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  #41  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2012, 4:16 PM
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Originally Posted by ILoveHalifax View Post
How about a victoria style greenhouse somewhere in the Public Gardens with rare tropical plants. Could be a great anchor for winter time.
Close Sackville St. between Summer and South Park. Turn that closure and the Wanderers grounds into one large Public Gardens. The greenhouse area could be redone into a winterized botanical garden. Come on Halifax ...think big!

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax...va+Scotia&z=18

Greenhouses:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=halifax...p=12,5.35,,0,0
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  #42  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2012, 4:22 PM
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- Apr. 11, beautiful sunny day in Halifax
- 100's of visitors in town for Titanic week
- People strolling the boardwalk etc.

- Public Gardens still a pigsty ...
- No workers working
- Locked up like a prison

HRM loves getting national & international black eyes for stupidity
April 13th .....gardens finally open.
- a complete pigsty
- no reason to have it closed as there are still branches in pathways and paths washed out. This being corrected was a "false" reason for delaying the opening"

I am officially calling HRM out on this one!
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  #43  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2012, 10:30 PM
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I would still like to see the gardens jazzed-up. The evergreens, as well as the bare deciduous trees, could simply be more utilised by wrapping some nice LED lights around them.
Heresy! The Friends of the Public Gardens would denounce you as a dangerous radical and enemy of the Gardens because they didn't have LED lights in Victorian times. They would accuse you of desecration.
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  #44  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2012, 2:55 PM
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Heresy! The Friends of the Public Gardens would denounce you as a dangerous radical and enemy of the Gardens because they didn't have LED lights in Victorian times. They would accuse you of desecration.
I don't believe this group is that puritanical; otherwise, they would insist upon the removal of the Canadian flag, the Titanic model in the pond, and the discontinued yearly plantation of tropical flowers that were not in cultivation during Victorian times.

Perhaps faux-Vicitorian lights (yes, I'm going there) could be installed along most, if not all, of the walking paths?

Whatever the case, the Gardens would require additional investment in order to be pleasing during the winter.
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  #45  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2012, 8:30 PM
ILoveHalifax ILoveHalifax is offline
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Trees wrapped in lights would be magical even in the summer time. The gardens could be used for events after dusk.
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  #46  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2012, 9:26 PM
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Trees wrapped in lights would be magical even in the summer time. The gardens could be used for events after dusk.
NO!!! Are you another one of those dangerous anarchists? Everyone knows that the gates to the Gardens MUST BE LOCKED as soon as darkness begins to fall. Think of the children!!!!
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  #47  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 5:12 AM
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NO!!! Are you another one of those dangerous anarchists? Everyone knows that the gates to the Gardens MUST BE LOCKED as soon as darkness begins to fall. Think of the children!!!!
At least now with the gardens locked up 3/4 of the time we can be sure that nobody can get in and, say, smash one of the 100+ year old statues? Right..?
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  #48  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 7:45 AM
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At least now with the gardens locked up 3/4 of the time we can be sure that nobody can get in and, say, smash one of the 100+ year old statues? Right..?
After four years of living in Park Vic, always walking by the Gardens, I'd say I'd be hardpressed to remember a week in which I didn't see kids (and I believe university students as well) climb the fence and jump in at night.

I've never felt the urge to enter the Gardens at night. Even in the face of peer pressure, I don't believe I would simply because I value my junk too much to attempt that. Knowing my luck, I'd slip on the fence and it would be tragic.
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  #49  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 7:48 AM
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Trees wrapped in lights would be magical even in the summer time. The gardens could be used for events after dusk.
I agree. The landscaping in front of the Marriot Hotel is of the classiest and most interesting in the downtown.
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  #50  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 11:43 AM
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At least now with the gardens locked up 3/4 of the time we can be sure that nobody can get in and, say, smash one of the 100+ year old statues? Right..?
If the gardens were open at night the statue might be alive today!

We should lock Citadel Hill, Point Pleasant Park, and the Commons at dusk. We can never be too safe in Halifax.

I think there should be a new group. STG......Save the Gardens. By keeping them open 365 days a year continual maintenance would be a requirement. Currently the Gardens are ignored from Nov. to April by maintenance staff and this is very destructive to the fragile ecosystems that thrive there.
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  #51  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 7:54 PM
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Currently the Gardens are ignored from Nov. to April by maintenance staff and this is very destructive to the fragile ecosystems that thrive there.
What do you mean by this?
The annuals die each year, regardless. Any garden is an artificial ecosystem, to a certain extent.
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  #52  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2012, 8:23 PM
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What do you mean by this?
The annuals die each year, regardless. Any garden is an artificial ecosystem, to a certain extent.
Exactly, staff and the Friends of the Gardens will tell you that the presence of people in the Gardens in the winter will destroy the fragile ecosystems so using that rationale one could reason that piles of dead leaves, garbage and branches crushing flower beds will do as much damage.

The point is, they are pulling the wool over the public in their reasoning for keeping the Gardens closed.
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Last edited by Empire; Apr 16, 2012 at 12:25 AM.
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  #53  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2012, 4:06 AM
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I'll repeat some of my thoughts that were earlier in this thread. I'd like to see the city partner with an organization (I don't care who it is), but have them sponsor to pave the pathways throughout the gardens and provide necessary upkeep in the winter.

Once that is done, I'd like the other money used to do something like Zoo Lights out here...where they put up lots of lights during the winter/Christmas and then people can tour around the gardens. Doesn't even have to be the whole gardens...but it would still be cool!
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  #54  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2012, 9:33 PM
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I'll repeat some of my thoughts that were earlier in this thread. I'd like to see the city partner with an organization (I don't care who it is), but have them sponsor to pave the pathways throughout the gardens and provide necessary upkeep in the winter.

Once that is done, I'd like the other money used to do something like Zoo Lights out here...where they put up lots of lights during the winter/Christmas and then people can tour around the gardens. Doesn't even have to be the whole gardens...but it would still be cool!
The pathways could be brick pavers.
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  #55  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2012, 3:00 PM
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What are the reasons invoked by the municipality to close the gardens during the winter?
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  #56  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2012, 7:20 PM
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The pathways could be brick pavers.
I would find this more appealing
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  #57  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2012, 9:01 PM
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The pathways could be brick pavers.
I can imagine a perverse history of the Public Gardens pathways:

1) Basic pathways in the 1830's-whenever
2) Victorian-era management of gardens propose paving stones or brick, but there's no money available.
3) 100 years later, we must keep the gravel pathways because that is how it was in the Victorian era.

The Citadel has a similar feel -- like it is how it is now because that's how it was, even though many aspects of its layout and the empty space around it have no real historical significance and do not function very well today. The Citadel is the result of decommissioning a military base and then tearing down some shacks. I don't think anybody has taken a serious, creative look at how to best take advantage of that site in the modern city. And we do need to do this every few decades because needs and possibilities are constantly evolving. What makes sense in a city of 100,000 in the 1940's does not necessarily make sense many decades later.

The Victoria Park square is a good example of a public space that was overhauled and has been substantially changed while retaining its original value and unique character.

The Grand Parade is begging for similar improvements and they have been proposed as part of the Capital District but they seem dead in the water. One particular nice idea was a granite staircase near the north end of the square on Barrington. Imagine that going in along with the renovation of the TD building. It would open up Barrington a little more and eliminate some of the "blank wall" effect.

The Commons of course need the biggest overhaul of all. Aside from the very ad hoc addition of the oval the last two modifications I remember are the hideous washroom hut and the removal of some shrubs because homeless were sleeping in them.
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  #58  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2012, 1:25 AM
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I am waiting for Jennifer Watts to propose allowing the keeping of chickens, goats and sheep on the Common. The Friends of the Common would probably support this as it was what was done in ye olden dayes.
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  #59  
Old Posted Feb 10, 2014, 3:26 AM
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I was trying to push for this for years. This is a email I got back from the Horticulture Supervisor Public Gardens & Greenhouse Production back in 2012

"The Halifax Public Gardens is a National Historic Site with a statement of significance found at http://historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/...u.aspx?id=2633 and should be considered a garden first then a public park. Visitors value the wide selection of trees, shrubs and floral displays. The season has been extended until November 30 and opens the second week in April. This has added 4-5 weeks additional time that the Gardens are open to the public.
Many of the features of the Public Gardens noted in the statement of significance such as the gravel paths, well-maintained lawns and flower and shrubs beds close to the paths would require extra maintenance in the spring if they were plowed or salted. The paths are not well drained and are often ice covered in the winter.
The staff who maintain the Gardens in the summer are transferred to snow assignments during the winter and are responsible for road and side walk clearing.
I do see an opportunity if the weather cooperates to be open weather permitting and based on staff availability: Monday to Friday 8:00 am -2:00 pm during the winter. The washrooms and Horticultural Hall would be closed. Ice skating would need more investigation. Being open when the staff are available would not increase our operating budget. I have to balance budget constraints, protecting the Public Gardens for the future, public safety and public demands.
I hope this addresses your concerns and thank you for your ongoing interest in the Public Gardens"

And From Uncommon Ground "unfortunately, we were not made aware of this plan prior to today and we moved all of our equipment out for the winter. Even if we had known, it would have been very difficult as the building is not insulated at all and preventing the pipes from freezing is virtually impossible without changes to the infrastructure in place"

I do think the Public Gardens should be open much later into the evening through out the winter with access to skate on the pond
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  #60  
Old Posted Oct 19, 2015, 5:59 PM
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What I really wish is for the garden to be open later in the evening. Every time I walk by there at night I notice how inviting it looks with the gentle light cast by the vintage-style street lamps creating an intriguing ambiance. Although obviously they'd need to have security patrols and they couldn't keep it open past maybe midnight or the place would be strewn with used condoms and such.

Currently it's closed at "dusk" and the commissionaire starts driving around kicking people out as soon as the sun makes its first signs of setting.
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