Angel Garden gives heavenly feel

By Communities in Bloom
For The Times

Taber Communities in Bloom has already started the spring and summer off with a bang with the planting of the hanging baskets, the new pots along 50th Street, and the cleaning and planting in the Angel Garden in front of the police station, the Heritage Garden over by the pool, the Cenotaph Garden, the Confederation Park entrance garden, and many other flower gardens that you see around town.

The flower bed at the entrance to the cemetery has been removed and replaced with two large planters on either side of the gate. There is also the addition of 20 new planters in the downtown core this summer. Plans are in the works for some additional projects that we hope you all enjoy.

The CIB Society in Taber is made up of hardworking volunteers from the town and the M.D. whose main objective is to make Taber a cleaner, more beautiful place to live. We are very pleased to have received the provincial award for the last three years in a row for towns in Alberta between 6,001 – 15,000 population. This accomplishment had never been done before in any of the categories by one community and it is something Taber should be proud of.

Our “Pick of the Week” program will run again this year from mid-June through the end of August. Each week we will publish a photo and write-up acknowledging a home owner, renter or business in the Taber area who works tirelessly to keep their property well maintained and attractive. This program is in addition to our Annual Yard Contest for the town and M.D. of Taber.

For our first Pick of the Week this summer, we have decided to highlight one of our own gardens, “The Angel Garden,” for a couple of reasons.

First, since we have had quite a cool and overcast spring, many people find their yards are a little slow getting started, so we decided to wait for some sunshine, which we are finally starting to receive.

Secondly, we are finding that many of the general public are unfamiliar with the history of the Angel Garden and what it represents. When the new police station was built about 19 years ago and the landscaping was started, the idea for a garden on the property was conceived.

A local businesswoman canvassed the community for donors for the project and construction was started. A list of those donors can be found on a metal plaque at the garden.

The Angel Garden was named on behalf of Childfind Alberta, an organization which searched for and educated the public about missing children in Canada. The organization also provided support for the families of these missing children, but Childfind closed their doors in Alberta in 2014, as we now have organizations today such as Family and Victim Services which provide that same assistance.

Communities in Bloom took over the planting and care of the garden a few years after that, and still look after it to this day. Many different organizations, from Victim Services to the Taber Police Service, have contributed yearly to supplying money for purchasing the flowers.

A very special thank you for the care of the Garden over the years goes out to Ann Perl, Mary Krizsan, Doris Higgins, Clara Ferros, Jeri Saunders and many others for their dedication to this project. CIB invites you to stop and appreciate this garden at any time and read the plaque about the many donors who so selflessly gave of their time and resources to make the garden what it is today.