We’re thrilled to share some wonderful news from our school garden project!
Bylands Garden Centre in West Kelowna has generously donated 20 fruit trees to Armstrong Elementary School’s new learning garden, completely free of charge. This incredible donation is a huge boost to the project and will provide students with the chance to grow, observe, and eventually harvest from real fruit trees right on the school grounds.
Our new apple trees
The trees include a thoughtful selection of apple cultivars such as Honeycrisp, Granny Smith, Cox’s Orange Pippin (a heritage variety), and several other varieties chosen to bloom in sync for strong cross-pollination. These trees were carefully hand-selected by Maria Byland, owner of Bylands Garden Centre, who personally oversaw the coordination, selection, and loading of the trees for our school.
The trees will be planted during our final construction work party on Sunday, May 25th, marking a major milestone in the build phase of the AES School Garden.
About Bylands
Bylands is a family-owned garden centre and nursery located in West Kelowna, BC. Bylands has provided the Okanagan with high-quality locally grown plants for over 60 years, and with a large nursery operation covering hundreds of acres. Bylands produces the wonderful Incredible Edibles brand (which includes the apple trees they donated), as well as producing plants for major brands such as Proven Winners.
We are so incredibly grateful to Maria Byland and the entire Bylands team for their generosity and care. These trees will grow alongside our students for years to come, offering beauty, shade, science lessons, and fresh fruit, right outside their classroom doors.
Thank you, Bylands!