Flowers bloom near local housing complex

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A neglected patch of a park near Victoria Park Avenue has just become a "good getaway spot" for a neighbourhood that needs one.

The flower garden planted by local children and youth in Chester Le this week is also a welcoming place for butterflies.

Behind rows of freshly planted garden mums and black-eyed Susans are goldenrod, milkweed and wild columbine - native plants butterflies depend on for nectar and places to lay their eggs.

The garden along Chester Le Boulevard and a bench decorated by some of the younger residents will be unveiled Thursday, Aug. 21 at 3 p.m.

Youth facilitator Mohammed Shire, 18, said the project shows the community cares about the environment.

The work involved - including digging out dead shrubs, weeds and broken glass from the area - has shown neighbourhood children how much effort goes into gardening.

Soumia Mohamed, 10, said she planted sunflower seeds with her class last year and learned "that you have to be a patient person."

Chester Le's townhouse community has had its problems.

Before its community garden opened, only a few people there tended plants in their yards. Now it's a more popular pastime, said Tata Wilson, 20, a facilitator, who called the new garden a place to get away to.

"If I need a place to get away because I'm having a bad day, I'd just come here."

Onezy Loc, 16, also lent a hand at the plantings Tuesday. "This is where we live, so we might as well treat it in a nice way, you know?" he said.

The Art in Our Project, organized by the Chester Le Community Corner and Agincourt Community Services Association, also taught children from the area more about the natural world around them.

Luke Liu, 13, said learning about insects and other creatures was his favourite part of these lessons by a group called the Toronto Green Community.

"We learned not to be scared about any kind of bugs," said Luke, adding that by helping his mother plant tomatoes and other vegetables in the garden he learned not to waste food because it takes so long to grow it.

Later, he returned to show a visitor a handful of striped snails he found. "They look cool, the pattern looks really cool," he said.