WESTVILLE
The New Glasgow Community Garden recently moved, but the gardening plants won’t be starting at the new location behind the Community Cupboard on Munroe Avenue quite yet.
Plants for the community garden have begun their lives basking in the abundant sunshine in an unusual but practical spot – the large windows of the Highland Nissan auto dealership in Westville. The windows, which showcase vehicles, also serve as a great way to enhance the sunshine that filters through them.
“You’ll see the windows all full of plants,” said sales manager Mike MacLean, referring to the dealership’s participation in the initiative. “One guy who works here is with the community garden.”
That one guy, Colin MacEachern, said the reason Highland Nissan was chosen as a place to start the plants for the community garden is because “it’s like a sauna, and a greenhouse in here,” as the weather warms in the spring, “so it’s the perfect spot.”
Plants being sprouted for the windows at the dealership include everything from tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower, to marigolds (to keep away insects).
“My wife is good friends with the lady who operates the community garden, and my wife mentioned we should plant stuff here. I talked to Carolyn Sullivan, whose dad owns the place, and they said ‘absolutely,’ and that they’d love to help out,” said MacEachern.
The array of flowering and food-bearing plants flourishing in the windows is something many customers enjoy, MacEachern noted. A total of about 100 different plants get their start before growing conditions are met outdoors.
“It’s awesome. It took about two days for the plants to sprout,” said MacEachern. “My wife, Eileen MacKenzie, does a lot of planting. She planted them on a Tuesday and on Thursday they sprouted.”
Once sprouted, the plants were put into larger containers to grow by the windows until mid-June. Later, as the plants mature and the weather stays warm, they will be transferred to the community garden site. There, they will be planted in the raised beds and allowed to flourish for the rest of the growing season.
“It’s a great cause, and it’s good to be able to do our bit. Everyone who uses those veggies to make food knows they have something locally grown, and they know exactly what went into it,” said MacEachern.
