Dulcie Smith – Publicity Chair

My love of gardening began in England when, aged 16, I planted daffodil bulbs upside down in a pot for my boyfriend’s (now husband’s) mother. Once this mistake had been pointed out and the laughing had ceased……there was no stopping me! I’ve since learnt so much about the love of gardening from my mother-in-law over the years.

Once I had my own house and garden, I would go to different garden centres and local gardening shows, Chelsea, Kew, Hampton Court, Blenheim Palace etc. I also had a subscription to the BBC Gardeners World Magazine and used all this knowledge in our English garden for 12 years.

Moving to Bermuda in 2003 presented a different type of gardening. The challenges with the heat meant I had to rethink what I could plant and learnt quickly that what grew well in the UK didn’t necessarily work so well in Bermuda but there were so many other things that flourished.

When I moved to a condo in Vancouver I joined the Green Streets program. This volunteer gardening program led by the City of Vancouver allowed volunteers to adopt public areas in the city (traffic circles etc.) and turn them into gardens. The program began as a pilot project with 15 volunteer gardeners and now has over 270. These small gardens around the city not only enhance public spaces but help manage rainwater, provide habitat for wildlife and add a touch of nature to the communities in which people live, work and play. Over 12 years I transformed a neglected weed-choked plot into an oasis of calm right in downtown Vancouver.

Having moved to the valley in 2022 I am now building a new garden and am looking forward to creating yet another piece of paradise!