on my bedroom dresser. Now my chil- dren are starting their own gardens and bringing a piece of their coun- try heritage into their city yards. And finally, my 10-year old grand-daughter, Mariève, (the only one who still lives close by) like the women before her, loves to get her hands into the fresh, damp earth. She has been helping me plant seeds in my garden since she was a toddler and I know that, like me, she will always remember the times spent together making things grow.” And grow, they do. The yard is
surrounded on three sides by a six-to eight-foot cedar hedge that provides privacy and a sense of intimacy. Bert says it’s a lot of work keeping it tidy and under control, but it’s worth it. He plans to let the back hedge grow a couple of feet taller because they now have neighbours on that side, too. The highlight in the back yard is
what Bert calls the Centre Court. He excavated this area around some stand- ing ash trees, laying flagstone for the floor and surrounding that with river stone, then making a dry stream bed that flows from the pond he built. Over the stream, he constructed a little humpbacked Japanese bridge. Then he took the excavated material and used it to build a waterfall next to the pond. After a few years of maturng, the pond now looks like it’s been there forever. Although it is only 2.5 feet deep, the fish overwinter without trouble because Bert has “some gadget” that keeps the water from completely freezing over. “We can enjoy it all year round,” says Reina, who can see the pond from her living room window. A rocky fountain that once stood
sentinel beside the pool has been removed to the Centre Court where the pleasant sound of the running water adds a soothing touch under the ash trees. The flagstone courtyard is extend-
ed to a curved pathway that leads to the raised vegetable garden where the Ruests grow the basics: tomatoes, cucumbers beans, asparagus . . . canta- loupe (“We got a kick out of watching it grow,” says Reina), and this year, okra. “Bert got free okra seeds from the
hort society,” says Reina. “We grew them but we didn’t really know what to do with them, so they got too big to harvest.” They saved some seeds and will be better prepared next year. Reina loves the idea of eating what
they grow. A lot of fresh herbs find their way into her cooking. She cans or freezes some of her harvest. and makes a
www.localgardener.net WINTER 2013 7
A rhododendron blazes in bloom above the pond.
Below left: Bert with budding gardening granddaughter Mariève. Right: Reina poses on an iron bench she won at a hort meeting.
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