Garden Photo of the Day

Julie’s garden in British Columbia, Day 2

Bench and arbour supports grape and kiwi vines. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt

I knew yesterday’s photos would thrill you guys! Let’s continue our tour of Julie’s garden today with this batch of equally fascinating photos. 

The brick and stone bridge was built to cover a tree stump while the door hides a bald spot in the cedar hedge. Fagus sylvatica, Acer shirasawanum. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt

In case you missed it, here’s what Julie said yesterday (more info in the captions): “Originally just a grassy patch for the kids and dogs to tear around in, this backyard was transformed into a woodland garden four years ago. I had intended to plant just a few of our favourite trees with an underplanting of ferns. However, a number of very nice perennials and shrubs followed me home from the nursery!

Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt

“Husband Terry did the heavy work and was very patient when I asked to have things dug up and moved, sometimes three or five times. We now have plenty of shade on our small city plot, so the neighbour next door has kindly given over a section of her sunny front yard for us to plant our veg. These garden photos were taken last June after an unusually chilly spring.”

Gorgeous yet again, Julie! Thanks so muich for sharing your little slice of paradise with us. Feel free to keep sending pics!

We are not carpenters, so the fencing is just bamboo cemented in wabi-sabi style to keep Lizzy-dog in. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt
More fencing. The fish are deconstructed rain chains, with wooden beads for bubbles strung on airplane wire. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt
Salmon spawning beneath the bridge over a dry creek bed. Larix, Acer japonica, black and silver mondo grasses. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt
Sweet peas at the basement door. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt
Captivating combo: Kirengeshoma palmata, Impatiens omeiana, Hosta ‘Stained Glass’. Just out of range on left is yellow Japanese forest grass. Dang! Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt
An allee of 5 birches. These are Betula jacqumontii, the Himalayan birch, so will stay small for this tight site. Photo/Illustration: Courtesy of Julie Flatt

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View 23 comments

Comments

  1. user-1020932 04/18/2013

    yesterdays photos were great but today, i'm just blown away.
    the bamboo fence, metal salmon spawning under that great bridge, a fish fence!with bubbles no less AND a door to hide a bare spot in the hedge. i love it ALL / is your name julie or Alice because i'm expecting to see a Cheshire cat in there somewhere. i love this backyard wonderland

  2. briandowns 04/18/2013

    Your garden is just awesome. So personal, intaimate and unique. Unique out the ying- yang. Just to walk those hallowed grounds must be a daily treat.

  3. User avater
    Tim_Zone_Denial_Vojt 04/18/2013

    wow!

  4. User avater
    meander_michaele 04/18/2013

    Wow, Julie, yesterday's pictures were like a movie trailer for today's full feature of delightful creativity. So many great ideas...the arched bridge over the tree stump, the colorful door in the hedge gap, the various fish vignettes, the various metal structures...each photo is a gem! You and your garden are a real treasure trove!

  5. wGardens 04/18/2013

    This is wonderful! Great combos, AWESOME bridge. Did you design/build that yourself? Clever use of the fish. Wish I could visit in person...!

  6. bee1nine 04/18/2013

    Hi Julie- Have SO enjoyed absorbing in all your wonderful
    and creatitive garden 'work's of art!' Love the captivating
    lushness that surrounds you!!
    Wishing you a GREAT garden success this year!!!

  7. tractor1 04/18/2013

    Julie's is another of those delightful gardens that one needs to be there to fully appreciate; too many transitions to capture in its entirety with photos. I love all the chachkas that are incorporated so imaginatively. I would have liked to have seen those "favorite trees", oh well... Being a minimalist who believes that less is more my favorite is the photo of that alluring red basement door with that daintly wall planting alongside (wish it were sharper), I'd love to see what/who lives down there. Thank you, Julie, and I need to see much more.

  8. sheilab 04/18/2013

    Hello from the Canadian east coast, Julie. What an incredible difference there is from West to East in the climate and growing conditions! I've been to Victoria many times and have always been envious of the lush gardens I've visited. And, the size of the trees out there is truly awe inspiring! Cedars just don't do well in Newfoundland (although many have tried). Your garden is gorgeous and you've given me many ideas for garden decor. Love the bridge, the door with the sweet peas trailing alongside...well, everything.

  9. hummergirl 04/18/2013

    Do you do yards for a living? You should! Your decorating touches are absolutely the best!! Love that red door!!

  10. hummergirl 04/18/2013

    Do you do yards for a living? You should! Your decorating touches are absolutely the best!! Love that red door!!

  11. siesperanza 04/18/2013

    Very creative and lovely environment. So glad you shared it with us.

  12. Wife_Mother_Gardener 04/18/2013

    You have some really beautiful plantings and design in your garden! Great job!

  13. user-7006902 04/18/2013

    You are an inspiration! What a beautiful, intricate garden. I would love to visit.

  14. Nancy9350 04/18/2013

    Ha! Your garden makes me want a small yard (instead of my 'cow pasture turned into garden'!! You are so brave!

  15. CCCDDD 04/18/2013

    I too have a cow pasture turned garden in Ontario.
    Your garden makes me very envious; it is so lush and beautiful. I have to remind myself that you do get a lot of rain!!!
    Thanks for sharing.

  16. ctplantguy123 04/18/2013

    Your garden is so lush and peaceful! What is the plant in the picture with the hosta?

  17. sheila_schultz 04/18/2013

    Julie, your sense of design blows me away and your sense of humor has me grinning from ear to ear... I'm almost giddy. I ditto every word from Tntreeman! I love your yard.

  18. ahintzman 04/18/2013

    Hey almost neighbor, I'm just across the water in western Washington. Your garden is beautiful and an inspiration. How do you water such a beautiful place, for we all know know how we can suffer such draught in August and September in this part of the world, and this is when I am often gone on my boat. I can't bring myself to spend thousands on a underground system...what do you do?

  19. user-1020932 04/18/2013

    i had to come back and look again. today i gave the link to your garden to every client i visited telling them " you gotta see this place" . well, now they WANT a recreation but this is your personal space it can not be re created. it's a very very cool space. i'm still blown away

  20. SweetPeaGardens 04/18/2013

    Hello Washington Neighbour! Indeed there is no shortage of rain in the PNW, hence the lush looking gardens. But last summer's drought was a wake up call to be water-wise. We have been dragging hoses (and breaking plants)to overhead water (when the plants start to droop) these last 4 years, but this is not acceptable practice! This year we will have a professionally installed above ground system,running off the main and laying leaker hoses between the plants. This hose system becomes invisible when covered by mulch(but easily detected when digging to transplant) With timers, the garden will be watered at 4 am, on our designated watering day as per mandated water restrictions. Right amount of water delivered to the root zones at the right time = healthier plants, lower water bill. Hey! This means we can go boating this summer too....see ya on the Salish Sea?

  21. cwheat000 04/19/2013

    Your garden is a magical place that brings out the inner kid in me. The garden ornamentation is tasteful, one-of-a kind, and blends into it's surroundings so well. You took some problems in the garden and turned them into some amazing assets. One of the benefits of your cool climate are those wonderful sweet peas. I am a big fan of it all.

  22. SweetPeaGardens 04/19/2013

    I wasn't expecting so many sweet and thoughtful comments, thanks folks! You've encouraged me to send more, but later in the season when things have changed up a bit. I will include photos of the specimen trees at their best, and for the minimalist fans, our newest bed of dwarf conifers. We had to encroach on the OTHER neighbour's property where there is a sunny narrow patch between our houses. And then there's the city's boulevard that we invaded too...sigh...a plantaholic knows no boundaries. Answers: The bridge was to be made of wood, but the guy I hired preferred to use stone. I told him he could, but he had to use only what he found on the property. Pays to have a "junk" pile, yes? Plant ID: Impatiens omeiana next to Hosta. Yes, I have designed gardens for others, but kept them low maintenance. Happy gardening all!

  23. passwords 04/20/2013

    I'm a bit late in checking out the latest photo's, but Julie they are wonderful. You had a awesome, unique garden. I just love the idea's you have used with found objects to add a great twist and interest to your garden. It is just so charming. What a wonderful neighbor, too, to offer up a portion of their yard for you to grow veggies.

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