Communities in Bloom has made some changes to what was previously known as the Olds Community Garden to accommodate added shade from the new Olds College residence that is currently under construction.The now-called Community Healing Garden is located on town land behind the Olds Aquatic Centre.To its east is Centennial Village, the four-storey, 450-room college residence.According to James Edwards, the garden's coordinator, the garden's eastern edge is the part most shaded by the new residence.“There will be increased shading along the eastern edge but the change in the layout will accommodate that,” Edwards said.There used to be two sizes of garden plots, large and small, he said.Large plots were divided and small plots enlarged to create a single plot size -- 4.5 metres by 4.5 metres, he added.Edwards said the plots located in the most shaded areas would be used to plant more resilient crops: Saskatoon berries, raspberries, herbs and perennial onions, crops that grow better than others with reduced sunlight.In May, Communities in Bloom renamed the garden when it took over the project, Edwards said.The Community Garden Guild previously operated the garden but Edwards would not disclose why the group gave up control over the garden.The name change is intended to reflect the therapeutic effects of gardening and the cultivating of perennials, hardy and low maintenance plants that require less water, sunlight and attention to grow.“The healing comes in from multiple aspects. No. 1, of course just being in an environment which is full of flowers, sights, sounds, smells and the other one is the actual act of gardening,” Edwards said.“Focusing on green plants and letting your worries go away for a little while. That being said, it's not much of an environment for that type of healing this summer as a result of the construction.”[email protected]
