Where is Canada's smallest public garden?

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At the end of our street, there is a small plaza that is part of a narrow pathway that runs along the 4.5-metre-high sound wall next to Crowchild Trail. Since moving to the neighbourhood 30-plus years ago, I have watched this plaza deteriorate. First, the bench’s wooden seat rotted out, so the City removed the bench and it, or a replacement, was never returned. Then the struggling sapling in the middle of the plaza died and it, too, wasn’t replaced. The trees along the sound wall gradually became more scraggly, while the ground beneath them became weed-infested (with noxious weeds I might add).

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What could have been a little urban oasis slowly became a big eyesore.

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One day, while cleaning up some litter, I grabbed the dead sapling and, to my surprise, I could lift it out of its tiny tree well. That was it Something needed to be done.

Being early spring, I thought hmmm … what if I planted some annuals in the tree well and created a tiny garden? And that was the beginning of Canada’s smallest public garden. I don’t know if it is truly our country’s smallest garden, but it has to be close at 101 cm by 101 cm.

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A weed-filled wasteland at the end of a street has been turned into a pretty, restful spot. This is what it looked like before rehabilitation. Courtesy Richard White cal

So, I dug up the tree well and went back to my home garden for some perennials to transplant to what I was now calling the “Grand Trunk Garden.” (FYI: Our community was originally known as Grand Trunk and there is a Grand Trunk Park at the other end of the street, and the historic Grand Trunk cottage school is also nearby, so it seemed like a reasonable name.)

The six plants included rhubarb (it will grow anywhere and it comes up early), as well as other hardy plants like chives, daylilies, Heliopsis or “Prairie Sunset,” periwinkle, arctic daisy and my favourite spring perennial – Leopard’s Bane. I later got a Lambs Ear from a neighbour who was redoing her garden and offered some free plants on Facebook’s Marketplace To make it look like a real garden, I grabbed some old stumps and rocks to fill in the space. I even picked up two free white plastic chairs and put them out each morning to make the garden and plaza more welcoming.

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Richard White’s tiny community garden with a variety of plants from his yard and neighbours. This is taken in early spring. Courtesy Richard White cal

To my surprise, everything grew and by the middle of the summer there was an attractive tiny garden in the middle of the tiny inlaid brick plaza. I often left out some sidewalk chalk and people would write things or draw some flowers.  We even wrote on the sound wall “Welcome To Grand Trunk Garden.”

I was also amazed at how busy the pathway was, especially with dog walkers. Over the summer I met many new neighbours, who were very appreciative of the garden. It was too much fun!

I was eager to see what plants would over winter and was pleased when everything but the Lamb’s Ear survived. I replaced it with a bleeding heart and added more ground cover plants. I also contacted our City Councillor Terry Wong to see if we could get the drab green garbage can replaced. He quickly put me in touch with the local parks staff and soon we had a colourful garbage can wrapped with a hollyhocks decal that enhanced the garden theme of the space.

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A bit of work and plenty of determination helped Richard White turn this weedy corner into a restful spot that neighbours can now enjoy.  Courtesy Richard White cal

With a contact at Parks, I requested the City spray all the noxious weeds that had taken over the tiny forest. Since then, I have tried to stay on top of the weeds as they try to make a comeback.

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I cleaned out some areas where I thought some plants might grow and added a struggling cedar tree from our garden and shade plants like Joe Pye Weed, hostas, ornamental grasses, Liguria, Goat’s Beard, Black-eyed Susans, and donated Hollyhocks and Irises in the sunnier spots.

I am not quite sure what’s in store for the Grand Trunk Garden this summer. Maybe some permanent signage. I have two wooden chairs, some black iron rods and a big red hoola-hoop found while flaneuring back alleys this winter that might hold some potential.  I am curious how the plants in the forest area will survive the winter. And someone has mysteriously added an altar-like installation with two tiny rock sculptures. Who knows, it might become a community garden.

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