before and after

Left & Above

The email read "Charlotte, there is a beautiful garden on this invoice, whose is it?"

The response was "You need to get out of the car BEFORE you drive into the

garage; it's yours"! Whether you do the work yourself, or have someone do it for

you, take time to have a look at what's going on just outside your door.

A custom 'Lloyd Sector' Arts and Crafts inspired prairie home did not have an 'inspirational' garden; the plantings were all wrong. By repositioning existing material, introducing new

native plants and redesigning the space, the garden now blends with its surroundings and complements this beautiful property. The changes to the garden surrouding the house are ongoing as some of the gardens extend far from the house. The misplaced shrubs and other material unsuited to the island in the driveway will be next years project and something

'artistic' and more in keeping will take their place. Initially the owner simply wanted the old plants gone, finding them unsightly, and to start from scratch but, temporarily convinced they could be part of the garden and would look 'natural', Karen acquiesed and was delighted

when, having dispersed them throughout new plantings, they fit in just fine. The birds,

butterflies and bees are back and the garden is humming with activity from early spring until

the next one. Nothing is cut back that might provide food for the birds until it's spring again.

This beautiful Ruskin Row property needed a face lift if it was to be seen by potential buyers for the magnificent home it was. The palm plants and impatience of the previous owner's garden were replaced with lush shrubs & perennials and "sold" was quickly atop the for sale sign when put up the following spring. The garden was built in a single season. If resale is in the future, you can increase the value of your home up to 25% with good landscaping. You can increase the number of people who even consider looking at your home, with landscaping, by 75%.

There is nothing wrong with color, there is nothing wrong with LOVING color; just keep in mind that, dependant on where it is, or how much of it there is,the space, inside or out,

might become too loud. Perhaps keep the number of bright colors to simple "pops" or in a specific area or choose complimentary colors and keep them to a minimum.

John once worried about what he would do when he retired. Now, he says, "I wonder what I'll do in the winter?" He can be found, dressed for the weather, rooting through the

snow for the first sign of life in his garden, smiling. Suffice to say his Riverview neighbors aren't complaining about the new park on the block.

The making of this garden caused quite a stir in the neighborhood but ultimately became a pleasant excuse for conversation

AND it was surprisingly happy with the weather in 2010. There was sufficient growth that several large shrubs required moving

to provide opportunity to thrive without competition. The lower end, towards the street, became rather barren in comparison but

a whole lot of plants went in towards fall and let's just say it's going to be an interesting place to visit spring 2011. Bottom R,

Eileen and John's garden, summer 2011

Author, teacher and musician John Weier's mundane yard (below left) evolved into a whimsical and natural habitat for the birds he loves, ocassionally

traveling across continents to watch them! At 239 Barlett Avenue, John's garden

was also featured in the Nov/Dec issue of Gardens West Magazine 2010;

for more on John, visit his website: www.johnweier.ca

Inside or out, keep it neutral and use "pops" of color carefully!

Back inside for a moment, you can see 'white' is definitely the commonality between the two spaces but the backdrop changes the dynamics dramatically. For most of the world white is

the color associated with purity ; cleanliness and the safety of bright light. It is also used to project neutrality and is associated with creativity; it is a compression of all the colors in the

color spectrum and as long as it is not a 'glow in the dark' version of the color, the room can be 50 shades of white. Red on the other hand is the color of energy. It's associated with

movement and excitement. and people surrounded by red find their heart beating a little faster and often feel out of breath. It's absolute the wrong color for a baby's or bedroom but

perfect to get people excited. Red is not a good color to over use but using a spot of red in just the right place is smart in some cases (one red accent in a otherwise neutral room draws

the eye. So too in the garden, a little punch of red or a bright yellow will take you a long way. For a more relaxing space, choose calming, pastoral colors and if a punch is needed, it can always be added but if it's painted on two walls or there are twenty plants with flowers that in Crayola colors, it's now a make work project. Enjoy your space when it's done (for now), you

can always change it late but don't make CHANGE part of a plan if starting fresh; it takes long enough to get it right (or close) the first time around and necessary change will

happen, regardless!

"Bob and I are so pleased with the patio. We keep going out and looking it over! I’m really anxious for our son

and family to see the patio. Tomorrow when they come for dinner, they are really going to be surprised as was our neighbour who dropped over this afternoon. He was

impressed and had been so curious. Our son and

daughter-in-law thought the patio was beautiful and so

much nicer than the usual bricks, etc., thanks again".

Joanne & Bob

The evolution of this football sized yard,

void of ANY personality, was one of the

first jobs. It was HUGE but not one to say "uncle", it eventually took form. The

sidewalk from construction on the front

street became the berms (it was there,

and close) and today the Joe Pye weed is almost as big as the yard seemed so

many years ago.