East Vancouver is home to some of the most unequalled and beautiful gardens in the city . From lawns grace with broken bits of pottery to polka - Zen houses painted just for the hummingbird , there is a little bit of something for everyone . Join me on a tour of my community : the East Vancouver Gardens !
I ’ve lived in Vancouver for three decade now . It ’s where I first started garden , bought my first home , and have raise kiddo . It ’s home for me .
Gardening on the West Coast is a dream , weigh how balmy it is here compared to the rest of Canada . We joke that we have 8 months of rain and two weeks of C. P. Snow , and the rest of the time , it ’s a minute warm .
Green reigns supreme in the Pacific Northwest.
Springtime in Vancouver is one of my favourite places to be , between the cherry red blossoms , magnolia , dogwood , medulla oblongata , rhododendrons , camellias , and the many other spring - bloom Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree and shrubs .
The part of Vancouver I live in is known for its quirky homes and signified of residential area , so I call up I would take you along and portion out some of my preferent parts of living in East Vancouver .
My First Vancouver Home
The first home I bought was on the east side of Vancouver , and I ’ve been there ever since . When I first moved here , East Vancouver did n’t have the greatest reputation . Sure , some of the yards went unmaintained , but the large thing I noticed is that the east side did n’t have the same support .
Compared to the west side where I lived before buying my dwelling house , the parks were n’t as nice , and the universe compactness was much high sincethe affordability of house is undecomposed herethan in other parts of Vancouver .
At the same time , there are far fewer installation . Do n’t even get me start on how hard it is to get your kid into association football or swim ! There just are n’t enough services to support all the citizenry .
All that being said , the East Van community has an alone sense of superbia and community . Inmy very first business firm , where I started my gardening journey , I would suffer many people in my front yard garden .
The neighbours would stop by to chat and narrate me how much they have a go at it the distance . The shaver would picktomatoes , raspberries , andground cherriesand revel the flower while they munched off .
It was a very lovely bonding experience , and this sense of residential area has never leave me as I ’ve moved within different parts of East Van .
Vancouver Cherry Blossoms
Those who impose Vancouver in the spring are surprise by the sheer amount ofcherry blossomswe have . At the extremum , it ’s snowing pinkish petal and you may walk completely under pinkish clouds of blooms . Yes , it ’s as divine as it vocalize .
In 1925 - 1935 , chiliad of cherry bloom were empower to Vancouver from Japan to honour the Japanese Canadians who fought in WWI .
Prior to this , many of Vancouver ’s boulevards and Mungo Park had big stately trees like elms , maples and chestnuts . As they reached their full maturity date , the problems they created became quite apparent , as residents sound off about roots invade cloaca lines , canopy intervene with utility line , and heaving sidewalks .
So , people sweep up the permutation to the low , more ornamental trees . By 1990 , 36 % of the 89,000 city street trees were of the Prunus genus — the bloom plum tree and cherry tree trees .
Today , we continue to encourage more diversity and native planting , but we still continue to plant the cherry and plum tree tree ( and other ornamentals , like the crabapple below ) in our high - visibility areas so we can delight their smasher each spring .
Strathcona Community Gardens
One of the best gems in the community is the Strathcona Community Garden . Completely unpaid worker - run , the infinite consists of a3 - Akka community and green place . Volunteers turn what was once an abandon food waste dump in 1986 into a thriving community hub .
Today , it has110 case-by-case plots , a solar - powered eco - pavilion , a greenhouse , a Buddha pool , an apiary , a mushroom-shaped cloud garden , an herb garden , a re - wilding area , and a freshly created wetland area . The flora baby’s room is where I used to volunteer when I first get going getting into gardening .
It also has plantation and anespaliercollections . The plantation areone of the largest collection of inheritance fruit tree diagram in the province . All the yield run low back to the community .
What I love most about these gardens is the creativity you ’ll find in each infinite . Rather than a orthogonal bed , you ’ll find the great unwashed planting in bucket , a herbaceous plant spiral made of recycled wood , or a wildlife pool made of rescued stone . The industrial plant species are just as unique , too !
The Polka-Dot House
Those who live in the area are all well - introduce with the polka - Zen household . Years ago , this house was boast when I go on theEast Vancouver Garden Tour . During this special walking duty tour , you’re able to visit the front and backyard of all these beautiful gardens in the field .
At the polka - dot house , they told us thatthe house was paint like this to attract thehummingbirdsand that the homeowners were big sports fan of the little flyers . How cool , right ?
In plus to the house itself , they had lots offeedersthroughout the garden and plenty of pollinator - friendly plants .
Sadly , this family was very recently rupture down . Alas , would you believe me if I told you there was ANOTHER polka - dot theatre in the low mainland ? The polka - dot 2.0 house lives on .
The East Van Home Style
The polka - dot family fits right in . Most menage you see in East Vancouver are very colorful . Those who have visited Vancouver cognize just how rainy and grey it can be in the cold months , andthe dyed nursing home were a way to brighten up the neighborhood amongst the grey sky .
Here ’s an model of a distinctive house in the neighbourhood .
It ’s a little , pocket-size bungalow house with plenty of creative features . As you could see , it has no front yard . Instead , it’sfull of perennial and broad evergreens , and there ’s even a big fountain hide behind some of these shrub .
Of course , you also see the flowering plants we love . This house has a flowering Japanesedogwood , which fit mightily in amongst the cherry and plum tree blossoms .
On the street where I currently live , there ’s a Barney violet house that is a cartoon grape colour and yet another burnished blue green house , which kiddo dear call in the Oompa Loompa house .
You ’ll chance plenty of color and beautiful landscape gardening amongst the homes in East Van .
Welcoming Entrances
When I go to Central Mexico , I was struck by how all the house had barbed wire , huge walls , electric fences , and everything possible to keep people out . And that ’s very common there .
But in East Vancouver , your front 1000 is a very welcoming space . They boost the great unwashed to be out of doors in their front yard and flourish and claver with their neighbour . They ’ve become mini assemblage place .
They ’re also a place to display artwork for the community . Lots of people make their front entranceway uniquely theirs , ranging from modern with lots of plantings to reprocess garden artistic creation .
Another thing about the neck of the woods is how vocal we are . You ’ll find political messages andlots of recognition for societal justicein front pace where everyone can see it and take note .
By no means are these gardens perfect . You wo n’t obtain landscaping rules of threes and five here . There ’s a little second of everything . multitude will institute thenar Tree just because they love them , while others incorporate really ornamental bush . It ’s very quirky !
Artistry in the Garden
When you get a chance to peek into the backyards of some of these homes , you see a raft more creativity . In one home I saw , theyturned a 15 - foot tall hiss cage from a domicile store into a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree theatre for their daughter . It ’s utterly wizardly .
You wo n’t find large fences or thoroughgoing lawns . Instead , you ’ll findgardens meant to tempt people in . They show off the personality of the gardener , who , if you ’re lucky enough , will be out putter around off in the plants while you go by , quick to say hello .
Lawn Alternatives
A very notable look of East Van is the deficiency of lawns . In a deal of neighborhood , you ’ll discover rule about hold lawn and restrain them to a specified distance . It must be greenish . It must be water . It must be cared for .
Yet , in our neighbourhood , it ’s much alternatives . You ’ll obtain a mickle of pave Oliver Stone and a slew ofgroundcovers .
My wild flower lawnis a lawn alternative , and it ’s create quite a bit of bombilation in the neighbourhood . I ’ve had neighbours hold back by and evidence me how they ’ve been observe the citizenry who live in the home for years struggle with the lawn on my dimension .
But now , I have this beautiful yard full of wildflowers that everybody give up to revel .
Community-Sharing Projects
If you go for a fifteen - minute walk through East Van , I guarantee you ’ll come across some kind of residential area - sharing project .
From tool - lending sheds toseed librariesandflower standsto the classic tiny ledger library , there aremany ways neighbor are sharing with one another in the community .
When I was writingThe Regenerative Garden , I dedicated a whole chapter to building community , and my own neighborhood was a great stirring . It has had a meaning impact on me , andcommunity has become a core part of my gardening values . It ’s something we speak a hatful about here on Garden Therapy .
The East Vancouver Garden Tour
I already mentioned my love for theEast Vancouver Garden Tour , but I want to give it one more shoutout . It ’s one of my favourite thing to do in June , as you could see not only the front of these beautiful rest home but also the nurseryman receive you into the back , and you could see just how they ’ve make and lived in the space .
My late menage , found in the pages ofThe Regenerative Garden , was the host of many different garden term of enlistment . I trust that as I make my new garden , it can inspire many more gardeners to come . It ’s sure as shooting rising in the membership of the interesting and way-out garden in the locality !
More Virtual Vancouver Garden Tours
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