Today Bas Suharto is sharing a beautiful front garden with us.
I live in Ottawa, Ontario (Zone 5b), and today I’m sharing pictures of my front garden. It is a parterre garden, 25 feet by 18 feet, facing southwest.
The boxwood plants are the extra-hardy variety Buxus ‘Mont Bruno’ (Zones 4–9) from Quebec.
The hedge to the left, facing the neighbor laneway, is red barberry (Berberis thunbergii, Zones 4–8).
This year the annuals are all in white. The plants facing the sidewalk are sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritima, annual).
This is the view from my bedroom window, in a photo taken in summer 2021. The hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata, Zones 3–9) in the center was still in white, and in the geometrical shapes inside the parterre are wax leaf begonias (Begonia semperflorens, annual). The cone-shaped evergreens are Alberta dwarf spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’, Zones 3–6).
I built the garden in 2009. Right after the construction of the retaining wall was finished, I used my watering can to “draw” the design of the parterre on the soil, the wet soil marking where the hedges would go.
Later in 2009, this is how it looked when the boxwoods and spruce were first planted. It took a few years for everything to grow in and create a good shape.
This is the look from the front door, in a photo taken by my friend in summer 2017. Kids love to walk around the garden.
This picture was taken in the autumn of 2019. The canna lilies (Canna indica, Zones 8–10 or as tender bulbs) along the front house wall had grown very large, and the rose plants were not growing well because they didn’t get enough sun.
At the end of every autumn I planted myosotis or forget-me-not (Myosotis sylvatica, Zones 3–8, often grown as annuals) to have blue fine flowers in early spring.
Another view of the forget-me-not in spring.
Comments
That garden would knock your socks off!! Paris in Canada. Amazing. Living in Ottawa’s frigid climate has not stopped you. Well done and Bravo to you.
Thanks. I start to wrap the plants for winter protection this week.
I love it! Love formal gardens, love that you switch it up with color, well done! Love that it takes up the whole front lawn, and looks neat and tidy all the time…
Oh, my, what a scene. Well done!
Stunning! Superbly done!
Lovely. Much as I love a wild, English garden…neat simplicity draws me in…
Not my style, but I really appreciate the beauty. Well done!
OMGosh! This is beautiful & very inspirational!
You had great vision and carried it out beautifully. Looks amazing.
Excellent~ What a lovely replacement for what would have otherwise been a very flat uninspiring patch of grass! I'm sure your neighborhood loves it - not knowing from year to year exactly what it will become is part of the delight! Thanks. for sharing.
Hi, Bas. I enjoyed reading your gardening story and looking at all of the photos. I especially liked the entrancing blue springtime myosotis.
Beautiful! Amazing job! 👏👏
Wow! When I first saw this garden photo I was surprised to find out it is not at a fancy public garden- but actually a private garden!
It is spectacular and an amazing accomplishment!
I especially love the spring version with the Forget Me Not Flowers!
Loved seeing the early photos of how it first started out too!
What a wondrous garden you've created! It has to be the jewel of your neighborhood. Thanks for sharing!
Hello from Mississauga, my fellow Canadian!!
What a lovely unique and artful garden you have. Your hard work has paid off and must be a welcoming sight both to yourself and your neighbours. Well done :)
Very beautiful!
What a lovely surprise see your garden here. I recognized that I had walked past and admired it about a month ago when I was in Ottawa. I will definitely be back in the spring for a gander at the forget me nots and tulips. Looking forward to what you choose to to do next year. Well done!
My dream is to have a garden like this inpest control allentown pa.
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