A small stunned group of gardeners gather at the Pilgrim Community Garden on an overcast Friday morning.

They were alerted via email  two days earlier, Feb. 13, that the garden would close. The garden is on the Pilgrim United Church property in Colwood. Church members are scheduled to vote March 3 on whether to disband.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a little bit sad, and a little bit disappointing,B次元官网网址� said gardener Andy House. B次元官网网址淏ut itB次元官网网址檚 out of our control.B次元官网网址�

The gardeners B次元官网网址� many who were getting ready to start planting for the next season B次元官网网址� were asked to clear their plots by the end of the month.

House lives in a View Royal condo with his wife Sharon. Any day now he will be back at the garden to dig up his strawberry plants and pot them at home where there isnB次元官网网址檛 much room.

B次元官网网址淚f you donB次元官网网址檛 live in a single family home or a duplex with a backyard, you canB次元官网网址檛 garden,B次元官网网址� said House who plans to start looking for another plot.

For the HouseB次元官网网址檚 this would have been their sixth year at the garden, a summer pastime they both were looking forward to.

B次元官网网址淚t was a habit, we would grab a coffee, go to the garden and then go to the peninsula and sit on the water,B次元官网网址� he said.

He has looked at some other community garden options but said paying upwards of $100 is too much for him, nearly double the cost of gardening at the Pilgrim site.

B次元官网网址淚 would like to see more gardens start up in the Western Communities, then it gives people the opportunity,B次元官网网址� House said. B次元官网网址淣othing tastes better than the vegetables you grew yourself. I love shallots and I can grow an entire winterB次元官网网址檚 worth of shallots in four feet of my garden.B次元官网网址�

Ami Vine-Sullivan has four plots at the garden and spent summer days there with her husband and two kids.

They built up boxed beds and trucked in soil and compost. Her plots are full of produce in February including dozens of leek and red kale plants.

B次元官网网址淎ll of the greens we eat are organic and we eat a lot of fresh produce, this was a cost effective way for us to eat this way,B次元官网网址� Vine-Sullivan said. B次元官网网址淲e have lost our investment.B次元官网网址�

Her four-year-old son Khafre Shillitto will pick broccoli and kale straight from the garden and eat it, but vegetables from the the grocery store are often a no go.

B次元官网网址淚 am sad because I like the garden and playing here,B次元官网网址� said the little boy, munching on a kale leaf.

B次元官网网址淲e love it here, we would often bring a picnic and spend the whole day. There are so many bugs and creatures this is a great place for children to learn,B次元官网网址� Vine-Sullivan said. She too has no room to garden at her Colwood townhouse and will seek another garden to join.

For Doug and

Florence Skinner they are going to miss out on teaching their grandkids to garden this year. The coupleB次元官网网址檚 son and children are moving to Victoria and they were already planning to get an extra plot.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a great pity it has to shut down, weB次元官网网址檝e had a lot of fun and a lot of good eating,B次元官网网址� said Florence Skinner.

Gardeners ran the space on  church land. The gardeners covered the water bill and paid their own insurance.

The 40-plot garden had communal raspberries and rhubarb and was utilized by about 20 families.