New welcome gardens, which have been installed at Iroquois and Morrisburg, will be complete this week.
“The project was ‘grew’ from the feedback that the Municipality collected during last year’s community strategic planning process,” said Nicole Sullivan, South Dundas economic development officer. “Residents identified a desire for greening/gardening at the gateways and centres of activity. Welcome gardens were one of the suggestions made to accomplish this goal.”
The gardens have been designed to be attractive year round, explained Sullivan and Erin VanGilst, the Master Gardener who designed and planted the gardens. VanGilst runs Create It! Garden Design & Instillation from her home in Williamsburg.
The gardens feature a mixture of perennials that bloom in the spring (Daffodils), summer (Hydrangeas, Daylilies) and fall (‘Autum Joy’ Stonecrop, ‘Karl Foerster’ Grass). There are also shrubs such as a Service Berry that were chosen specifically because their branches are colourful year round.
Each garden also has “structural” elements that will give its shape definition throughout the year including rocks and evergreens.
In Morrisburg, three Serbian spruce trees have been planted, while in Iroquois, the buoys have been integrated into the design.
The Iroquois design is representative of a seaside garden, where stones are being installed to represent the stream and the plants, the waves, explained VanGilst.
“To add an extra element of interest for the public, we’ve also integrated a number of plants that are historic to the area including Lavender ‘Munstead Old English’ and Bluewood Asters,” said VanGilst.
“To identify these plants, we used a list of the area’s heritage plants that the Carman House Museum had compiled to help with the gardening of their Heritage Garden,” added Sullivan.
The cost to have the gardens designed and installed as well as purchase all the plants was just over $13,000, less than the $20,000 budgeted for the project. “We used compost and rocks that the Municipality already had which resulted in some of that cost savings,” noted Sullivan. “The gardens were designed to have minimal ongoing cost with all of the plants being perennials.
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