Spring has sprung, but will flowers bloom?

By Molly Little

BELLEVILLE – As spring heats up, many are wondering if the mild winter and cold spring start will impact the opening of community gardens across Belleville.

The City of Belleville has three community gardens open to the public at 251 Dundas Street West, 41 Octavia Street and 75 Bay Drive.

Becky MacWhirter, the city’s green coordinator, says that they will open on schedule after the cool temperatures pass.

“Once the soil is turned and the water is on then gardening season will begin for the community gardens and our goal is for this to all be complete by the first week of May,” she said. “So around the time of what typically is the last spring frost.”

With the mild winter that Ontario experienced this year, flowers may have bloomed before the seasons changed, but MacWhirter told QNet News that opening the gardens early was not an option.

“We like to keep a similar time frame from year to year so residents know what to expect,” she said. “It’s more predictable for the residents.”

Local gardeners can apply for a plot at one of the three community gardens. MacWhirter said that all of the plots were filled last year and residents this year are already eager to get their plants in the ground.

“We’ve actually received more applications than we have plots, so the demand is super strong this year.”