Duo transforms tired garden into showcase

GARDEN TOUR

What: Mother's Day Garden Tour for the Conservatory

Where: Eight private Victoria Gardens, plus Abkhazi Garden

When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday and Sunday

Tickets: $25 for two-day pass at locations listed below.

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It hardly seems possible, but in two years Steve Ansell and Colin Wichtensteiger have turned their newly purchased site -- filled with nondescript plantings, scrubby lawn and tired shrubs -- into a colourful showcase worthy of inclusion in the Victoria Conservatory of Music garden tour this weekend.

"We bought the property three years ago, but started gardening the following year and put in a lot of tender shrubs that got hit last winter," Ansell said with a wince. "It's been a learning curve -- a huge challenge because we had to do so much prep work first.

"There wasn't much lawn, not much garden at all, but we could see the potential. And we loved the bedrock, trees and great drainage."

The Braefoot-area property is a regular size lot, situated on a high rock with towering oaks, a huge cherry tree and expansive views.

"We started by bringing in 20 yards of mulch and fish compost, and creating all the beds," said the residential landscaper and professional garden designer. Both he and Wichtensteiger are highly experienced garden artists and their previous place, also stunning, was on the 2003 garden tour.

Here they have created four very different aspects on each side of the house. The street side has a Mediterranean mood, with alpines and a slew of various euphorbias. It's deer territory, so there are limits to what can be grown but you'd never know it, gazing at beautiful beds in shades of gold, with hints of intense purple.

Plants include Tasmanian snow gum eucalyptus, a melianthus peanut butter bush (apparently deer don't like peanut butter), iris, acacia, alliums, cercis, hardy cactus, grasses, grevilleas, argeranthemum (golden lamb's ears) and a miniature purple ground cover mixed in with apricot geum.

"We like a garden that's full and fluffy, a cottage garden," explained Ansell with a grin, adding he spends about three hours a day there and focuses on plant combinations.

The steep side garden has another atmosphere altogether and is gorgeous now, with plantings of camas, bluebells and a few rhodos spilling down the slope.

The shady, fenced back garden offers free range for their originality, sans deer.

A carport has been turned into a greenhouse, "we plan to paint it a dark, rich yellow, along with the house," an irregular curving patio has been installed, and the dog enclosure is handsomely screened in wattle fencing, which appears elsewhere as a backdrop for large pots.

The bottom of the garden is edged by a split cedar fence, beyond which they plan to create a vegetable garden, and the palette of plums and gold is painted with disporum, fritillaria, polygonatum, podophyllum, helebores and magnolia.

"Steve and Colin are a super gardening team, the quintessential right-plant-in-the-right-place gardeners. Unassuming and brilliant," said volunteer tour publicist Deborah George, noting the committee works hard every year to make sure they have fresh gardens and offer a wide variety.

Most are in Oak Bay and James Bay this year; three have live music and there is also a plant sale in one.

"For the new gardener there are some wonderful examples of simple, worry-free (and family friendly) plantings this year. For those designing or renovating gardens, likewise, lots of great ideas to take away. And experienced gardeners will see rare and unusual plant material and very innovative plant combinations and uses. People should bring cameras."

The conservatory hopes to raise $35,000 to $40,000.

Tickets are available at all Thrifty Foods locations; the Victoria Conservatory of Music (250-386-5311); the Blethering Place; Brentwood Bay Nurseries; Brown's the Florist; Bungalow; Dig This; Flower Affairs; Gardenworks; Ivy's Bookshop; Little Elf Garden Centre; Munro's Books; The Shieling Cards and Gifts; Dinter Nursery; Russell Nursery; and Tanner's Bookstore.

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GIVEAWAY

You could treat your favourite flower-lover to the Mother's Day Garden Tour, because we are giving away four pairs of tickets.

For your chance to win, send an e-mail to contest@tc.canwest.com. Put Garden in the subject line and give us your name and phone number.

You can also fax your entry to 250-380-5353. The deadline is noon Wednesday.

We will pick entries at random and notify winners today. If you have won a prize in the past 30 days, you are not eligible. Good luck.