John and Joanne’s Garden

28 years of gardening

Today we ’re inspect John and Joanne ’s garden in Abbotsford , British Columbia .

In the 28 years we have possess our home we have chosen not to fence the back . It makes the yard look prominent and offers regular opportunities to chat with passersby on Stoney Creek Trail . The downside is that dogs that are suppose to be leash once in a while come in barging in . It is not uncommon as well to havedeerprance through the yard a few time a year . Once in a while we see of multitude having sighted a cougar or bear in the area .

When we bought the place in 1994 , the entire backyard was brim over by sumac andEnglish ivy . It assume quite a few years before the place had a garden look .

In a windstorm that reach gusts of well-nigh 100 klick / hr on March 10 , 2016 , a cottonwood Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree come down and took a 20 - in - diameter Douglas fir tree and a cherry Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree near the pack of cards with it . The cottonwood was about 150 feet magniloquent , and its canopy punctured four holes in our cap and direct out part of the deck as well . People from the other side of the street could see the top of the tree lying on the peak of our roof . It took three tree fallers 5 to 6 hour to clean up the mess . Because the wind was a south one , the ancestor of the cottonwood on the windward side did not have enough purchase with the earth because those southside roots were right next to the creek .

You will also notice that the back “ lawn ” can scantily be called that . Because we live in such a temperate climate with the backyard in nuance most of the twelvemonth , it is a losing battle to try fend off themossthat naturally maturate on the ground and make its coming into court on the branches of the trees , specially during our wet winter season . Abbotsford receives about 5 feet of rainfall yearly , most of that hap from mid - October through mid - March .

Two years ago , I took the plunge and dug out about 8 in of dirt to create a 525 - square - footpatio , all by hired man , substitute it with 6 inches of crushed stone and bedding sand , again by hired hand . What a job ! We had no means to enter the backyard with a truck , so everything had to be carted by wheelbarrow from the front private road to the terrace area . Including the terrace pavers , I estimate that I handled about 120,000 British pound of material by spadeful and wheelbarrow that spring . Projects like this make me prize the equipment so pronto available on farms like I develop up with and worked on for many old age .

Color Echo in thefront yardin spring , from the dark new leaves of theJapanese maple(Acer palmatum , Zones 5–9 ) , to the color of the front room access , to the abundant flowers of heather ( Ericasp . , Zones 5–9 ) in their spring bloom .

The back terrace was understandably worth all the hard work it took to put it in !

Lush shade bed overrun with plants .

The mossy lawn make a nice line to the bed fill with plants .

Not fencing the thousand allows the garden to add take over landscape from the brook and the trail next to it .

ARhododendronadds bright bloom over a carpet of perennials .

Slender deutzia ( Deutziagracilis , zone 5–8 ) inspring salad days

Sometimes the trunks of fledged trees are the most spectacular lineament in any garden .

View of the back garden , looking out to the trees beyond

Have pic to share ? We ’d make out to see your garden , a particular collection of plants you fuck , or a terrific garden you had the probability to visit !

To submit , mail 5 - 10 picture to[email protected]along with some information about the plant life in the pictures and where you took the photos . We ’d love to learn where you are site , how long you ’ve been garden , successes you are proud of , failures you learned from , hopes for the future , favored flora , or comical stories from your garden .

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