Even More Boulevard Raised Beds!

A house on the corner of Dunbar Street has created two new raised beds on the boulevard between Dunbar and the lane, and they are already planted with promising plants.

Crossing the lane, I came across two more new raised beds on the boulevard.  This house probably lost some green space due to building a laneway house, so they have now put their southern exposed boulevard to a good use; as well, it is beautifully done.  Note the trellis, the wires that mark out the beds by "square foot", and the marigolds that may scare off some insect predators.

Even two photos cannot do justice to the attractive design of these new raised beds just across the street.  It is also a practical design because it allows ample access from a parked car.  The owners have just begun with planting.

On the same block, someone is growing vegetables, tomatoes, peas, lettuce, right in front of their south-facing house.

So...with three new raised bed configurations and one maybe new front yard vegetable patch all in one block, this is another HOT mini area for growing vegetables!  It must be contagious.

Boulevard Boxes Going Viral

Math question: 2, 3, 4, 6...what number comes next in this sequence?  I came across these two sturdy raised beds, newly built on the boulevard, and the gardener couple said that neighbours told them that they were watching the development and considering having their own boulevard boxes.  Marigolds guard the chard plants in these neat beds.

In the same block, I came across three more newly built boxes along a sunny side of the street.  The boxes still were pretty bare, but those pumpkins will claim some space.

Turning the corner onto Collingwood Street, I saw four boxes, which I have seen before and included in an earlier blog (see blog of September 16, 2010).  This north south street has large trees, so these boxes are often in shade.  The sunniest box has admirable carrot plants.  Another box has potatoes and (probably) volunteer poppy plants.

Going back to the east-west street I came across six boxes!  Two of them have mini greenhouses that fit cleverly onto them and help to extend our cool growing season.  The open beds looked empty...until I spotted some wheat.  Perhaps this was part of last season's wheat growing project in Vancouver.  Note the attractive new garden shed in the background.

So, with four instances of boulevard boxes within a block of each other, two of which are new this year, there seems to be a little movement in that area of Dunbar.  2, 3, 4, 6... what comes next?

Converting Lawns to Edible Gardening--Some Resources

Landscape architect, Senga Lindsay, is launching her new book, Edible Landscaping: Urban Food Gardens That Look Great, at Barbara Jo's Books to Cooks, on Saturday, June 9, 1-3 pm.  RSVP 604-688-6755.

During Salmonberry Days I attended a presentation at the Dunbar Community Centre by Camil Dumont, head farmer at Inner City Farms. Although Inner City Farms is a business venture, their web site is of interest to anyone considering converting their front yard into a vegetable garden.  There is a recent article about the farm in the Vancouver Courier, too. Here are the links.


Inner City Farms
Vancouver Courier article