ESTEVAN - The Garden on Fourth turned into a colourful Winter Wonderland for the third time, thanks to the efforts of Gale Tytlandsvik and her team of helpers and supporters of her beautification projects.
About 12 people worked at the garden for three weeks, off and on, to bring in and decorate 16 artificial Christmas trees as well as the Tree of Life trellis and all other trees growing in the little urban oasis located between the Salvation Army and SaskTel buildings in the 1100-block of Fourth Street.
Most decorations guests will find on the trees have been donated by the community, then organized by colour and arranged on similar-coloured trees. Some trees Tytlandsvik spray-painted with donated paint in her garage.
"Everybody's like 'You can't do a solid red tree' and I'm like 'Watch me,'" Tytlandsvik shared with a laugh.
"And a big thank you to the community because they've just been so supportive."
Since it started, the Christmas Garden has been growing a bit at a time every year and steadily changing as well.
"I only have three more trees [than last year], but some of the smaller trees I took out and replaced with larger trees," Tytlandsvik said, noting there are more trees to be replaced next year. "The red and green tree is completely new, the pink tree is completely new, and the red tree too."
The Christmas theme started with Tytlandsvik's willingness to do something in the garden in winter and the community's generosity.
"The first year I asked for a couple of trees to be donated. And then I had like 10. I thought 'Okay, I can do something like that.' And then I thought 'But I have no ornaments.' So, I put a post on Facebook asking for ornaments, and literally, you could not get in my living room," Tytlandsvik shared.
People keep donating, allowing Tytlandsvik to improve and make the place more and more beautiful every year. This year, local store Dolly Sue's Marketplace donated "a huge pile of ornaments", Tytlandsvik said. There were some other donations as well, and she was able to find some great pieces herself.
Even though she couldn't find colourful candy canes in town, Tytlandsvik regularly restocks trees with treats for anyone to grab and also ensures everything is looking great in the little garden.
"Please stop in and get a candy cane. I restock it every day," Tytlandsvik said.
The garden is open to the public 24/7 at no charge. At night, lights from the SaskTel building shine on the garden, turning it into a magical place.
The area is now under video surveillance for security and to protect the hard work of the volunteers from vandalism.
Once the holidays are over, the trees are carefully taken off their pedestals and moved away for storage. For the past couple of years, they've been stored in the basement at the Wicklow Centre. Tytlandsvik noted that she is grateful for that opportunity, but by the time bigger trees make it up and down the stairs, and in and out through numerous doorways, they are mostly ruined and they have to be redecorated the next year, so she is searching for other potential storage options.
"The space we have is a great space but it's downstairs and there are many doorways. So, if somebody had some shop space on ground level that they were willing to let us use, especially close by or just in town, that would be awesome," Tytlandsvik said.
She also said that now that this community beautification project is up and running, she is ready to have someone to take over it, which would free up some time for her to start a new project.
"I would be more than happy to help someone with the transition phase," said Tytlandsvik.
For more, please reach out to Tytlandsvik at 306-421-7803.
