Zen and the Art of Garden Maintenance

Margaret and I were fortunate when we moved to Vancouver 23 years ago to purchase an older home in West Vancouver overlooking Vancouver Lake and Columbia River lowlands. Built in 1944, the home is a split-level with design elements that were definitely influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright: colored concrete surrounds, deep soffits, and a wall of windows overlooking a mature garden dominated by banks of azaleas and rhododendrons. The yard is now in deep shade under a canopy of Oregon white oak, ponderosa pine, hemlock, and exotic trees such as japonicas, incense cedar, and cascara. The original owners were former professors at Clark College and were known as Master Gardeners. It shows. The challenge over the past 20 years has been to help the property age gracefully. And each spring, it blesses us with a cacophony of flowers, our own holi festival.