My View ... from the corner of Trafalgar + Fifth

New Year

Mary Bennett — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:35:44 +0000

It’s a new year in our neighbourhood.

Sunny and Gary have sold the Cornerstone; Ash sold Wired Monk in the fall. Our ultra-local cafe’s are different but I’ll see you around there anyways I hope.

Right now there’s a “rainfall warning” in Vancouver and it makes me look forward to those bright sunny days we often get in February. Let the sun shine in!

I can’t believe the number of comments I’ve had about the community herb garden at the Traffic Circle at 6th & Trafalgar (trasixth!). A neighbour recently told me she sometimes saw people just hanging out there.

Expect more herbs in the coming months – and if you’re going by and have some water to share, the chives in particular would really appreciate it. I can’t really water on a regular basis, so hoping drought-resistant plants will do fine and some of you might adopt a plant or two and watch it for signs of thirst. (there are some good things about a rainfall warning, however, unfortunately the plants can’t store up the rainfall for the hot days of August :>))

A friend from villagevancouver.ca is starting a monthly plastics recycling “party” – bring your styrofoam, hard plastics, plastic bags etc and for a toonie or so know that Pacific Mobile Depots will recycle this. I’m hosting the January one – on the 3rd Thursday, so contact me trafalgarmary@gmail.com if you want to participate and need more information.

See you round the ‘hood!

Recycling in the ‘hood

Mary Bennett — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 21:15:27 +0000

Do you live near 5th and Trafalgar in Kitsilano? Some of us are organizing a recycling party (well a drop-off opportunity) on the 3rd Thursday of the month. You can bring a lot of the stuff that can’t go into the City bins – hard plastics; foil and foil-lined packaging; styrofoam; plastic bags. Send me a note to trafalgarmary@gmail.com if you want to join in – and start saving that stuff right now. Or go to villagevancouver.ca and find the event on the 3rd Thursday of January for details.

Parsley, Sage… Oregano and Garlic Chives

Mary Bennett — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:02:38 +0000

Thank you to the Westside Collaborative Gardening group who have been gardening at Kits House for donating some of their herbs to my traffic circle garden @ 6th & Trafalgar. Please DO come by and pick.

also I’ve potted up some non-edibles – lavender, sedum and ornamental grass – it’s sitting on the manhole covers – please take. they don’t look gorgeous right now, but they’ll come back in the spring. Like sun.

Traffic Circle

Mary Bennett — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 15:21:10 +0000

It happened again! For the second time since I planted herbs – and signs – at 6th and Trafalgar asking people to pick the herbs, a friend told me how nice it was that my neighbour had done that. “It’s your thing,” she said. “Yes, it is my thing – in fact, that’s my project!”

To see the signs she’s talking about go here.

Frequently as I walk by people are visiting, walking around, occasionally pinching and sniffing.

Next up – I’m working with neighbourhood friends from Village Vancouver to create a mason bee housing development on this prime location. Stay tuned and tell your bee friends we’ll be ready for them soon.

Sedums

Mary Bennett — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 08:35:22 +0000

This one’s been spreading and does *very* well: I HAVE LOTS FOR GIVING AWAY – at the co-op as well as the circle garden at 6th & Trafalgar! (the ones I bought on Hornby last year – see below – did not survive. alas!)

Sedum telephium ‘Autumn Joy’ is probably the most well known of all the larger type Sedum as it’s been promoted extensively by natural garden designers. The pale celadon green foliage, combined with salmon pink flowers that look like broccoli heads is a great contrast.

I bought two “red” varieties on Hornby (but the deer ate most of it before I brought it back). Planted out front. HOpefully we’ll see them this year.:

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ has pretty plum coloured foliage, with somewhat disappointing flowers lasting only a few months, not over the entire winter as ‘Autumn Joy’. (I don’t like the “disappointing” description.

I think we have some of these low growing sedums as well:

Sedum glaucophyllum is a very pretty plant, in fact, it’s hard to believe it’s actually a Sedum. Pale greeny-grey rosettes forming a loose clump with prolific new growth from the crown of the plant end up making this a compact mound.

Sedum kamschaticum is native to Siberia, so it’s tough! Lovely ground cover, and assertive enough to choke out things like Vinca minor, but never noxious. Pretty yellow blooms in summer.

If we don’t have this one yet, I’d like some:

Sedum pachyclados is one of my favorites – pale blue green rosettes huddled together in a round clump, covered in bee-attracting white flowers in June. I had some of this struggling away in the shade, and when I moved it into a spot in full sun, there was no looking back.

I don’t recall seeing blooms on this, but I’m pretty sure it’s the workhorse that’s been spreading, with a little help from judicious placement, in the full sun:

Sedum spurium album ‘Superbum’ – one of the workhorses of the Sedum world. Glossy green foliage covered in white blooms in mid summer – imagine this combined with ‘Fruland’ and ‘Dragon’s Blood’ – wow!

Please Pick the Herbs

Mary Bennett — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:05:41 +0000

I’m the Green Streets volunteer for the traffic circle garden at 6th & Trafalgar.

August 3, 2011: I plan to build mason bee homes – and affix to the signs, but in the meantime, I’ve planted some bee, butterfly, bird – and human – friendly herbs and put signs up to make it clear that I want people to enjoy them – pinch, snip or in the case of lemon balm and lavender, cut ferociously. It’s good for the plants and also makes sure I’m in the 2′ 4″ height restriction. Please pick the herbs. (and if you’d like any sedum plants, let me know and I can tell you which ones are available for digging up and moving to a new home.)

Community Herb Garden

Mary Bennett — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:36:58 +0000

I’ve put some signs on the traffic circle garden at 6th and Trafalgar (Kitsilano, Vancouver, BC) wanting to share the herbs planted there. Those of you who have grown herbs know that in a sunny, dry spot, most will thrive and spread. It’s summer as I write this and many will die down in the winter (to rise again in the spring). So I *really* want people to snip and pinch and enjoy the herbs.

Some that are begging to be picked are:

lemon balm – getting way too tall. Nice for tea, or just flavouring your water bottle.

lavender – flowers are past their prime, and the stalks need to be snipped back.

chocolate mint – yum! make a tea or use as a garnish on fruit and desserts.

Most can be divided too, so if you want a plant, just ask – send a note to trafalgarmary@gmail.com

Heucherella

Mary Bennett — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 06:09:22 +0000

I feel like a bad mom – who could adopt babies one year and forget their names before the following season?

Anyhow, you have to admit that Heucherella isn’t as easy as “Steven” or “Jamie” to remember, right?

Anyhow the Heucherellas are doing well in the shady fairly dry area – so I might think about getting them a sibling or two.

Veggie Planting

Mary Bennett — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 15:43:32 +0000

I’ve put romaine bedding plants on the boulevard with radish seeds and a few swiss chard seeds at the back.

6 other greens bedding plants in the corner garden with rouge d’hiver lettuce seeds sprinkled around.

Potatoes are going in the big terra cotta pot – Red Pontiac.

Building up the plot to the West side of the building and plan to plant there. Hoping that by raising the level of earth it will improve soil, heat and light.

Arugala in the North garden. And lots of things under the mini greenhouse – including lots of swiss chard.

For the traffic circle garden at 6th and Trafalgar, I’ve reluctantly come to realize a spiral herb garden won’t work because of the manhole covers and the bush planted in the centre. So for this year at least, I’m letting that go and will do concentric circles, including the man hole covers in the design. Watch for a ring of chives. Come fall I’ll try some garlic.

Earth Hour at 8:30 Saturday – come and hang out.

Mary Bennett — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:59:17 +0000

Hi, My artists reception at the Unitarian Church ends at 8:30pm, so thenI plan to return home and hang out outside and see who’s there and how many lights are on/off.

Pop by if you like – maybe we’ll start planning a potluck for Friday April 1 (why not celebrate April Fool’s Day?) and/or Car Free Vancouver block party for Sunday June 19.