Message from the President
A New Chapter in the Garden
I am honoured to be taking on the role of president of the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society. I hope to carry on the excellent work of those who have come before me and to help keep CVRS the welcoming, active, and enjoyable society it has become. It is a big challenge, but fortunately we have a wonderful depth of knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm among our members.
I am looking forward to the year ahead.
My gardening life has also entered a new chapter.
Two years ago, I sold my large and much-loved garden, filled with rhododendrons and companion plants collected and cared for over many years. Leaving it was heartbreaking. A garden becomes much more than a piece of property. It holds memories of plants given by friends, experiments that worked—and some that didn’t—and countless hours spent planting, moving, pruning, and simply enjoying it.
Before moving, I potted up as many favourites as I could, large and small, although I had no idea where we would eventually end up. After several moves, approximately 70 plants, my cat, and I finally arrived at a small townhouse on the southern outskirts of Duncan. It backs onto a large park and riparian area, so although my own garden is small, I have borrowed greenery as far as the eye can see.
The backyard itself was another matter.
My little plot, about 45 by 50 feet, was mainly compacted former lawn, weeds, gravelly soil, some clay, and a few determined snowdrops pushing through. It was January, dozens of plants were waiting impatiently in pots, and there was no time for an elaborate garden plan.
So I improvised.
Rather than trying to dig the hard-packed ground, I covered much of it with cardboard from my moving boxes. A tree service working in the park behind me kindly dropped off a large load of maple chips. On top went compost, aged alder and maple mulch, lawn soil, and assorted bagged soils. The rhododendrons went in first, followed by ferns and perennials as the layers settled and began to break down.
I added a small raised bed for vegetables and cut flowers and improved the remaining patch of lawn with fertilizer, top dressing, and seed.
Voilà—a garden in less than five months!
Eight months later, it has become my little “instant garden.” Many of the plants came with me from my former home, although a few new ones have somehow found their way in as well. Thank you, Bernie! Apparently the desire to buy plants never disappears. When the garden gets smaller, we simply learn to buy smaller plants.
Not having a garden was never an option for me. I have discovered that a small garden still provides plenty of work, but it is considerably less backbreaking. Limited space also makes every plant count. Colour, foliage, texture, and form become more important when each plant has to earn its place.
Best of all comes at the end of the day, when I can sit in the garden I have made, glass of wine in hand, my cat nearby, and enjoy it with good friends. The garden may be much smaller than the one I left behind, but the pleasure it gives me certainly isn’t.
Perhaps my new role with CVRS will be much the same: some hard work, a little improvisation, plenty of help from good friends—and, I hope, a great deal of enjoyment along the way.
Tricia Guiget
CVRS President