The Canteen Garden’s fish pond gets a lttle TLC from visiting Master Gardeners.
The annual migration of Master Gardeners to George Pearson Centre has begun, driven by a singular belief that a beautiful garden is therapeutic for the mind, body and soul.
The nine green thumbs from the Master Gardener’s program volunteer their time here each week in both the spring and fall. They clean up and beautify pockets of scattered green spaces that have become unruly with weeds and overgrown perennials.
“We go. We garden. We dig, weed, repair and plant,” said Judy Howard, a retired VCH community nurse from Three Bridges who spearheads the annual clean-up. To date, the gardeners have renovated eight garden spaces in five years.
Volunteer master gardeners tackle a thicket of water irises that threaten the pond’s resident goldfish population.
The project this week: the Canteen garden’s pond where the resident goldfish are rapidly losing ground to a mat of aggressively growing water iris. Last week, the gardeners replanted the Canteen’s perimeter perennial beds where there’s now room for residents to do some gardening of their own. A particularly sunny spot has already declared the perfect place to start a sunflower garden.
“There’s always something to do in the gardens at George Pearson,” said Howard. “And being a gardener, seeing all these blank canvasses makes my hands itchy.”
The volunteer gardeners come from across the Lower Mainland each week. The team of Master Gardeners is made up of: Judy Howard, Doug Strongethaem, Dorothy Gavin, Sue Dahm, Joy Posyniak, Janet Love, Elaine Norden, Monica Mowat and Anne Klefer.
“The restorative and therapeutic value of on-site gardens for both residents and staff is well documented,” said Romilda Ang, Manager, George Pearson Centre. “We really appreciate the work that Master Gardeners have done here at George Pearson and are thrilled they’re back again for another season.”