The Happy Valley Neighborhood Association

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Sunday’s Happy Valley Garden & Art Walk was a great success, with 20-25 participants enjoying this opportunity to get to know the neighborhood and their neighbors better. 

We started under the Oriental Plane Tree behind the Firehouse Cafe, where our resident arborist John Hymas and Matt Christman of the Firehouse told us something of the history of this property.  Transformed from a fire station to a community gathering place, it was changed using earth friendly concepts such as installing a rain garden and replacing the paved parking lot with grass and plantings.

The berries are ripe in the salal now, and the cafe is offering salal muffins to go with your coffee!

From the Firehouse, the group walked to Bobbibrook Farm - what an amazing place - where Laura Plaut told us about the Farm Day Camp program that Common Threads Farm is offering at Bobbibrook for Bellingham children ages 4-12. 

From Bobbibrook, we went to the Hymas home where John showed us the garden, his composting technique and his chicken coop. 

Then it was on to Yvonne Dean’s to see her raised beds, deer fence, and rain barrels,

and to Lenora Court to visit Rob McGregor’s back yard water feature.

The garden walk ended at the Lenora Court Pocket Park where we enjoyed the flowers,

Solly Perry’s sculpture,

and refreshments and conversation with our neighbors. 

It was a fine way to spend the afternoon in Happy Valley!

Story and pictures courtesy of Yvonne Dean.

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