A LITTLE BACKGROUND……
The original garden was dug in late April, early May 2001, in ground that was for the most part still frozen. The majority of the perennials arrived here from our first show garden in Riverdale, with its rich, fertile soil . Some had not broken dormancy and we were guessing where to dig. With over a thousand perennials, my husband Don and I set about giving them a new home on an acreage just outside Sherwood Park. What a wake-up call when we set out to replant the collection. Who knew soil could be that hard! Deep, unyielding clay, the rotor tiller just bounced over. After four months digging, hauling out huge clumps of clay and adding truck loads of compost, the plants finally settled in for their first winter.
Encouraged by the great results the following Spring, we continued adding more perennials and shrubs. Since then, we have added at least one new bed each year, always saying it will be the last.
Don undercut thick growth through the trees to create a woodland pathway with shade loving perennials. The dugout, which we call, “the beach” is now a holding tank where I store divided perennials for future jobs. Here a last we hit upon better soil and the plants thrive in the fertile soil and sun.
I have tried to recreate every growing condition, sun, shade, woodland, bog, etc. to show people the right plans to grow in their own gardens. Within every location, are plants that bloom throughout the spring, summer, autumn, so that there is always something new flowering as others are fading. In 2006 the garden was featured in a Canadian gardening magazine.
All of the antiques in the garden have a story behind them and came with us in the move, mainly from my great grandfather J.B. Little’s brick business, started in the early 1900’s in Edmonton’s Riverdale valley.
The original garden was dug in late April, early May 2001, in ground that was for the most part still frozen. The majority of the perennials arrived here from our first show garden in Riverdale, with its rich, fertile soil . Some had not broken dormancy and we were guessing where to dig. With over a thousand perennials, my husband Don and I set about giving them a new home on an acreage just outside Sherwood Park. What a wake-up call when we set out to replant the collection. Who knew soil could be that hard! Deep, unyielding clay, the rotor tiller just bounced over. After four months digging, hauling out huge clumps of clay and adding truck loads of compost, the plants finally settled in for their first winter.
Encouraged by the great results the following Spring, we continued adding more perennials and shrubs. Since then, we have added at least one new bed each year, always saying it will be the last.
Don undercut thick growth through the trees to create a woodland pathway with shade loving perennials. The dugout, which we call, “the beach” is now a holding tank where I store divided perennials for future jobs. Here a last we hit upon better soil and the plants thrive in the fertile soil and sun.
I have tried to recreate every growing condition, sun, shade, woodland, bog, etc. to show people the right plans to grow in their own gardens. Within every location, are plants that bloom throughout the spring, summer, autumn, so that there is always something new flowering as others are fading. In 2006 the garden was featured in a Canadian gardening magazine.
All of the antiques in the garden have a story behind them and came with us in the move, mainly from my great grandfather J.B. Little’s brick business, started in the early 1900’s in Edmonton’s Riverdale valley.