 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Green thumbs up for Betty House A garden tour organized by the city will raise funds on Sunday for Betty House
Candace Thomson
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 26, 2013
SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yellowknife gardeners will help the city's new women's transitional housing project raise a little green this weekend.
Shirley Wilkinson's garden at 49A avenue will be one of more than 10 to be shown during the city's garden tour on Sunday. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo |
Proceeds from the annual Garden Tour, which takes place on Sunday will go toward the Betty House, a project by the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition.
Among the 10 or so gardens on the tour list is Shirley Wilkinson's who describes her space as a strange mix of traditional and unconventional.
"It's not perfect, but sometimes imperfection is a good thing," she mused as she strolled through colourful perennials mixed with herbs that ran alongside her trailer at 49A Avenue.
Wilkinson got involved with the tour when she came home one summer day to a notice by Amanda Mullen saying her property had been spotted.
"I flipped (the notice) over and there was a handwritten note by Amanda saying 'Shirley, you've got to be in this!'" she said laughing.
Her hope for the tour is that people come to her garden and enjoy the flowers and vegetables as much as she does.
Wilkinson has a mix of peas, carrots, rhubarb, honeysuckle and fragile columbines. She also has a pellet garden fashioned from an old warehouse plank that rests along the end of her home facing 50 Avenue.
She doesn't consider herself an expert even though she had her first flower garden in her preteens on her parents' farm in Manitoba. She said she just enjoys puttering around her flowers, and that it helps stabilize her.
"It's just total relaxation and enjoyment," she said. "It really helps me enjoy my life more. I can come out here after work in the evenings and lose track of time."
Gordon Van Tighem, fundraising chair for Betty House, knows the tour is the perfect time for green thumbs such as Wilkinson to show off their work while supporting a good cause.
"It's a labour of love," he said about gardening. "The work people do really is amazing."
For the past 20 years, Van Tighem has been working with the Yellowknife Homelessness Coalition to raise funds for services such as transitional housing in the capital.
The coalition's first project was Bailey House, transitional housing for homeless men in the NWT. Bailey House provides a gateway toward independence, and promotes health and well-being.
Betty House is the same solution, only for women.
The campaign for Betty House has been in the works for five years, and now has enough funds to begin the first phase of the project, which is submitting a request for proposal.
"We expect something to be happening before next March," said Van Tighem.
People interested in supporting the cause and viewing the gardens can register online or by calling the city's booking clerk. Registration includes a map and booklet about the gardens and the cost of dessert and tea at the Wildcat Cafe after the tour.
The tour will run from noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday.
| 
