A 10-year-old dream was reached when a Montrose resident inaugurated the first phase of building Trail’s white garden.
A group of 40 people gathered at the east end of Jubilee Park Friday afternoon to celebrate the new arbour.
Speeches and a red ribbon cutting were all part of the day’s celebration.
The arbour is just the first of many projects that will be taking place in Jubilee Park.
“It will be marvelous, it will be unique and a wonderful place to visit and take photographs,” said Phyllis Stone.
Ten years ago, Stone had the idea of having a white garden in Trail and has been trying to push the project through since. The design is inspired by the Sissinghurst Castle’s White Garden in England.
The arbour is the centerpiece of the whole garden.
After a 10-year maturing time white roses will cover the entire arbour, making a strikingly beautiful visiting spot.
The area around the arbour will be covered by white roses, white tulips and green and silver foliage, said Stone.
The arbour is just one aspect of the garden with construction of new flowerbeds scheduled for next year.
Stone first came with her vision to city council in 2002 where the idea was warmly received. The council advised Stone to get in contact with the Communities In Bloom group of Trail.
“She always came out to the various volunteer events, whether planting or weeding she was always involved throughout the whole process,” commented Dan Rodlie, chair of Trail communities in bloom.
“The project never surfaced because there never was enough money until this year Kootenay Savings gave us the boost we needed as well as the Rotary Club,” said Stone.
Communities In Bloom and the City of Trail also gave financial support to the project.
With so much flowers and beautiful arrangements many are confident in the gardens economic potential.
“This will be the first white garden in B.C. We will be going into the British Columbian Garden Tour association,” commented Rodlie. “They publish a really high-gloss brochure and getting Trail into that brochure will get our name right across the province as a place to visit for gardens, parks and flowers. This will definitely be a huge draw.”
The designer and builder of the arbour was Jack Janssen Steenberg who was very excited by the reaction to the arbour.
“When we were putting up the rose arbour, everybody came by including teenagers. Everyone was surprised to see something happening and also asked what it was,” said Steenberg. “They were all very positive and they couldn’t wait to see the roses growing up there.”