Little more than an hour into our journey we were already off to a bad start. Our bus had broken down and we were left stranded on the side of the 401 with no heat in -25ºC weather for two hours. Knowing full well we had a long day and night ahead of us, the delay was a definite blow to our energy level. We finally arrived at the Congress Centre around lunchtime and surrendered to the fact that we would be there until the job was finished. Estimations put that time into the wee hours of the next morning.
The garden would be positioned around one of LO’s information booths at the main entrance to the show. Our instructors looked a little anxious, not knowing what to expect, hoping we could complete the gardens on time. A huge pile of mulch and 16 skids of Oaks tumbled wall and patio stone, as well as several dozen pieces of chocolate armor stone (thanks to Perry Hartwick of Upper Canada Quarries) looked menacing but we quickly organized ourselves into work teams and descended upon the materials. Soon we were wielding chisels and hammers, cutting the stone like professionals. Few people would have guessed that we learned to split stone just weeks prior. The outlines of the retaining walls quickly began to take shape.
Although we knew the display was to last only four days, we built it with the same care and attention to detail we used to build a series of retaining walls and gardens around a new building at Fanshawe College, expected to last a lifetime.
Once the walls were in place, the mulch was shoveled inside to create an instant garden bed. The planters, provided by Janet Anderson of Janet Anderson Perennials, held six carts of plants grown in the Fanshawe greenhouse. Large coniferous trees from Somerville Nurseries were also placed in the garden, giving it an instant natural look.
As construction wore on, we noticed our teachers’ smiling faces. Despite a delayed start we were already ahead of schedule. Knowing we made our instructors proud gave us the added boost to make it to the end. Soon the brooms were sweeping up the last of the mulch and the plants were dug into place. Our last task was to lay an interlocking walkway to join the two garden beds.
This was the second time Fanshawe College had participated in such an event. (Our first opportunity came in September when we helped to construct the National Communities in Blooms awards ceremony gardens, constructed during the intense winds and rains of Hurricane Isabel in Stratford).
Throughout the process, many challenges and opportunities presented themselves to both the staff and students. By the time the job was complete, the perseverance, hard work and a strong team effort were obvious. We had worked together to create an impressive garden. It was a proud moment when we took one last glance back at the finished landscape. A landscape had erupted from the concrete floor… and it looked good.
Our successful construction efforts were equaled by our efficiency in demolition. On the Thursday of that week, we returned for the arduous task of removing the landscape. After a thankfully uneventful trip to Toronto and a few short hours to explore the show, we began our work. We quickly established a routine and made very short work of the tear-down. In a few hours – well before our scheduled departure time – plant material was readied for transport, as were the skids of stone. Mulch was collected in a single area, and we removed any traces of this wonderful garden. But, we have the pictures to prove it!
