Our idea was inspired by neighbours a little further East of us in the Fraserlands area near the Fraser River. Each Spring, I would walk along the path on SE Kent Avenue and the rail line and see an array of colourful Spring bulbs popping up next to the sidewalks in clumps. Each year, these Spring bulbs multiply and grow in volume. After a cool, wet Winter, it was wonderful to be greeted visually by Spring with an array of colour and blooms. This year, I thought, hey, we could carry on this concept in our neighbourhood. After applying and receiving the Neighbourhood Small Grant, I ordered over 500 Spring bulbs, low-growing bulbs early in the year, mainly mini daffodils and grape hyacinth from a Canadian company, Vessey Bulbs. The bulbs arrived a little later than expected in the Fall. As we were now into October and a fair bit of rain, we lost a few fair-weather volunteers. Although it was a bit harder to rally volunteers in limited windows without rain, we rallied and pulled together a smaller group of people, including a non-gardener who just loved the idea of what we were doing, who, I might add, is rather excited for Spring to see her handiwork. We planted a whopping 500+ bulbs around the neighbourhood in several attempts in between bursts of rain. Our neighbours to the West of us heard what we did and now see our Fall bulb planting as a challenge and are planning to do something similar to their side of the street and walkway just West of us. That’s the thing about getting out there and doing things within the community. I’ve learnt that when you organize community projects, and other residents see you and others actively participating in improving the spaces within which we live, it inspires others and ideas grow.
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