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A new look for a beloved James Bay garden

Birgit Piskor is in the process of converting her perennial James Bay garden to a sculpture garden
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Birgit Piskor standing in her James Bay garden. She is in the process of transitioning it from a perennial-focused garden to a sculpture garden.

Birgit Piskor's perennial garden has been the talk of the James Bay neighbourhood for almost 15 years. Now, she is taking the garden in a new direction.

Upon returning to the James Bay house she grew up in 15 years ago, Piskor decided to plant a perennial garden. Little did she know it would take over her life.

“I was a crazy person for the garden for four years. I was so passionate about it,” she said. “I’d never been so engrossed in something for such a long period of time.”

But now, Piskor is moving away from a flower-focused garden toward a new venture.

“I realized that something was missing, and that missing component was sculpture,” she said.

While she was not an artist, Piskor had always been crafty. Since she had experience working with concrete, she decided to use that as her medium to create sculptures.

This year, Piskor began a two-year plan to create the new garden.

[This garden] was very important in my evolution as a person, as an artist, as a woman,” said Piskor, “But it had to be maintained, and that was not a joy for me. To bring it up to show level every year was horrible. I have known for at least two years that I needed to do something low-maintenance with the garden.”

On April 18 and 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Piskor will have a plant sale at her home at 570 Niagara St.

“The plants that I'm offering are really hard-to-find perennials,” said Piskor. “It's kind of my thank you to the community for being so supportive of the garden and saying lovely things about the garden.”

Since her garden will no longer be completely filled with perennials, Piskor said it will be nice to see the plants have a life in the city beyond her garden.

Prices range from $5 for one-gallon pots to $10 for two-gallon pots. Some of her garden sculptures will be available for 50 per cent off.