Town of St. Paul FCSS hosted a garden tour that took guests to three unique gardens in and around St. Paul. Guests were brought on the Action Bus and the bus for Sunnyside Manor, to the Foisy’s vegetable and fruit garden in the Lafond area, Donna Hanson’s garden in Owlseye, and Sue deMoissac’s yard on Golf Drive North.
“It’s fantastic,” said Fran Kinash, a local gardener, discussing her impression of the Foisy’s garden. “I find it spectacular. It’s a lot of work. It’s amazing for people to be rambunctious enough to undertake something this enormous when they’re retired.”
Each of the gardens visited had their own unique features that earned a lot of admiration. The Foisy’s rows of fruit and vegetables were 450 feet long, and offered a bounty of edibles. Guests were encouraged to pick and enjoy the assorted berries available at the garden.
The Hanson’s garden was exceptionally large, had it’s own fishponds, a number of small fountains, and a plethora of different colorful flowers.
“We started back in 1992. It started just as flowers and a regular, small garden. We have really inspirational neighbors, and they motivated us to make our own garden bigger,” says Hanson.
She adds, “We got a couple of good ideas and just kept going with it. It’s great to enjoy and have someone come out and appreciate all our work. You know, it’s hard to go somewhere else for vacation when you’ve made such a nice place to live.”
The deMoissac’s garden featured a mini golf course, a fence made of iron and repurposed plexi-glass panels from Rexall Place in Edmonton, carefully manicured lawns, a tipi made of climbing leafy plants, and even cacti.
“This is our four-year old garden. At first, there was nothing but grass, and the only trees were in the front yard,” says deMoissac. “Every year, we add a little bit, and it’s starting to fill out. In fact, I have to chop some of the trees growing too much in the corner of the yard.”
She explains that it is a pleasure to showcase her work to guests and clients alike, showing which plants are good for the season, “and which ones are misbehaving.”
She adds, “This (garden) is a labour of love, and I’m grateful my husband helps as much as he does with it.”
