We’ve all seen the green signs around our neighbourhood that say “Leaf a Legacy.” Many have asked: “What’s that all about?” These signs honour the hard work of neighbours who make their yards beautiful in one way or another. The idea grew out of the Front Yards in Bloom contest that is City-wide. As part of the revitalization, a few of us thought it would be a special way to honour the great gardens we already have here, and encourage more people to care about their yards or gardens.

We gathered a group of McCauley neighbours together who have experience in landscaping and gardening, and we divided the McCauley neighbourhood into 12 areas, each about three blocks square. Each of us took an area, and we walked around it several times, looking at front and back yards of houses, businesses, and even balconies. We were each supposed to come up with at least 10 addresses in each area that were outstanding in some way. Some of us had way more than ten, while other areas had less. Most of the nominators were amazed at the outstanding gardens in each area. The nominators were eliminated from winning, to be fair to everyone.

The chosen yards were then photographed by each nominator, and the addresses and photos were sent in to Jane Molstad, our Revitalization Coordinator. She then organized them, and passed the list on to the judges, who were from the Front Yards in Bloom contest, so they were impartial. The nominators planted signs in each yard nominated, and put a card in the mailbox, inviting them to come to the award ceremony.

The judges looked at all the properties nominated, and selected winners in four categories: Front Yards, back yards, balconies, and businesses/churches. Prizes were presented to winners on August 22, at the Commonwealth Rec. Centre. It was lovely to see the photos of the winners and their yards, and to celebrate their hard work and accomplishments. We can be very proud of the almost 150 outstanding gardens in McCauley that were nominated. Congratulations to all nominees and winners. We hope to make this an annual neighbourhood contest! The Big Dig tree giveaway is on October 4, so if you need a new tree in your yard, be sure to stop by and pick one out.

Joanne McNeal was a nominator as well as a nominee, who found it very exciting but hard to select which yards were best.