Sister City Community Gardens

My sister has been a mentor to our committee in the creation of our local community garden. We borrowed heavily from the guidelines and procedures that were in place at the Central Okaganagan Community Gardens, that she is a member of, to develop a working model for our garden. Using their knowledge and experience helped us get our project up and running much more quickly than if we had had to "reinvent the wheel". The August 2009 issue of the COCG newsletter, edited by my sister, includes a story of the relationship between the two community gardens.

Last year I got a chance to see some of the gardens in her town. She is the coordinator of two of them in two very different settings, but just meters away from each other across an alleyway.

Cawston Garden is in a churchyard. With the exception of an unauthorized cherry tomato food fight one year, it is a very successful garden for the handful of gardeners who maintain plots there.










St. Paul's is in the parking lot of a condominium highrise building. Even with many eyes-in-the-sky an inexplicable incident of broccoli theft took place last year. Otherwise this has also been a great project and location.










It is about time for a report on the 2010 COCG. We were shocked to receive news of a vandalism spree at the newest garden in the COCG earlier this spring. If we receive further updates we will pass them along.

Good thoughts go out to our sister city gardeners for a great growing season and a bountiful harvest.