rewards you get from gardening. I love touching and smelling plants. You can just lose yourself in your work; not only is it a great stress reducer, it's a great way to spend an afternoon," she explains. Her kind and welcoming personality


shines through in her beautiful gardens. Joan and her husband, Jim, have creat- ed an outer sanctuary that surrounds their Calgary home. She provides the vision and Jimmy, ever accommodat- ing, provides the muscle to support her gardening habit. "Jimmy is my manual labour guy; he is always helping out with any heavy lifting I need done," Joan confesses. Married for 38 years, Joan, Jim and


their daughter are the second owners of


their 1950s bungalow. "When we


bought our home 17 years ago, it was essentially a blank slate. There were a couple of hedges and a couple of spruce trees the previous owner's children had planted. That was it," she says. Their garden evolved as her own


family did. Everything came together a little at a time, maturing as her own daughter grew up, the yard morph- ing from a childhood playground with swings and slip‘n’slides to the beauti- ful retreat it is today. "As my daughter grew, I started claiming more space for gardens. My first garden was by the birdbath along the fence. I just kept adding to it from there," she explains. Since then, Joan admits, it's been


growing every year to accommodate new plants and ideas. Through dili- gent


research gathered from books,


gardening magazines, her membership in horticultural clubs and from touring the gardens of others she has incorpo- rated ideas and made them a beautiful reality in her own garden. The only outside assistance the


Ganley's have had is the hardscaping they arranged for seven or eight years ago on the front walkway, around one of the trees and in the back yard. "That was the only real professional work we had done," Joan says proudly. "I kept making more gardens to


accommodate the plants I would get from trading with friends and members of my gardening groups, or from plant sales. If we got too many plants, I would just dig up more of the lawn. Jimmy even encourages me now, suggesting new sites to dig up for my gardens; he doesn't have to tell me twice," Joan laughs. It is evident that Joan has a keen eye for mixing colours


and contrasting


plants. The front yard is magnificent; a mix of evergreens and deciduous trees


localgardener.net Joan has a keen eye for mixing colours and contrasting plants. Beautiful Gardens 2014 • 21


Joan describes her sea kale as a prehistoric look- ing plant that resembles baby’s breath on steroids when it’s blooming.


A captivating rain chain carries on the circle theme.


tufa rocks are naturally forming limestone rocks. the inside is soft enough for plant roots to pene- trate and can provide nutrients for lime-loving plants like the ones found in Joan's alpine garden.


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