Front garden at Rennick Cottage at sunrise
Last year I was being interviewed for a magazine article, the writer asked what I did on my time off, my response, " I garden". The look on her face said it all, how boring, how am I suppose to write about this so called cool person.
The reality is, cool people garden. If I think of all the cool people I know they have one thing in common, yep, they garden.
Take a close look at the creative geniuses of Grant Leier and Nixie Barton, their garden in Cedar is now closed to the public, but those of us fortunate enough to have visited during the years were truly inspired. Barton and Leier took gardening to a whole new level, creating a masterpiece.
Closer to home, I have always loved the garden of super cool interior designer Barb Gergel,
Sidewalk in front of Gergel residence
I relied a lot on the advice of Gergel when planting my own garden. She knew which plants would survive the heat of the Cowichan Valley ( Rennick Cottage is next door to a vineyard), and what the deer would think twice about sampling.
Entrance to Gergel's garden
Creating outdoor rooms, is the essence of Barb's garden. Her best advice, " every time you place a plant in the garden, go inside the house and look out, make sure you like the placement from the inside view. This is where we most often view our gardens from".
The terraced entrance
Gardens have a sense of arrival. Gergel defines space with different levels. The main entrance to the house is defined by the landscape not the architecture.
The courtyard
Privacy in the city was created by a wall that is essentially a large planter. You can rest in the back yard and no one walking by will see you.
Then there is the garden of mega cool artist Marilyn Wallace. I have long admired Wallace's encaustic and mixed media work.
The boulevard in front of the Wallace residence
We have all seen boulevard plantings, but Wallace takes it to a whole new level with a wide selection of diverse plantings.
The back yard is a carefully planned network of foot paths meandering through the garden. No grass here! Parts of the garden are still young with space still to be filled as plants mature. Wallace has been careful making sure it is not over planted.
A restful place to sit, although Im quite sure Marilyn never sits. This is the one area that I do not have in my own garden as of yet, a place to sit.
Some people weed a bit, buy some geraniums and call it a day. That is not gardening. Gardening for us is a creative extension of our lives, spirits, and careers. We take it to a whole new level. creating environments that leave people in awe and hopefully inspire.
Cool People Garden.
