2020 Seeds of Resilience Virtual Passport Garden Tour
For 2020, our passport garden tour moved online. We featured a new local garden every day between July 27-August 7. We will be leaving the videos up on this page for you to enjoy throughout the year, and perhaps to provide some inspiration over the winter months!
We'd like to extend a huge thank you to Don Selby of DMS Photography for his incredible work filming and editing all of the tour videos!
July 27: City/Public Gardens - Robin Smith Meditation Garden
Today we are featuring the Robin Smith Meditation Garden and the Heritage Rose Garden at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm and Zoo. These gardens were designed to create a contemplative area that shows the beauty of perennials in a restful setting. Saskatchewan Perennial Society Member Bernadette Vangool takes us on a tour.
Thanks to Wilson's Lifestyle Centre for sponsoring today's video!
July 28: Fruit and Vegetable Gardening
Today we are featuring home-grown fruit and vegetables! Rachel and Peter showcase a variety of methods for growing fruits and vegetables in their Caswell Hill yard, including wicking beds, a greenhouse, and an impressive hugelkultur bed!
If you'd like to learn more about the construction of Rachel and Peter's wicking beds, check out this video by Rod McLaren.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
July 29: Native Plant Gardening
Today we are featuring a wonderful example of a garden that uses edible and medicinal native prairie plants. Elizabeth describes how she created a space that builds soil and ecological diversity in her Caswell Hill yard.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
July 30: Architectural Gardens
Today we are featuring Innovation Place and Boffins Gardens. Located between the Galleria and Atrium buildings at Innovation Place, the garden park features a koi pond, a Japanese dry garden, waterfall, and ample greenery. Enjoy the picturesque setting and public seating areas, and maybe go and check them out for yourself in person! Manager Kyla Ledingham takes us on a tour.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
Please note there is no password hidden in this video.
July 31: Small Space Gardening
Today we feature a variety of different gardening practices for those with limited space. Boulevard gardening, growing plants vertically, alley plantings, and even rooftop gardening are just a few ways to maximize space if you have a small yard. Maxine describes how using every inch of her Nutana property increases her vegetable yield, builds community, and contributes to her holistic health.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 1: Farm Direct
Today we are featuring Farm One Forty. The farm is located just 15 minutes out of Saskatoon and uses holistic management to restore the soil ecosystem naturally, without the need for chemical treatments. They use a variety of sustainable gardening methods including wicking beds, no-till, companion planting, and rainwater collection. Farmer/owner Arlie LaRoche and horticulturist Julie Maxwell take us on a tour of the vegetable gardens.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 2: Water Gardening
Today's garden video features water gardening. Water gardens open up new possibilities for plant species and create a tranquil, relaxing ambience. Janice takes us on a tour of her water feature and explains how her water garden has evolved over the years.
Thanks to Wilson's Lifestyle Centre for sponsoring today's video!
August 3: Urban Farming
Today we are featuring urban farming. Chain Reaction Urban Farm grows and distributes food using sustainable practices in the core of Saskatoon. Owner Jared Regier gives us a tour of the farm, highlighting how he uses interplanting, succession planting, and boulevards to maximize his production. You can also join Jared's Vegetable Academy community to learn from his experience and expertise!
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 4: Permaculture
Today we are featuring a permaculture front yard! There are many different definitions of "permaculture" but they all focus on mimicking natural ecological principles to create more resilient and sustainable landscapes. Heather and Jon's permaculture yard features rainwater collection swales, a mix of hardy perennials and annual vegetables, effective use of mulch, and more! If you'd like to see the transformation of Heather and Jon's yard during their 2014 permablitz, check out this timelapse video!
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 5: Community Garden
Today we are featuring the Stonebridge Community Garden in Peter Zakreski Park, which is one of over 50 community gardens in the City of Saskatoon. It is home to over 30 individual plots and several public gardens that anyone in the community can harvest from. Garden coordinator Brittany and her little helper take us on a tour.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 6: Flower Gardening
Today we are featuring City Girl Flower Farm. Located on an acreage just outside of Saskatoon, Chantelle grows a wide variety of colourful (and even edible!) flowers for her flower arrangement workshops. The acreage is also home to a haskap maze and a newly planted apple orchard. In the video Chantelle discusses some of the challenges and rewards of being a new gardener.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
August 7: Container Gardening
In our last garden tour for the year, we are featuring the askîy Project. The askîy Project is operated by CHEP Good Food Inc. and is nestled between Saskatoon's Riversdale and Pleasant Hill neighborhoods in saskatoon. Zoe and Justice take us on a tour of this innovative container garden and share with us the meaning behind the project and some info on buying and supporting the Good Food Box project. You can support CHEP Good Food by purchasing produce through their food programs, or by donating to www.chep.org/donate.
The askîy Project is an urban agriculture internship that engages both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth to learn together about growing, harvesting, and selling food through an innovative model. Its five key focus areas are: growing food and food skills, enhancing cultural connections, promoting environmental sustainability, creating social enterprise, and engaging youth. askîy' is a Cree word meaning “earth” and 'kiscikânis is a Cree word meaning “vegetable garden”.
Thanks to Early's Farm and Garden for sponsoring today's video!
2021 Cultivating Resilience Virtual Garden Tour
Our passport garden tour once again took a virtual format in 2021: the Cultivating Resilience Video Series. The series was co-funded by the City of Saskatoon through an Environmental Grant. We once again hired Don Selby as our videographer and he did an incredible job. 2021 featured ten videos of gardens and public spaces around Saskatoon, with more of a community focus and only two private yards.
All videos can be found on our Facebook page and YouTube channel [please embed the links to these in the text]. If you'd like to view all the videos and their descriptions on one page, we have included them in a blog post that also captures some behind the scenes information and useful links.
The tour wrapped up with a Gardening for Mindfulness virtual walk narrated by Kim West. If you would like to download the audio to this video for your own mindfulness practice, it can be downloaded download here. Please read the following disclaimer prior to using the practice: This presentation is for personal use only and is not intended to diagnose, cure, prevent or treat any disease, illness or health issue of the participant. It is also not intended as medical, psychological, psychiatric or physiological advice, and the narrative and visuals in this video are not facilitated by medical professionals. If you have a medical condition, psychological disorder or health concern, please consult with your doctor or a licenced health care professional before engaging in the mindfulness practices presented in this video. By using this video, you acknowledge you are solely responsible for the environment in which you use this video, and your own mental and physical limitations. You also accept sole responsibility for any personal or property harm or damage you cause yourself or others as a result of using the practices depicted in this video. Because movement is part of the exercise, please ensure your environment is safe from all obstacles and tripping hazards before engaging in the practices depicted in the video. Also, please ensure you do not exceed your physical or psychological capabilities and discontinue any activity, motion or visualization that causes you physical or mental discomfort. Although rare, some mindfulness participants find the exercises may trigger repressed memories, psychological trauma or other mental health issues. In such circumstances, discontinue the practices described in the video and consult with your doctor or licenced health care professional immediately.
