Pawson Park Community

06/02/2026

🌿 Pawson Garden Updates 🌸
The garden is getting so full and beautiful! 🌱✨ A huge thank you to William and Christine for keeping everything watered while I was away 💚. The potatoes, strawberries, squash, tomatoes, cauliflower, peas, brussels sprouts, peppers, cabbages, eggplants, beans, lettuce, arugula, beets, carrots, herbs—and of course all the pollinators 🐝🌼—are doing amazing! We’re feeling excited and ready for the Old City Garden Tour this Sunday 🌞🌷. BUT… we did get a little visit from the deer 🦌😅, and they munched on the tender ends of the peas and peppers. Still, we’re not giving up! 💪 We’ve put up nets and deer barriers and are standing strong in the veggie protection battle 😂. Does anyone have any good tips for keeping deer away? We love them… just not in the vegetable beds! 🥕🚫🦌
Any advice is so appreciated! 🙏🌿 Allie, William, Albert, Victoria, Russell and I are looking forward to chatting, sharing tips, and celebrating the beauty of gardening with you all this Sunday! 🌸🌻🥕
Until you can see it in person, enjoy the pictures! 📸🌼💚

05/25/2026

🌿🌸 Pawson Garden Updates 🌸🌿

A huge thank-you to William for adding so many new strawberry plants to our patch! 🍓 These sweet little fruits love sunny spots and reward us with juicy berries in early summer. We can’t wait to enjoy the first harvest in June!
Our herb garden is bursting with life 🌱 and smelling amazing! The sunflowers are reaching up strong toward the sun🌻, and the freshly topped lavender is blooming beautifully—plus, its calming fragrance is loved by both people and pollinators 💜. We even spotted some Himalayan blackberries in the garden, while the borage is doing a fantastic job attracting bees with its star-shaped blue flowers🐝. Ladybugs, bees, and butterflies are regular visitors, which is a great sign that the garden is healthy and thriving 🐞🦋. Our camas are not blooming just yet, but we’re excited because their bright flowers are such a beautiful part of the season. The Jerusalem artichoke is popping up everywhere too, and we’re looking forward to those cheerful yellow blooms soon! 🌼
Between our potatoes and peas is hard to choose, but peas are still our star crop so far! 🌿💚 They’ve grown so quickly that we added a taller trellis to support them. With more room to climb, they’re thriving!
Our fruit trees are also thriving... our apple tree has 7 apples already!
We hope many of you will join the Old City Garden Tour on Sunday, June 7, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon 🌷📸 Pawson Garden is part of the tour, and we’d love for you to stop by, take photos, and celebrate all the amazing things growing here. Please help us protect this special space—it truly is a little gem! 💚
As always, the photos say it best!

05/19/2026

🌿 Updates from Pawson Garden 🌸
Here’s a little look at what’s been happening in our beautiful community garden lately! 💚🌱
We are so grateful to the Men’s Shed for building two amazing trellises for our squash and beans! 🙌🌿 They are beautiful, sturdy, and made with such care. A huge thank you to Keith, Jerry, and Wayne for your ongoing generosity and for putting your building skills to work for our garden community. We can’t wait to see our squash and beans climbing these beautiful trellises! 🫘🎃
A big thank you as well to Albert for helping with planting and composting! 🌼🪴 Yesterday, we were able to use rich compost from our own garden for the first time this season — hurray! 🎉🌱
It was great to see Sheanna, Allie and Derek gardening as well this weekend!
We also installed a little bee nest box! 🐝🏡 Bee nest boxes, sometimes called “bee hotels,” provide important habitat for native solitary bees like mason and leafcutter bees. These gentle pollinators help boost flower and vegetable yields while supporting our local ecosystem. 🌸🥕
Pollinators get thirsty too! 💧🦋🐝 We also installed a water dish so the many bees and butterflies that visit our garden can stop by for a refreshing drink.
📣 A reminder that Pawson Community Garden is participating in the Old City Garden Tour! We hope to see you on Sunday, June 7th from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Come by and say hello! 🌻

And of course, the pictures say it all! 📸💚

05/13/2026

05/13/2026

Pawson Garden is BLOOMING, friends! 🌿💥

Our sweet Old City corner is glowing brighter every day — and we’re just getting started! 🌼🌈

A huge "thank you" to for donating a gorgeous, healthy blueberry bush — it’s happily settling in with its new berry friends! 🫐💙

The pollinator box has its first coat of paint, and our amazing kid artists will soon add flowers and flair. Their creativity is going to shine! 🎨✨

In the beds: lettuce thriving in the shade, cauliflower and eggplant stretching tall, peas climbing happily, and… our first crunchy radishes harvested! 🌱🔥 Fresh from-the-garden radishes are unbeatable!

The potatoes are popping up beautifully, the strawberry path is bursting into bloom, and the thyme is absolutely covered in tiny purple flowers, a pollinator paradise! 💜🐝🌿 🍓💚

What a season this is shaping up to be! Keep tuned!

05/03/2026

🌱 Updates from Pawson Garden – May 3rd 🌸

🙏 A huge thank you to NALT for their beautiful donation of Goldenrods and Nodding Onions!🌼🌾
They’re now planted, cared for, and settling in nicely. We’ll share a photo once they’re blooming! 📸

🌰 Another big thank you to NOCA for donating so many seeds for our garden.
💐 Special thanks to Erin for organizing everything and Albert for picking them up — we truly appreciate your support!

🪴 Our pollinator box is planted and looking absolutely beautiful 🐝🦋
The pictures really speak for themselves!

We were delighted by some special garden visitors:
• A beautiful monarch butterfly🦋
• A hovering hummingbird
• And a diligent snail 🐌
Nature keeps us smiling!

As we let our garden grow, we’re reminded of this beautiful quote:
“Glance at the sun. See the moon and the stars. Gaze at the beauty of the Earth's greenings. Now, think.”
Hildegard von Bingen

04/25/2026

Exciting updates from Pawson Garden! 🌿✨
A big thank-you to Russell for donating gorgeous pollinator plants Camas and Woolly Sunflower! 🐝🌼 I planted them yesterday with lots of love 💚, along with a helping hand from our youngest gardener, Lani, a wonderful neighbor helper. Thank you, Russell and Lani! 🙌
Thank you to my dear friend Sheanna for donating more strawberries for the garden 🍓 - they’re looking pretty great! 😍
Pawson Garden will be featured on the Old City Garden Tour on Sunday, June 7. 🎉🌸 We’re working hard to get everything looking lush and welcoming for the big day!
Albert is picking up a donation of seeds from NOCA tomorrow—thank you to NOCA for your support, and to Albert for making the pickup happen!
A huge thank-you to Patrick McKintosh, City Urban Forest Coordinator, who visited the garden and shared great tips to help our fruit trees thrive 🌳🍎. We’ll be following his advice!
A special thank you to Jonanco Hobby Workshop for donating lots of scrap wood so we can create more paintings and signs to decorate the garden!
We also received eight more bags of soil donated by Cinnabar Farms 🪴🤎. A huge, heartfelt thank you to Cinnabar Farms for your ongoing generosity. You are incredibly generous! 🙏
Thank you to my friend John, who is 88! and helped me pick up the soil, transport it in his car, and unload it at the garden. Another big thanks to the two younger neighbor helpers who are always ready to lend a hand. This photo says it all—thank you, everyone!
Every bag of soil, every tray of seedlings, and every shared resource helps us grow not just plants, but hope, resilience, and community spirit.

04/20/2026

🌍 Celebrating Earth Day – April 22 🌱
Community gardens are powerful grassroots tools for protecting our planet and strengthening our communities. By growing food locally, they reduce carbon emissions while healthy plants and soil help capture carbon naturally.
These green spaces boost biodiversity by providing vital habitats for pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects, especially when native and Indigenous plants are included. Gardens also help cool our neighbourhoods by reducing urban heat, improving air quality, and creating welcoming green oases.
Through composting, rainwater harvesting, and organic practices, community gardens conserve water, enrich soil, and turn waste into nutrients, closing the loop and keeping organic waste out of landfills. They also serve as living classrooms, teaching people of all ages about sustainability, climate action, and caring for the land.
Most importantly, community gardens support local food security by providing fresh, healthy food close to home.
Our beautiful Pawson Garden is a tangible example of how small, local actions can nurture both people and the planet. 💚🌎🥕
Thank you for protecting it!

04/14/2026

🌱 Today is National Gardening Day! 🌱
We’re celebrating the many ways gardening supports a healthier body, mind, and community.
🌼 Health Benefits of Gardening
🧑‍🌾 Gardening keeps you active with everyday movements like digging, planting, and weeding, helping build strength, balance, and mobility.
☀️ Spending time outdoors boosts vitamin D, supporting strong bones and a healthy immune system.
🧠 Caring for plants reduces stress, encourages mindfulness, and supports memory and cognitive health.
🥕 Growing your own fruits and vegetables provides fresh, nutrient rich food and supports digestion and overall wellness.
🌸 Emotional & Social Benefits
✅ Watching plants grow builds confidence and a sense of accomplishment.
🤝 Community gardening encourages connection, learning, and reduces feelings of isolation.
Whether you’re growing flowers, herbs, or vegetables, gardening helps you feel better—inside and out. Whether you’re planting seeds or pulling weeds, every minute in the garden helps you thrive.
🌿 Happy National Gardening Day! 🌿