Rodney and his son are building a log cabin as a historic project.
The view from the upstairs balcony. The flower and vegetable garden dominate the yard. Below, the view to the left of the garden. Thre are pathways and destinations to intrigue the visitor.
burden of any ghosts who may still linger there. She certainly feels compelled to bring beauty to the surroundings through her gar- dening talent.
At one time, Anna-Marie pursued gar- dening as a professional. She owned a green- house operation where she used to start and grow annuals and perennials from seed and raise them in two 40-foot greenhouses. She bought and resold other plants such as hostas, trees and shrubs. “All of my annu- als and perennials were started in my base- ment, then transferred to the greenhouse in spring,” she explained. “It was the best time of my life,” she declares thinking back to the five happy years of running the operation. She loved her clients, too. But eventually, it all became too much as her job in mental health started taking over her life. “I couldn’t do both, so I had to let the greenhouse go for awhile,” she said with some regret. “If you run greenhouses, you have to be there full time. It’s a big job.” Now her own garden fills the void and
while she grows some vegetables, her flow- ers are paramount in importance. “My hus- band says, ‘Well, I guess we can eat flowers
28 • Beautiful Gardens 2012
in the winter time’ and I say, ‘Well, you can eat some of the flowers in the garden’ . . . It’s a running joke between him and me,” Anna-Marie chuckles.
Not a joke is the log cabin rising near the
front entrance to the Snow property. This is part of a very serious historical construc- tion by husband Rodney and his sons, Adam and Jeremy. (Anna-Marie and Rodney also have a daughter, Janna-Marie, who lives in Brandon.) Rodney, who in his day-time life is the maintenance supervisor of a school division in the Parkland Region, is an antique col- lector and an avid student of history. It is his dream to create a pioneer display home complete with people baking bread, cooking and living just as pioneers used to live. He can fill the home with the antiques he has collected, including a wood burning stove, a rocker and a bed. Outside there will be farming equipment: an old wagon, a thresh- ing machine, a combine. Right now the four log walls are up, waiting for the doors and windows to be cut in and the roof added. But there is not a lot of time for this hobby as Rodney and his sons are working
on the launch of a new business building RTM (ready to move) homes. Prefabricated, moveable homes are quite common and in demand in the area. The company will be called Snowspruce Tree Construction. They are starting with a show home, where son Adam and his wife will live. It’s right next door to Anna-Marie and Rodney. Already a garden is being planned to surround the new home with beauty. It gives Anna-Marie a happy purpose.
The Snows have six grandchildren who love the garden. One of them, Adam’s child Isabella, calls the garden “The Magical For- est”.
“I guess I would have to say that my gar-
den brings out my faith,” Anna-Marie says. “It brings out the beauty in life that I always like to see in everybody.” She sees her gar- den as a memory keeper.
“Every tree that
was planted in my garden was for some- body. Every plant was for someone that passed away that I loved very much. There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing a little seed create such beauty. I believe people are beautiful, and when I plant flowers . . .” She pauses. There is no need to say more.
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