Much care, thoughtfulness, and hard work have gone into making the church gardens bloom and thrive this year. Under the leadership of Carol Peck (Bloor Street gardens) and Fran Brown (Howard Street gardens and pollinator garden), the beds are coming into their own with new plantings and well-established perennials.
The Gardens of SPSS
The revitalization of the SPSS gardens started during the pandemic with the creation of the Garden Guild, led by Carol Peck. Since then, many hours of labour by parish volunteers have gone into reviving the many beds that surround our church building.
Last year, Carol Peck was able to garner the support of members of CREW (Community Resilience to Extreme Weather), a St. James Town community group, along with master gardener Lidia Ferreira. We are grateful to all of these individuals for giving many volunteer hours to ensuring that the gardens are weeded and new plantings are cared for and nurtured.
Pollinator Garden
The pollinator garden is now in its second year. This project has been spearheaded by Fran Brown, who, with the support of Donna Lang of Faith and the Common Good, was able to secure a multi-year grant from TD Bank Friends of the Environment Foundation (TD FEF) for SPSS. This grant enabled the purchase of plants, soil, and mulch.
Donna Lang attended this year’s church BBQ, where she gave brief remarks about the importance of pollinator
gardens. We were also able to present her with a gift, in acknowledgement of all her help with this project.
At the event, Fr. Geoff Sangwine led the parish in a blessing for the gardens of St. Peter & St. Simon-the-Apostle.
A small cadre of children was present, and they had the opportunity to help plant some new pollinator plants.
The pollinator garden would not be possible without the continued commitment of all the hard-working volunteers – a big thank you to all!
