Park gives up flowers for food

Here's something you don't see every day: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-sunset-nursery-vegetables-1.5677606

Beans replace begonias as Vancouver Park Board grows veggies for needy families

They are using the extra space in their grow facility to support local food charities. Excellent!

It would be even better if they could teach food insecure families how to grow their own veggies. It's a complicated thing to do though.

my entire life I wondered why ornamental trees in public places were not fruit and nut trees

bruce Fine wrote:my entire life I wondered why ornamental trees in public places were not fruit and nut trees

One word maintenance. Some cities do not have the money or time to do anything more than mow and weed eat a park. Cities view an ornamental tree is less work. I disagree, in my view an ornamental requires the same if not more work to keep.  I like the idea of food growing in a park. I wish more places would plant food and not pretty flowers.

Victoria, BC has been growing veg seedlings in their facilities that normally grow ornamentals for the city parks, for " people who have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic and want to grow food at home, but that may be facing barriers to access to food plants and garden materials, or are facing barriers to access fresh, locally grown food."

They are even growing seedlings timed for fall and winter gardens!

https://www.victoria.ca/EN/main/residents/parks/growing-in-the-city.html