http://newlocalhome.com/editions/nlhr090716

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Mosaic’s Tatton features new, Georgian-style rowhomes in a Coquitlam community ›› p.10

Thinking organic? Think about your garden, instead. “Keeping things healthy the right way is the way to go for sure,” says organic landscaping company owner Ron Swicks. Find out what else he has to say about sustainable, eco-friendly lawn and garden care and put it to use in your own yard or patio garden. ›› p.6

July 16, 2009

Dig into a West Coast influence

Green thumbs

…get ready South Burnaby Garden Club president Sylvia Davis with some of her container-grown strawberries. She says you don’t need a big yard to have a garden.

Local landscapes, gardens feature natural, native plants and flowers KOLBY SOLINSKY We really can’t say enough about the freedom a backyard evokes, and we see the evidence every day. Driving through White Rock’s Marine Drive promenade, you’ll catch dozens of residents suntanning on their lawns. Take a cruise through any Surrey street and you’ll see countless people planting in their gardens, trimming their hedges, or cutting their grass. In Vancouver, a plot of grassy land is valued even higher and owners either demand one in their own home or spend their time at soccer fields, parks or the VanDusen Botanical Garden. Above all, lawns and gardens are the measure of a beautiful home – they say you’ve arrived on the new home scene, and they’re your baby to treat and maintain. The good news? No longer is this freedom associated with just expansive, acre-lot homes. New housing projects have joined the fray, as well, and they often provide small tracts of land that give homeowners more enjoyment and less yard work. “A lot of people are really liking the natural look, the West Coast look,” says Todd Lee, residential foreman at Horizon Landscape Contractors. Horizon, now in its 18th year of business, does “a little bit of everything,” says Lee, from commercial projects to design and consultation to residential landscaping. While people have embraced this style for a long time, its influence remains. West Coast emphasis, Lee says, focuses on native stone, native plants and neat, little rock gardens. CONTINUED ON P.5

Rob Newell photo

Gardening: small can be good Invest in your home: create a pleasing patio, yard or garden TRICIA LESLIE Good things come in small packages. A pithy phrase, it can apply to many things – including gardens. Limited space doesn’t mean homeowners can’t have a garden. Not everyone has the

yard for sweeping borders and manicured acres of garden, and some who do, don’t want that much garden. What many do want is a modest space where they can enjoy growing plants that will enhance their homes. Gardening in a small space has its limits, but it need not be limiting. With less space, gardeners can pay more attention to detail and stay on top of maintenance. They’ll also have more time to actually enjoy their small garden; in fact, many

small-space gardens are designed around entertaining and sitting areas, rather than the need to nurture plants. Virtually any plant or garden style can be worked into a small-space garden, but green thumbs must tweak the design principles that apply to massive gardens to suit their space. Burnaby resident Sylvia Davis, an avid gardener and president of the South Burnaby CONTINUED ON P.2


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