Stunning succulents are set off by the purity of an all-white container. Fluorescent cacti were very much in vogue at the Frankfurt flower show this year. Living her dream Candace Mallette fashions a career out of garden Story by Mary Wilson. Photos by Candace Mallette C


andace is young and lovely to look at. So is her garden. Eight years ago, in a new house,


seven months pregnant and stuck at home, Candace fell in love with her garden. It was an incipient affair that first year. In


the beginning, she was disinterested and had no desire to learn, but all that changed when the baby was born. The home was only five years old and the


gardens were not terribly inspiring, but tak- ing a break from the sleeping baby, monitor in hand, Candace began to notice things in a way she never had. Plants changed from day to day, all by


26 • Early Spring 2011


themselves. . . And they changed, thrillingly, season to season. “My passion was ignited,” she says. The following winter was consumed with learning about plants and gardening. The early summers of the learning years were filled with experimentation as she discov- ered, intimately, the habits and preferences of the objects of her new affection. She also began to explore design concepts, and soon her friends were asking for her help with their gardens. A bit insecure about her expertise, Can-


dace took some garden and design courses to bolster her confidence. That was in 2009.


Three years later, she has made the transi- tion from a desk job to being a full time gardener and landscape designer. “I am liv- ing my dream,” she says. “I have turned my passion into a successful career, one fuelled by gardening.” Candace also writes a blog, where she


shares her fascination with plants with her readers. Her passions are many. “I love structure, so I use evergreens. I love foliage colour that will last all four seasons.” She uses barberry a lot for their brilliant foli- age and she adores the reliable viburnums with their many shades and hues of leaves in wines and purples and chartreuses.


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