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CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
‘A hidden gem': Lougheed House gardens in full bloom thanks to volunteers
The flowers in the gardens at Calgary's Lougheed House are in full bloom. The grounds of the historic Lougheed House in downtown Calgary are filled with a variety of plants and flowers, but the colourful gardens wouldn't exist without a team of close to 30 dedicated volunteers. The gardens are open to the public, and for the last six years it's been head gardener Jane Reksten's job to map out the various spaces. 'I do all the planning, designing of the garden displays, purchasing all the plants, making sure the (volunteer) gardeners have everything they need to get their job done – so supplies and soil and all of that kind of stuff,' she said. 'Then on our work days, I guide the work of the volunteers. They do all the heavy lifting – I just steer them in the right direction.' Gardening days are on Tuesdays and Thursdays during the growing season. Reksten says some of the volunteers are so dedicated they show up twice a week. 'It is quite astonishing how often people will stop and thank the volunteers – thank them for what they're doing – say 'You're doing a fabulous job,' we love the gardens,'' she said. 'We know that the work is appreciated and really valued, especially for the folks that live within the area and treat this as their backyard.' Volunteer Jackie Marston has been part of the team for six years and says she enjoys putting bouquets together with flowers from the garden for visitors to enjoy inside the Lougheed House. 'It's getting out in the fresh air, it's lovely,' she said. 'Even in the springtime, in the summer, in the autumn – you get all the different colors and it's such a beautiful garden and I live very close, so that helps too.' Jeff Walker started volunteering in 2018 after he retired. He says he likes to build things and does a lot of heavy lifting in the garden. 'Pruning, deadheading, weeding,' he said. 'I'm a bit of a handy guy so we put up trellises and the signs and put some of the furniture together, just odd jobs.' Walker says he's proud of not only the work the volunteers do, but also how beautiful the gardens look. 'It's nice to see and people come by and thank you for having the gardens in nice shape,' he said. 'It's a pride of mine. Not pride of ownership, but a pride in [us] doing something for the neighborhood.' Nearby resident Mariana Araujo de Castro says she enjoys coming to the park with her dog Sky every chance she gets. 'It's a hidden gem,' she said. 'I just love to come here, and the flowers are so beautiful. I love to come here with my dog and let her sit here on the grass while I admire the flowers. Sometimes I take pictures. I think the garden is so well taken care of.' Reksten says the gardens are not original to the property, because at one time there were buildings on the space. However, staff have done their best to design the layout of the gardens close to what the Lougheed family would have had in the late 1800s. 'The Lougheed's in the Victorian Era were into what we call carpet bedding, so low plants that created shapes and designs,' she said. 'Well, those are very difficult to design, very difficult to look after, and not reflective of what anyone is going to be doing in their gardens now.' The plants in the garden are not original, but some of the native species are used throughout the space. 'They absolutely would have had tons of roses,' Reksten said. 'We have lots of roses, peonies and delphiniums, because the garden has been rebuilt from what it was originally.' 'We can't say for sure that any of the plants are still in their same place, but the hollyhocks – those are biennials – they self seed and pop up in all kinds of different corners of the gardens, and we can be pretty confident that those have been on site ever since the Lougheed's were here in the 1890s and early 1900s.' The Lougheed House is hosting an event on August 24th called The House Meets Garden tour. For more information, you can visit the Lougheed House website.
CTV News
14-07-2025
- CTV News
Flowers & gift baskets for any occasion
Why wait for a special occasion to send that special someone a floral arrangement or gift basket. Award-Winning Florist Crystal Hill shows us how its done.
CTV News
26-06-2025
- CTV News
Winnipeg woman's garden to be highlighted in upcoming fundraising tour
A flowerpot is hanging on a pole in Esther Chen's garden on June 25, 2025. (Harrison Shin/CTV News Winnipeg) For Esther Chen, gardening is not just a hobby — it's a family affair, a lifestyle, and now, a cause worth celebrating. What began as a bare backyard when Chen first bought her Winnipeg home has blossomed into a lush, vibrant garden that's earned her a spot among Nature Manitoba's 14 Gardens of Distinction. Her garden will be open to the public this Saturday as part of a fundraising event organized by the not-for-profit group. 'It's just a habit,' Chen said. 'I like flowers and plants — and gardening is very rewarding because they will come back year after year.' But it didn't start this way. 'When we first bought this house, the backyard was only pure grass. There was no gardening at all — no flower beds, no shrubs, nothing." Chen began transforming the space herself, one plant at a time. As an owner of a landscaping business, she went to rescue dying trees and shrubs from her landscaping clients, reviving them with care and giving them new life in her yard. 'Lots of dying shrubs — if you take care of them, they can actually revive,' she said. Her dedication caught the attention of Nature Manitoba, which handpicks a handful of gardens across the city each year to be featured in its annual tour. Attendees will get a rare glimpse at some unique plants and gardening styles, said Tim Evans, master gardener of Nature Manitoba. 'They get to take pictures. They get to learn about plants they've never seen,' Evans said. 'A lot of times, the gardeners have plants you will never see in garden centres.' The Gardens of Distinction tour is now looking toward northeast Winnipeg for its next round of honorees. But this weekend, the spotlight will shine on Chen and her garden. 'It will be a good show,' she said. 'I hope more people can come to see what I can do.' The tour is held annually to help fund Nature Manitoba's educational and recreational programming and overall operations. It costs $20 for people to take in the tour.
