Visitors examining the Iris Bed
Well, it’s about 6:30 p.m. PDT on Vancouver Island and the 16th Annual Cowichan Valley Garden Tour in aid of Cowichan Family Life Association is history. By all reports, it was one of the best. Over 550 people toured our gardens over a 5 hour period, nearly everyone bought a raffle ticket and nearly everyone made a small donation for cookies and coffee or tea so the first objective, which was raising money for an exceedingly good cause was met.
The day was filled with great gardening chat – questions and comments and compliments – oh my! The weather didn’t cooperate 100% nor did it rain so hard as to deter attendance. Heck, if you call yourself even a part-time gardener, a few rain drops are nothing!
Most asked questions in the ‘what is it’ category were for the big Thalicrum we have, or the Aralia tree, or the Daphne burkwoodi ‘Moonlight’. Most compliments were for my husband’s rhodo collection, the Iris – both bearded and Siberian – or the overall ambience of the property.
Many asked who did the upkeep and weeding and we said ‘we did’. No real gardeners were astonished, but many taking the tour just to enjoy the plants and flowers were amazed the two people could do all the ‘work’. You have to be a real gardener to understand it’s not work at all, but an ongoing marvelous and magnificant obsession. (ya sure, tell that to my aching back and fingers).
Aching digits notwithstanding, it was a lovely day. One of my good friends from Victoria, Bob Ianson took a glorious slideshow of the property on the pre-tour yesterday and if you can open a zip file (Firefox works very well) then please enjoy this glorious, fantastic overview of our garden -
Thanks to all the well wishers and all who helped to get the garden ready to go. Stayed tuned as I continue my gardening journey. Here come the roses!
Yes Brenda, the journey is never over, I’m already planning what to do in the garden next year.
Your garden is beautiful and amazing, and a labor of love and a statement to committment to both you and Bill to the art of living well in your environment.
Heard you sold poncho’s too! Could have used them here, one older gent sat on the swing to get out of the rain and it promplty dumped the contents of it’s canopy directly on his legs! HA! Other then that, a total success here as well.
Actually, the story is that Louise Neveau came on the garden tour and told me that 2 ‘Orange Dreams’ had been brought in by Bernie. She saw them and pounced on one and told me about the other. I pounced on Bernie later in the day when he came to my garden and he set it aside. And yes, I raced down the following day and retrieved it. Actually, its not looking too well. I am moving it into a shadier spot today….
I wish I would have been there. I am so out of the loop I forgot to tell my sister about it, though she is often at Dinters and Marigolds so she probably knew.
I couldn’t access the tinyurl link on this post.
Wow, 550 people, that is amazing. Watched the show, what a lovely garden you have. There was a closeup(ish) of a very white(ish) Japanese Maple, near the pond. What variety is it?
Many thanks for the kind comments. As with most gardeners, its a labour of love. The Japanese Maple is a new edition, of which I am very proud. It’s a ‘Ukigumo’ I bought it, along with a Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum Full Moon’ which is another showstopper at Outback Nursery in Black Creek near Courtenay on Vancouver Island. They had every type of Japanese Maple known to man. I could have stayed there all day, but was on a tour. Today I picked up an ‘Orange Dream’ which brings my Japanese Maple total to 14. One can never have enough! ha!
Brenda, Louise at Dinter’s is still burning with envy at your “Orange Dream”. She said it was the only one at the nursery and had hid it for herself, only to find out that on the tour lo-and-behold, you had found it and it was at your place. Never dilly-dally, just buy it before someone else does is my rule……there is nothing worse then non-buyer’s remorse: “if only I’d purchased it..”
Ajay
Great AGM BTW…..
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