Hillcrest Park is located west of Christie Street, east of Turner Road, north of Davenport Road and south of Hillcrest Avenue in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The park covers an area measuring 125 x 165 meters and presently contains a playground, a wading pool, a volleyball court, a baseball diamond, tennis courts, two small buildings and a great deal of open lawn space. Trees surround the park on all sides and the southern slope leading down to Davenport Road is an attractive woodland area that takes up about one-quarter of the park’s total area. For more information on the history of the park, CLICK HERE.

Benefits to the Neighborhood

Community gardens offer many social, environmental and health benefits:

Food
Much of Southern Ontario’s prime farmland has been lost to urban sprawl, making us more reliant on foreign imports and weakening our ability to feed ourselves. Community gardens are, in a small way, a form of “taking back” agricultural land and actively involving people in producing their own food. They provide fresh produce to people in the neighborhood and to local food banks.

Community building
A strong sense of community arises when people of different ages, cultural backgrounds and income levels work together on something they can all be proud of. Community gardens allow children and youth to learn from the experiences of seniors and create opportunities for people to share each other’s cultural foods and gardening techniques. Gardens are also a great focus for community events and increase the number of “eyes in the park” to watch out for vandalism, crime and other disturbances.

Better health
Gardeners tend to see their physical and mental health improve as they become more active in a relaxing environment. Working in a community garden can also relieve social isolation, stress and depression.

Education
Both children and adults can learn about urban gardening and agriculture from community gardens. Lessons about protecting the environment include the importance of protecting native species, using organic methods and reducing waste through composting.

Neighborhood beautification
Community gardens are attractive and bring an interesting variety of plants to the park landscape.

Environmental protection
Many community gardens demonstrate sustainable methods that do not deplete the soil or contaminate it with chemical fertilizers or pesticides. This is much healthier for the environment and for those eating the produce. As neighbors learn about these techniques and see how successful they can be, it can encourage them to do the same at home.

Gardening Opportunities
Community gardens allow people who don’t have the space at home to have all the enjoyment of growing flowers, herbs and vegetables.

Information Exchange
Community gardens and gardeners tend to keep in touch with each other (in Toronto, via the Toronto Community Garden Network). This enables them to share information and expertise.

Location and Layout

We wanted to place the garden in a location where it would be seen, but not interfere with the regular public usage of the park. There is a large lawn in the center of the north half of the park that hosts a natural ice rink in the winter, pick-up games of various sports in the summer and is used by dog walkers year round. Community gardening in either of the proposed locations will not limit any of those activities.

We have come up with two sites: a first choice (Site 1) and an alternate (Site 2). Over the winter, we hope to get input from the community and will base our final decision on the feedback we get from local residents and users of the park. If both sites are acceptable, then both may eventually be developed into gardens, dependant on the level of community interest and participation in the project.

Proposed Sites (See attached map of Hillcrest Park and site photos 1, 2, 3 and 4.)

1) A 16 x 26 meter area in the northeast corner of the park. It is located north of the tennis courts, east of the central lawn, south of the tennis club building (and the small grove of trees to the east of the tennis club building) and west of the naturalized slope leading to Christie Street.

2) A flat, triangular, 8 x 26 meter area, in the west end of the park, defined by a park building to the north, a footpath to the east and the slope to the west leading to Turner Road.

Garden Plans

Plan A (for Site 1) takes advantage of natural and existing features. (See attached Garden Plan A) The naturalized slope beside Christie provides a barrier, filling the role of a fence to the east. The layout of the existing brick pavement guided our plans for the main entrance to the garden. A smaller north entrance will exist between two hawthorn bushes that create a natural arbor. The lower branches of the bushes will be pruned to prevent thorn injuries. The central path will follow an electrical line that cannot be impacted by roots or shovels. A small slope running through the center of the garden will make a lovely rock garden site. A crab apple tree and cherry tree have also been incorporated into the garden plan. The light conditions at this site are various and the plantings will have to reflect that. There are areas of deep shade, areas that get part sun and areas that get sun all day. The whole site gets the greatest amount of sunlight in the afternoon. We will use these different conditions to our advantage and use them as opportunities to expand our knowledge of plants and their growing needs.

Plan B (for Site 2) achieves complexity through design, as the site has few natural features to work with. (See attached Garden Plan B). This garden plan has two sections: a formal Victorian style “kitchen garden” featuring heritage plants to the south and an informal, international mix of vegetables, herbs, and flowers to the north. This location gets full sun in the morning and at midday, but is shaded by the maples to the west in the late afternoon.

Both Plan A and Plan B will require perimeter fencing. While we want the garden to be accessible to the public, we want to keep dogs out. A 3-foot tall fence with gated, unlocked entrances should serve the purpose. Flowers can be planted along the outside edge of the fence to soften the border between park and garden.

Garden Elements

We will respect the surrounding environment. We will not use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but instead will feed our garden with compost and manure. The site will be tested for contaminants, pH and composition.

A Children’s Garden
Planting seeds and watching them grow is a great way for anyone to connect with the earth and to learn the value of a clean and healthy environment. We would like a section of our garden to be a place where kids can grow vegetables and flowers and play and have fun!

Flowers
Flowers beautify parks. They perfume the air and are pleasing to the eye. Moreover, they attract beneficial insects that pollinate and protect plants in the garden.

Food Crops (Vegetables and Fruit)
By growing food in the park we hope to contribute to the health and well being of the community. The edibles we grow can go to local food banks and to garden volunteers without gardens of their own.

Herbs
There are culinary herbs, medicinal herbs, aromatic herbs and ornamental herbs. Culinary herbs can be used fresh or dried to flavor food and drink. Medicinal herbs have therapeutic properties and have been used by physicians and healers since prehistoric times. Aromatic herbs are used in soaps, perfumes, potpourris and aromatherapy. Ornamental herbs add beauty to the garden and make lovely bouquets. We plan to grow some of each type.

Heritage Plants
“Heritage” plants are plants that have been grown for decades or centuries with little or no genetic tampering. These include plants grown by native North Americans and those introduced by early European settlers. There is a growing worldwide effort to find and preserve heritage plants. Experimenting with historic garden design is another way to connect with and learn from our past. Hillcrest Park sits on a piece of land that was once “Bracondale Hill”, an estate owned and occupied by the Turner family from 1847 to 1937. There was a large market garden and an orchard on the property. By planting heritage vegetables, herbs, flowers and fruit, we establish continuity and connect the past to the present.

Multicultural Gardening
Gardening is a great way to exchange cultural information. Growing plants from other countries adds variety to our diet and experience. Gardeners from other countries bring an exotic mix of aesthetics and ideas into the garden.

Native Plants
Native plants help feed and protect native animal species including birds, butterflies and other beneficial insects. Native plants tend to be hardier than exotic plants. Learning about native plants is a good way to learn about our natural legacy and our need to protect it.

Rock Garden
Once established, rock gardens require little maintenance. They usually contain hardy, drought-tolerant plants that look after themselves. Native cacti, succulents, perennial herbs, and alpine plants are all good candidates. A rock garden will also provide us with an opportunity to learn about local geology.

The Future…
Eventually, if the garden is a success, we may introduce permanent or semi-permanent garden features, such as arbors, benches, brick paths, ponds, sculpture….

How will the Hillcrest Park Community Garden be run?

By definition, a community garden is based on the involvement of members of the community. No special membership or status is required – only a willingness to respect the garden, the other people working in it and the neighborhood around it.

There is currently a group calling itself “The Friends of the Hillcrest Park Community Garden” made up of local residents and other interested people. At present, anyone who wants to help set up the community garden at Hillcrest is welcome. Once the garden is established, an advisory committee will be set up with guidelines for membership and participation. It is expected that about half of the advisory committee should be people who live, work or volunteer in the neighborhood and who show their commitment by working in the garden or in supporting activities (fundraising, organizing events, etc.). Anyone working in the garden or the advisory committee will do so on a voluntary basis, as there are no funds for staff. In addition to planning the garden, fundraising, organizing events and creating rules and guidelines, the advisory committee will accept feedback about the garden project from residents and other concerned members of the community.

Fundraising

As no fees will be charged to people who want to participate in the garden, it will be supported with both financial and in-kind contributions. Garden volunteers will organize fundraising events and solicit donations of money and equipment from local businesses, residents and community groups. Awards are sometimes made to community projects such as this by various levels of government and private foundations. The garden does not as yet have a charitable number, but partnering with local community agencies may provide access to other funding sources.

Initially we will have to acquire plants, seeds, fencing, compost, manure, and tools. We will fundraise and ask for donations of plant material and other garden supplies. By the end of the first year, however, we should be able to collect seeds from the garden for the next year’s crop, use compost made from garden waste and raise money by selling seeds, seedlings, flavored oils and vinegars, potpourri and more! However it is not likely that the garden will become self-sufficient and outside sources of funding will continue to be an important part of our annual budget.

Audrey Hutchison Fox, The Turners of Bracondale, The York Pioneer, 1999 – Volume 94.

Patrick Lima and John Scanlan, The Kitchen Garden – Growing Vegetables and Fruit Naturally, Key Porter Books Ltd., 1992.