Devonian Gardens Calgary

The Devonian Gardens in Calgary have been undergoing a facelift for some time.  They just reopened last week and are located downtown in The CORE shopping centre (essentially a big mall).  They are on the fourth level right beside the food court and will provide a much needed oasis during Calgary's cold winters.  I took a bunch of photos, so I hope you enjoy the virtual tour below.

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall Planting Complete

It took ten days, and the planting of the largest exterior greenwall in North America is now complete (at least my portion of it)! I ended up uploading a picture from the second last day because the weather and angle were both a little bit better. All the empty portions have since been filled in. At the time I left, some extra ground covers were just being added to deciduous patches. Eventually all the areas will grow in and the fabric will be difficult so see. The pieces that remain exposes will be colonized by mosses.

The area underneath will eventually be landscaped with a patio area so that everyone can enjoy the vertical garden. This will also prevent all the seeds/stems/leaves from sprouting a jungle beneath. It was a great experience and I would love to be part of more in the future!

It is also my first day off in over a week and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy. It's really hard for me to just stop something. So now I'm designing the backyard garden for my father's girlfriend. It's south-facing but blocked by some large maples for part of the day with sandy loam soil. I might even upload a few images to get your feedback, we'll see how it goes!

BTW there is a wealth of information on these walls online. You can start by taking a look at the wikipedia page. This wall was designed by Green Over Grey.

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall - Day 2

Day 2 started with rain but ended in sun. I spent most of my time putting plants up on the wall, but spent some time depotting as well. Things are progressing well and the work so far has been a lot of fun. Above you can see a portion of the area planted so far. This living piece of art is really starting to take shape!

Semiahmoo Library Greenwall - Day 1

Today was my first day working on the Semiahmoo Library Greenwall near White Rock (South-East of Vancouver). Upon completion, this will be the largest exterior greenwall in North America.

The irrigation and wall systems had already been installed. I started out by finishing up the pattern outlines on the wall. These mark the edges of the various planting zones. My job then turned to the transport of plants, depotting, and mount them on the wall (with a hydraulic jack). There was a bit or rain but nothing serious enough to need a raincoat, overall a relatively nice day. There are already some plants up on the wall but my camera decided to have a disk problem and I couldn't get a picture. Tomorrow for sure!

I'll try to update every day with pictures. Unfortunately there is no 'same-position' vantage point that I can fit the entire wall in a picture (for a time-lapse). The building across the street is just too close. I will however get some angled shots, they just won't be from the same location each time. I hope you'll enjoy following along with this project!