The pond gives the yard a formal flair.


Scenic patio seats by the pond. Diana loves the house, even though


her husband, until recently the head of CancerCare Manitoba, put in an offer to purchase without Diana ever seeing it. Well, why not? He had made a simi- lar successful decision back in Thunder Bay. As owner, Sonya Wright had done


her best to maintain the original char- acter of the house and Diana continues this. She loves the country kitchen and cherishes the carriage house, which has become the perfect potting shed. The Dhaliwals built a new garage to house their cars and they added a breezeway for access, but other than that the house retains its century-old, farmhouse char- acter. The house was just one, and perhaps


the minor one, of the property’s attractions for Diana and Dhali. It is


localgardener.net


Bulrushes salvaged from the wild and iris pseudacrus fill the pond with their lively presence.


surrounded by a very large yard, shaded and sheltered by ancient trees in just the right places and owning a lovely north- south exposure, perfect for a garden. Diana is in her glory there. “I have been gardening since I was


seven years old,” she says. “As a kid, I used to spend all my pocket money on plants and was always begging to go to the garden centre.” Where this fascina- tion came from, no one knew. Nobody else in the family gardened and Diana learned by trial and error, making lots of mistakes at the family’s country cottage, where she started by pruning the roses. Coming to Thunder Bay was a bit


of a garden shock, not just because of climate but thanks to the change in soil from heavy clay to sand and gravel. Diana was lucky to make friends with


Diana became a master gardener in Ontario.


two master gardeners who taught her the ways of the garden in northern Ontario. She became a master gardener herself and learned to love the beauty of the boreal forest and especially the charming woodland flowers that appeared each spring.


Beautiful Gardens 2014 • 21


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