Seeded by 221A and rewilded by artist and ethnobotanist Tʼuyʼtʼtanat-Cease Wyss as part of her 221A Fellowship, x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ resulted in the transformation of Semi-Public 半公開, the site’s compacted road base gravel, and restored the health of flora and fauna of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō Nations.
Locality
x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ is located in Chinatown and adjacent to historic Hogan’s Alley, where the Georgia Street Viaduct now stands. The garden is a place where Indigenous peoples, Chinese-Canadians, and the African diasporic community have all experienced cultural, class, and economic struggle. The development and maintenance of this garden are the work and relationships of an intergenerational and intercommunity collaboration.
Site Plan
The planting beds and stone hearth are arranged as a series of interlocking trigons, crescents, extended crescents, and circles. These are traditional Coast Salish design elements that have been applied to the land with permaculture methods. Permaculture is a design process that simulates the methods and resilient patterns of ecosystems. The larger principles of permaculture are centered around whole systems thinking and organizational and social design processes, and they have varied and vastly diverse applications beyond land management and farming.
Plant Signage
Visitors to x̱aw̓s shew̓áy̓ can learn the nomenclature for the plant species here in the garden:
Salmonberry Rubus spectabilis
Snowberry Symphoricarpos albus
Oregon Grape Mahonia aquifolium
Red Huckleberry Vaccinium parvifolium
Wild Strawberry Fragaria virginiana
Kinnikinnick Arctostaphylos uva-ursi
Wood Sorrel Oxalis oregana
Yarrow Achillea millefolium
Wild Rose Rosa nutkana
Oceanspray Holodiscus discolor
Stonecrop Sedum acre
Pacific Western Yew Taxus brevifolia
Indian Plum Oemleria cerasiformis
Red Osier Cornus sericea
Red Elderberry Sambucus pubens
California Poppy Eschscholzia californica
