our growing potential and the community. Last year we began weekly harvest for the WIN society (where I hear kids were getting excited over kale), hosted a Harvest Swap (see previous posts) and harvest over 100 lbs of tomatoes (what?!?). We also contracted amazing local artist Audrey Smith to design a potential future space for Sunnyside Shared Garden.
Here's the design above. North is up here too. I will post the entire design process in an upcoming post, but until then, start spreading the word so we can actually build this amazing space. Wouldn't this be amazing to pass over on the C-Train or walk past while heading to the river?
Well, with our third season underway, I'd like to welcome everyone (new and old) back to the garden and prepare them for the season and the future at Sunnyside Shared Garden. So here is a brief outline of the upcoming season:
Garden Nights: Garden Nights will begin May 1st at 5:30pm and continue every second Thursday until the garden gets busy, then we will garden every week. (schedule to the posted)
Spring Swap: Due to the success of our Harvest Swap, Sunnyside Shared will be hosting a Spring Swap on May 8th. The concept will be the same: a non-monetized space of trade. But because it won't be harvest time yet, bring your seeds, sprouts, seedlings, vermicast, worms, growing pots you made...basically anything DIY that you made that you'd be willing to trade for some other Spring wares.
Donate Produce: This year Sunnyside Shared will continue to donate produce to WINS every Thursday, and we will also be sharing the produce among the volunteers. The split will be 50/50 and will be earned by time worked in the garden. (to be further blogged on)
Of course there's more but I just wanted to start the season with a hello and summary of the upcoming year.
If you want to help out in the garden or have any other questions email sunnysideshared@gmail.com
we hope to see you out there this season,
kye
Friday 21 March 2014
Sunnyside Pallet and Garden Party March 29
Come to the containR in Sunnyside location on Saturday March 29, 2-5 to get involved in both the containR in Sunnyside and the Sunnyside Shared Garden!
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/638449926232635/?ref_dashboard_filter=upcoming
Sunday 2 March 2014
2014 Starts with Ideas!
If you'd like to get involved in the Sunnyside Shared Garden, email us at sunnysideshared@gmail.com.There are opportunities to learn about gardening and grow food. Should we expand the garden again this year? Let us know your thoughts and ideas!
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