Edible Landscaping at St Faith’s

We know that there are hungry people in our neighbourhoods.  There was a little plot of unproductive land beside St Faith’s.  Joining the dots wasn’t difficult.  More interesting was deciding what to plant and where.  While the primary goal is food production, there is no reason why we cannot have a little fun along the way.  But even fun with plants has some constraints: there is some shading; we must be respectful of our location, a place of worship; pre-schoolers pass by daily; and the garden should be visually interesting and attractive.

In the three raised beds St. Faith’s gardeners have planted two rows of tomatoes to catch the sun. Behind them are rows of bush beans, Swiss Chard and sorrel. Leafy plants do better in slightly shady positions and some varieties, such the ‘Celebration’ variety of Swiss Chard are visually arresting. To the rear of two of the boxes giant sunflowers have been planted, a bit of gamble in this location. The sunflowers are doing double duty: welcoming us with their smiles and also acting as supports for scarlet runner beans. 

Wherever possible, plant species which are mentioned in the Bible have been planted. For example, blue flax (Joshua 2) is good plant to edge the borders. Beans are productive and resilient (Genesis 25: 27-34). One plant which isn’t mentioned in the Bible but which will slither its way in is the wonderfully named Viper’s Bugloss (Echium vulgare). This plant has flowers which resemble the tongue of a snake and so is found in some Biblical gardens.  Perhaps we should plant these in the boxes near the church entrance as a warning against temptation!

Open-pollinated varieties have been planted whenever possible. We can then save the seeds from the best plant from each harvest.  Artificial selection in this way will eventually give us seeds best suited to our particular conditions.

The gardens are lovingly tended and every week the harvest is being brought to our sister Church, St. Augustine’s in Marpole and shared with the people who come to their Thursday evening community meal.

Thank you to everyone for helping to create and care for this new ministry at St. Faith’s –  one more way we are responding  to God’s call to care for those in need in our neighbourhood.