ith a distinct hint of spring in the air, the Garden Club finished a very successful season of meetings with a tag-team presentation entitled Art in the Garden and Garden Lighting. The tag team consisted of Diane Proulx (self-proclaimed queen of recycling and proprietor of Out of Ruins) and Steve Moyse who gave up being an editor to start his own landscaping company, the Avant Gardeners.
Steve kicked off the meeting by showing how an oblong and uninteresting back yard can be transformed into a pleasing and restful oasis. By adding "organic" shapes (vertical trees, low bushes, and curvaceous lawn borders) and raising plant beds, a boxy backyard can become a miniature landscape with both perspective and depth. (Steve noted that the use of a good sub-soil as foundation, the incorporation of rocks, and the roots of plants will help reduce the tendency of berms to wash out.) Steve recommended installing pathways (using flagstones), benches, tall grasses, and even a shed as focal points in the garden.
Diane then quickly took the stage and told the members about the serendipity that led her to make a career out of re-glazing discarded window frames. Diane softens all sorts of bottles, marbles, and other coloured glass in her kiln and applies them to recovered window frames creating colourful works of art that can be re-arranged in the garden at will.
Steve then returned to the stage to talk about garden lighting. His main message was that, with lighting, less is more: Just a few dramatically-lit specimens and some low-level lighting to pick out a pathway will do wonders for your garden. Steve also recommended highlighting plants, pools, waterfalls, and trees. Although more specialized outdoor lights are available from landscape gardeners, some of the bigger builders' warehouses now carry good-quality outdoor lighting. And, as Diane pointed out, coloured jars with a candles in them can create a magical effect - and no need to run any cables.
Diane and Steve finished the evening with advice to let a garden evolve over a five- or six-year period and, by experimenting with plants, lighting, and art, create a contemplative and satisfying garden.
Steve can be contacted at 839 0280 (his web site is www.avantgardeners.com) and Diane can be contacted at 728 6358 (her web site is www.outofruins.com).
The final activity of the season for the Garden Club will be the Spring Plant Exchange to be held at the pavilion in Brewer Park on Saturday, May 10 at 10 a.m. If you are planning to bring plants, please be at the pavilion at 9:30 a.m. The Garden Club will also be helping Abbeyfield House (a not-for-profit seniors residence) in getting its garden ready for the spring. Anyone willing to help on a Sunday morning, please call Jo-Ann Ashford 730-3928.