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Canadian Urbanism Uncovered

Spadina tree pits in bloom

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A flowering tree pit on Spadina, just south of Sullivan

Someone has been planting lush, beautiful gardens in the pits around trees on both sides of Spadina south of Sullivan. Possibly, in order to do so, they have been removing the hideous concrete lids which normally cover tree pits.

It is a wonderful initiative. The trees along that part of Spadina are particularly sad, dying regularly in their shallow, concrete-covered pits. The concrete lids, which are supposedly needed so that no-one treads on the roots, prevent rainwater from getting into the soil, exacerbating the watering problems of these trees. Planting gardens not only provides attractive new greenery, but it also opens up the soil in these pits while the new plants clearly mark the area that should not be walked on.

Who is responsible? Probably not the city – it can’t even afford to water trees sufficiently. Guerrilla gardeners, perhaps, but the project suggests consistent care. Perhaps a neighbour in a nearby building?

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Newsflash (Aug. 23) – it turns out that the gardening angel responsible for this initiative is a local business owner – see the Aug. 26 post above for details.

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