City gardener Sarah Regent is getting prepared to plant the many flower beds around the city this spring, while she’s excited to say that one particular bed will be growing a selection of edible options once again.
For the second year in a row, Regent will be planting a selection of vegetables instead of flowers in one of the city’s garden beds in Crescent Park, following a big positive response to the idea last year.
“We had lots of interest in the edible bed, which is great to see,” said Regent. “People were stopping by, curious about it, grabbing some snacks (and so) we brought it back this year.”
The vegetable selection will be a little different this year, Regent explained, partially due to some bug problems but largely thanks to public input.
Cherry tomatoes and basil will be returning this year, due to their popularity with folks last year. The bed will also be growing swiss chard, which is new, a type of sunflower, along with a few different kinds of peppers.
Residents are still welcome to stop by the garden bed and sample the produce, once it’s ready later this summer, and also to enjoy the aesthetic of the arrangement.
In fact, that’s part of the motivation behind the idea of planting vegetables in a city garden bed, said Regent — to prove that plants can be both pretty and productive, especially when it comes to food security.
“There’s variety, lots of colour, which is important too. (We want) to show off just how pretty some of these edibles can be,” said Regent. “The big thing is to show people that ‘ornamental’ and ‘edible’ aren’t exclusive (and) to encourage people to get out into the garden and connect with nature, their food, and the local food movement.”
The veggie garden project won’t be expanding this year, which Regent said is largely due to COVID-19 concerns, but the idea is still on the table for the future.
The edible garden bed won’t be planted for a while yet, as city crews will have to wait for some warmer temperatures to ensure the vegetables’ best success.
In the meantime, the gardening department will focus on planting the remainder of the city’s flower beds to create colourful displays once again this year.
“We’re changing up the colours, trying to bring a bit of cheer for people this year,” said Regent.
Regent and her crew plant thousands of flowers around the city each spring, sourced locally using a request process. It takes several weeks to get everything snugly in the ground, but Regent said it's a project well worth the effort.
“It looks good right away, (so when) we plant a bed, it just instantly brings the colour, and then it just fills out over the summer and gets better,” said Regent.
Moose Jaw residents can expect to see some colourful flowers popping up around Moose Jaw near the end of May or the beginning of June, promised Regent, and they also should keep an eye out for some veggies blossoming in their home in Crescent Park later this summer.
