Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/130547
For more information on bee keeping, go to bcliving.ca/bees CITY SOWER (Clockwise from near left) Owners Pascal and Janaki house two beehives (and sell the honey in their store), keep chickens and grow vegetables such as tomatoes, kale and beans on their garage rooftop. The miniature urban farm they have created helps bond them to their East Van community. People gather to swap their preserves with a neighbour's endive. It is exactly the kind of simple, healthy lifestyle that the couple wanted for their young family. that it would impact the neighbourhood. "The change has been amazing," says Janaki. "At that time, people immediately headed to Main Street to shop and dine. Since they didn't spend time on their street, no one knew who lived here. Now, all of the neighbours know each other because they met here. Neighbourhood knitting and running groups have been formed. On Sundays, everyone comes here for coffee: they're all in our tab book. We even have spare keys to everyone's houses in case anyone gets locked out." Love at first sight, sort of It was love at first sight when Pascal and Janaki saw the 1904 building at the corner of St. George Street and 28th Avenue, which had previous lives as a convenience store, apartment and art gallery. At the time it was deemed a teardown. Armed with innovative plans, Pascal and Janaki used their housebuilding and decorating skills to restore the building to a gracious residence, doing most of the work themselves. The couple added windows and subtracted walls, raised areas of the building to level floors, supported 20 | BC HOME & GARDEN June 2013 p18-25_Le Marche/ForagedFood.indd 20 13-05-09 10:00 AM