This may read more like a travelogue than a book review - but there really will be a book review in here somewhere.
In the summer of 1991 I spent a week and a half vacationing in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia. In Vancouver I visited the UBC Botanic Garden, the VanDusen Botanic Garden and the marvelous quarry garden in Queen Elizabeth Park. In Victoria I visited the Butchart Gardens, the Friendship Garden and the gardens at Sooke Harbor House.
I kept hoping, however, I could figure out a way to see a couple of outstanding residential gardens. I tried several resources without success… and finally ended up in a bookstore. While there I found and bought two remarkable books about residential gardening in Canada. One of them was "The Canadian Gardener". [I'll get back to it shortly.] I also found a companion book titled "Foliage & Garden Design" - and in it I found references to Thomas Hobbs and his Southlands Nursery.
I visited the nursery, met Thomas Hobbs and was given a great tour of the nursery and his home. As I was leaving he said, "You should see the garden Susan Ryley created at her home in Victoria." I remembered photos of her garden in "The Canadian Gardener" and said I'd love to see it in person. They were friends, he called her - and the next morning I took the ferry to Victoria and met Susan Ryley.
She was a remarkable woman and her garden was unlike anything I had ever seen in the states. Rather than try to describe it I'll just show you photos of her garden from the two books:
Keep in mind Susan Ryley was only one of many Canadians whose gardens were highlighted in each of these two books. And that is one reason I like both books so much. The captions identify the owner/creator of the garden in the photo - clearly showing the reader that these gardens were the creation of the homeowner. The clear suggestion is that if the photographed garden could be created by the homeowner the readers garden could be just as creative and beautiful.
The other thing I like is the emphasis on plants. In "The Canadian Gardener" there is a chapter for each weather zone in Canada… with a discussion of the plants that would work well in that particular zone.
Each of these two books is a great "ideas" book. Text and photographs offer a myriad of creative solutions that can be applied in your own garden.
Incidentally, these books might be out of print - but I googled Thriftbooks, my on-line source for good used books, and both books are available for ridiculously low prices.
Recommended by jathton - Aug 23, 2020 6:23 PM
