What’s Happening with Naturally, Glendale?
Article and images rendered by Monika Smith, Master Gardener
A lot of work, research, thinking, and planning has been devoted to creating a beautiful garden in Glendale. From a simple idea of having more flowers, to adding a gazebo, paths, raised beds, benches, and naturalization in consultation with residents, experts, advisors, and the City of Calgary, plans are in play to make it real.
We are looking at hardy, long blooming, thrifty, water wise, pollinator friendly, perennial flowers that can last a long time or have gorgeous greenery when blooming time is done—some will be old-fashioned, tried-and-true plants we all love, like peonies (Paeonia sp.), shrub roses (Rosa sp.), lilies (Lilium sp., which we have near the front of the hall). Others will be similar to what you can find in Calgary’s beautiful botanical gardens, such as Reader Rock, Silver Springs, and the Lougheed House.
To the good-sized apples (Malus domestica) scattered throughout our hall grounds, we could add golden currant (Ribes aureum), Saskatoons (Amelanchier alnifolia), Evans cherries (Prunus cerasus ‘Evans’) as a food forest. We could reference beautiful gardens, such as Shinto, Zen, Moorish or a Medieval walled garden, or Naapi’s garden of native plants.
Our Glendale ‘yard’ is actually owned by the City, which we lease through a License of Occupation (LOC). In case you didn’t know, the GGMCA is responsible for taking care of the yard. All the trees belong to the City and are managed by Urban Forestry. Note that we have some poplar trees (Populus sp.) that are ailing; one will be cut down, and the others pruned. Check out the City tree map (https://maps.calgary.ca/TreeSchedule/) to see what’s here and their value.
I was fortunate to connect with the area’s Parks Community Strategist, Parks and Open Spaces liaison person, initially John Merriman (now retired) and now Katie Thorpe, and found a wealth of information provided in surveys and aerial photographs. We’ve gotten important information from a historical examination.
The hall grounds are located in an oval basin, which is an old ‘lake bottom.’ This is a natural drainage area that has seen the lake coming and going depending on environmental factors. It dries out. We know that the lake was filled in in the 1950s, but with what? The City proposed that we get the soil tested. The report indicates that we have salinity, which means we need to ensure that what we plant can thrive under these conditions. Thoughtful selection is required.
There’s lots more happening, more learnings and more decisions. If anyone has questions, or if you are interested in working on the Naturally, Glendale project, contact me at [email protected].
Examples of Naturally, Glendale draft designs.
Click here to the Glendale Community News home page for the latest Glendale community updates.
