TLC would like to thank General Paint for their very generous donation of paint and painting supplies. Their kind donation has allowed TLC to keep this historic site looking as manicured as Peggy and Nicholas Abkhazi would have hoped. Visitors can see the painter's progress while visiting Abkhazi Garden daily from 11 a.m. to 5 [...]
The Pacific Northwest is full of glorious public gardens, in addition to nurseries and garden centers with display gardens. But how many of them do you know? The delightfully written Pacific Northwest Garden Tour takes you to sixty of the best gardens in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia - including TLC's Abkhazi Garden. With an [...]
TLC has wrapped up its volunteer-based covenant monitoring program for 2014. Thank you to our dedicated team of volunteers who gave their time and skills from May through August. With their help we have met our monitoring commitments at over 90 covenanted properties around southern Vancouver Island. The team’s last monitoring day was Friday, August [...]
Photo credit Dennis Robinson. TLC is searching for volunteers who are handy with a paintbrush, or willing to learn, to help prep and paint the house and outbuildings at Abkhazi Garden. Depending on volunteer availability, work will take place at the end of August or the beginning of September. Volunteers would need to [...]
TLC Volunteer Sammy Kent Andrew MacKinnon tries to get his bearings Week eight found the TLC Covenant Monitoring team out at a privately-owned property on Sooke Road. There are no hiking trails through this lush forested area, but we set forth bravely through shoulder high salal and wove along whatever deer (or bear?) [...]
Saltmarsh area at the mouth of Ayum Creek (orange spot in the foreground is saltmarsh dodder) Common red paintbrush (Castilleja miniata), found at one of the covenanted areas at Highlands Estates View of scenic Ayum Creek This week TLC’s covenant monitoring team returned to finish our work at Ayum Creek Regional Park [...]
By far the largest covenanted area protected by TLC in Victoria, the Sooke Hills comprises over 1,300 hectares of wilderness area. Purchased with public donations and contributions from all levels of government, the Sea to Sea Green/Blue Belt extends from Gowlland Tod Provincial Park in the Highlands, down through Goldstream Park and across the Sooke [...]
The last two weeks of May have been busy for the covenant volunteer team. Taking advantage of the nice weather, we visited several covenanted properties to check on their ecological condition and to perform a little invasive species removal as well. On May 23rd, we visited Ayum Creek Regional Park and walked a small [...]
A dedicated group of volunteers at Abkhazi Garden have created the Friends of Abkhazi Garden Society. It is a not-for-profit organization, without charitable status, committed to the restoration and development of the garden. Their sole focus is to continue caring for and maintaining the garden, in partnership with TLC. Hundreds of hours a year have [...]
TLC holds over 100 covenants in the Greater Victoria region protecting important ecological areas. Week two of the Covenant Monitoring Program took TLC volunteers to Bear Mountain. We surveyed a covenant that protects a freshwater marsh that feeds into Millstream Creek and hiked a forested area that comprises the watershed called "River's Crossing". [...]