BACK IN BLOOM
Mystery gardener saves city officials’ efforts to spread the green gospel,
Flowers planted last Thursday in a neglected planter bed by Mayor John Tory were promptly vandalized by a destructive pinhead.
But the damage was just as quickly undone by a Good Samaritan who put in new flowers and plants in an anonymous act of kindness.
So, who’s the mensch that went to such trouble and expense to restore the flora torn from the bed over the weekend, and why did they do it quietly, and without fanfare? Our May 26 column was about three forlorn raised beds on Alexander St., just around the corner from Yonge St., that are a city responsibility but have not received any care for at least two years.
After our column, we got a call from Tory, who asked us to meet him the next day at the beds, where he and some of his staff would clean them up and put in some plants.
Tory and his people planted flowers in the bed closest to Yonge. The mayor said he did it to encourage city bureaucrats to take responsibility for things that need fixing, even if it’s not necessarily their department.
Then we got a copy of an email sent Monday to Tory from Trevor Hennig, who lives in the area.
“While I think this was a great idea, my question is, who will take responsibility for watering these new plants?” he asked. “They will not last without being cared for, especially in their first summer.
“It seems my concern was misplaced, as I discovered the new plants had all been ripped out over the weekend.”
We’ve seen a lot of vandalism, but this was as gratuitous and disheartening as it gets. It takes a special misfit to tear out flowers for no good reason.
We went back Tuesday and to our delight, the torn-out plants had been replaced with new flowers, including hosta, marigolds and even a rose bush.
Hennig said he noticed the previous plants were missing on Monday morning, which means the new ones were put in no more than about 24 hours before we got there.
We’re hoping the second batch lasts longer than the first, and that someone knows who’s responsible and can identify the guerrilla gardener.
If that person is you, or you know who did it, let us know. We’d like to give credit where credit is due. What’s broken in your neighbourhood? Wherever you are in Greater Toronto, we want to know. To contact us, go to thestar.com/yourtoronto/the_fixer or call us at 416-869-4823. Email jlakey@thestar.ca. To read our blog, go to thestar.com/news/the_fixer. Report problems and follow us on Twitter @TOStarFixer.