Gardeners Nanaimo – Bring the garden back to life
A Neighborhood Garden Jewel
Transforming any garden can be a challenge. But this is what these homeowners and gardeners did. The end result was a fabulous new home in Nanaimo
The shortlist consisted of several Nanaimo properties. Taking into consideration the location, neighborhood and size, a 1970’s vintage home won the draw. The problem with this choice was the building was over 30 years old and needed to be completely upgraded. All the mechanical infrastructure was brought up to today’s standards and the house modernized. Fortunately, this Nanaimo couple had the vision as well as the perseverance to turn what looked like an unlikely possibility into a dream residence that is unlikely to ever go out of style.
When it came to the final touches, Ana Marie took on the inside decor while Dave managed the landscaping or gardening component. As a team, they designed all the changes to the building’s footprint. With the renovation skills of Maric Construction, an entire wing was added. It included the master bedroom with a full en-suite. The new covered outdoor paver patio adjacent to the pool has automated drop-down curtains that allow for enclosure in inclement weather. The pool that existed when they bought the property remains, although it too was refurbished.
She put her stamp on the inside by completely gutting and transforming this old Nanaimo home into a Mediterranean style masterpiece while on the outside Dave began to bring the garden back to life. He knew that on his own it would be difficult to bring it all together with a result that would do justice to the stellar work being done to the building, so he brought in some gardeners in Nanaimo, from Creative by Design to help.
Gardening in Nanaimo … bring the garden back to life
Gardeners from Nanaimo come to the rescue
The minute i met Dave i felt his passion for the project and knew right away my job was only to take his vision and make it work, rather than design something solely on my own. There were two main areas of concern, one of which was to decide which or if any plants, trees, and shrubs should or could be left or otherwise used in the project and the second was the need for transition from the new outdoor living area elevation to the swimming pool level.
Gardeners update the planting beds
The residential gardens consisted of several juniper beds and various shrubs. Most of the plants had long since overgrown their locations. The previous owners had recently made an attempt at renovating the foundation plantings in the front but were somewhat ordinary. So other than leaving a couple of established trees and a cedar hedge and relocating a Japanese Maple to an appropriate spot, it was rip-and-tear time.
The first step was to take some accurate elevation readings with a transit level because without this information and concept drawing would be conjecture. Once this was done the gardeners drew a picture of what it might look like with safe and convenient access from each end to avoid a boxed-in-feeling.
Nanaimo Gardeners bring the garden back to life
Taking this concept to fruition takes special skill, which was provided by Phil from Creative By Design, and his gardeners from Nanaimo. This accomplished gardener took the drawings and turned them into a reality by making good use of granite boulders for the retaining walls with old country paving stone.
The idea of introducing a third element in the form of stamped concrete was a concern at first. But the homeowners careful choice of colour and texture managed to tie it all together beautifully.
In the front, two big changes were made to bring this residence forwards to the present day. One was to draw the attention to the main entrance by creating a broad walkway from the driveway to the steps in a lazy ‘S’ shape.
The other idea was to create a sitting area in the left side where a reprieve from the afternoon sun could be found. This was done by giving access via stepping stones into the much-widened planting beds.
Hard surfaces to enhance the outdoor spaces
Once the hardscaping was completed, it was time to sit down with everyone and make some plant choices with the help of hundreds of pictures gathered over time,
These gardeners in Nanaimo took the drawings and turned them into a reality by making good use of a combination of rock walls and pavers.
We focused first on dwarf conifers placed in such a way that a green balance is maintained in winter. We then chose some flowering shrubs, being careful not to over-plant
Residential gardens become the pride of the neighbourhood
Plants for season colour and texture
Finally, the herbaceous plants that create texture and colour throughout the seasons were decided upon. We made a special effort to compliment the new look of the house by carefully staggering repetitive plant groups and drifts.
This experience, from start to finish, was pleasant and fulfilling and i enjoyed working with everyone involved. The Fleming’s hands-on involvement and the exemplary workmanship of these Nanaimo gardeners made my part so easy to accomplish.