Garden Days.ca freestyle

As reported in the CNLA Newsbrief  (spring 2016, vol.25 issue 2, page 4) Garden Days are Canada’s Annual Celebration of Gardens and Gardening. It all starts with National Garden Day, always the Friday before Father’s Day. June 17-19 this year. That’s easy to remember for fathers.

This is basically a three-day freestyle celebration of gardens. People can visit their favourite gardens, work in their own gardens or stop by a garden centre for some inspiration. Some businesses organize barbecues, fundraisers, festivals or special sales. Lovers can enjoy a walk through botanical gardens.

This is what I did with my kids.

1. We watered and checked our patio plants, a mix of annuals, perennials and plants that are being “parked” for the time being. The most interesting pot is a mix of wildflowers I received as a gift from my kids. I simply dumped the seeds out into a new pot and waited.
2. When my son showed me his Minecraft house creation, I helped him improve the landscaping by adding more flowers. Virtual gardening. I said this was freestyle.
3. On the way to soccer we walked by the Port Moody recreation centre and identified local trees, like cottonwoods which have a tendency to self-prune by dropping branches.
4. Instead of my usual “fake” bedtime story, I told the kids about my audiobook “Lab girl” by Dr. Hope Jahren. In it she mentions resurrection plants; plants so brown and dead it’s hard to believe that with moisture they come back to life. They are the only plants that have figured out how to grow without being green!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you get a chance to celebrate Garden Days?