THE SHRUGS A BAND ON THE RISE
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WHAT AN NDP CABINET MIGHT LOOK LIKE
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‘RECKLESS AND DANGEROUS’ DECISION
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WEDNESDAY
APRIL 25 2012
www.newwestnewsleader.com
Sculptor Xin Meng believes our lives are written on our faces. Some of his works will be on display at Douglas College.
Audrey’s getting her garden back Last plant sale for long-time organizer Audrey Barnes Mario Bartel photo@newwestnewsleader.com
Sometime in the evening of May 5, Audrey Barnes gets her garden back. For good. That’s when the last of about 6,000 plants will be transported to the New Westminster Armoury for the Horticultural Society’s annual giant plant sale which is being held the next day. It will be the last sale of its kind. After 15 springs of giving over her entire garden, garage, part of her lane and back deck to the primulas, roses, shrubs, trees, lungworts and hellebores grown and donated by members of the society to be sold as their biggest fundraiser of the year, Barnes is retiring. So she can reclaim her own garden. And her life. From its humble beginnings when gardeners brought their young plants to a central location to be sold willy-nilly, the garden sale has grown into one of the largest of its kind in the Lower Mainland, and a logistical and organizational chore that consumes much of Barnes’ time from the day after the annual sale to the morning of the next one. As a result, other chores have been left wanting. Her Upper Glenbrooke neighbourhood home is in need of a paint job, the garage needs work and her own garden tends to run amok. All will get her attention once the last toad lily is carried out of the armoury on May 6. Until then, there’s a lot of work still to be done. The cool, damp spring has meant a slow start for most gardeners, so Barnes’ back garden isn’t as choc-a-bloc as it usually is a couple of weeks before the sale. But, she says, the quality of the plants this year is outstanding. “Last summer was really kind to the plants, and the slow start this year has allowed the roots to really grow,” says Barnes, 65. As the plants start getting delivered, though, Barnes’s backyard is transformed into a veritable leaf factory. They’re sorted and grouped together with common species, then teams of volunteers report to the shelter of the dilapidated garage to check the plants for pests, cull any that show signs of disease or distress, groom and replant them into individual pots, and then tag each one. Please see STORY, A9
Grant Granger ggranger @newwestnewsleader.com
MARIO BARTEL/NEWSLEADER
For many of the past 15 years, Audrey Barnes has given over her backyard and much of her time to organizing the New Westminster Horticultural Society’s annual giant plant sale. But this is her last sale, and she’ll get her garden back for good after it’s held on May 6.
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New Westminster school district administrators and teachers were grappling early this week with how to deal with two developments late last week. First of all, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation revealed 73 per cent of its membership that voted favoured withdrawing extracurricular activities to put pressure on the provincial government. Later that day, the B.C. Labour Relations Board determined teachers must prepare second-term report cards by this Friday. As part of an earlier job action teachers did not provide marks. Superintendent John Woudzia said the district is in the early stages of Àguring out what the vote means for student activity in the last two months of the school year. “We’re not really sure what it will look like ultimately,” said Woudzia. Please see NWSS, A5