Prior to living in her present home Rose and DH. lived in a beach house for 10 years where she had a small deck with a very eye catching container garden. Many a time passing boaters would take photos of her beautiful colourful balcony. All of the houses were built shoulder to shoulder and the home was very hot inside. They decided that they should look for a home in a cool, shady and secluded spot with more space to garden.

They found 5 acres next to a river near Mt. Rainier and started building their little dream cabin in the woods. Before the cabin was finished, they had already started building gardens in a sunny clearing of weeds and rocky soil. They shifted into their cabin just prior to Christmas of 1995. DH built raised beds and hauled in truck-loads of garden soil and over the next few years he worked very hard putting up deer fences, building a greenhouse, a shed, covered seating areas, decks and arbours. He used recycled timber for most projects, which gave the garden a rustic look to blend with the surrounding woods.

The garden is loose and unplanned-looking with the main rose bed sharing its space with Bachelor Buttons and Chamomile, with Clematis twining up rose canes and tomatoes dotted in and out, which she hopes, will help combat black spot.

The other beds are a blend of Spring and Summer blooms chosen mostly for their colours, The Lavender, Catmint, Clematis and Russian Sage provide shades of blue while the roses are a mix of pink, apricot, yellow and reds. Her first favourite was The Fairy Rose, which she still loves today, as it was this rose that started her interest, which turned to a passion for Roses. At present she has around 60 and some of her favourites include the multi-coloured ones like Bonanza and Spice-So-Nice. Wildflowers from the woods, Trillium and Foxglove, creep into the garden and are a welcome addition.

Each lunch break Rose runs out into the garden to see what’s in bloom and to have a little potter around then after work she does the watering. Each Saturday she spends three or four hours doing what she loves in her garden. They get water from a small water company but this summer they have a severe water shortage so she is using grey water for her garden.

Her favourite spot in the garden is the “Rain House” which DH built on the shady side of the garden. It derived its name from the fact that they only use it when it’s raining. She has potted flowers and Hummingbird feeders hanging from it. Birds are a favourite part of her garden and she has a profusion of feeders, birdbaths and birdhouses to attract them. The very first Hummingbird feeder she hung up had it’s first visitor within five minutes which was a sweet surprise.

The garden is also home to Raccoons, Possums, Squirrels and Chipmunks and deer gaze longingly through the fence at the roses. I shall never forget the first time I saw a posting of a pair of deer in the woods near her garden and thinking just how lucky she was to have such wonderful creatures so near. But there is a negative side as well and that is the fact that they have had lunch in the rose bed once or twice and again just recently we all felt upset for her when she posted that her beautiful blooms had once again been munched away. DH has now rectified this problem by extra reinforcement of the fences.

Rose doesn’t use any chemicals because of the birds and wildlife and for their own well being. She makes good use of compost, manure and leaf mold instead of fertilizer.

Her favourite tree is any which produces beautiful flowers or blossoms. Roses are her first love but she has a new interest due to the enthusiasm of Gardenbuddies and that is Clematis and so far this year she has planted seven. Also Rose gives credit to Gardenbuddies for improving her gardening skills. She said she spends as much time reading up the posts as she does in tending to her own garden.

I know I would love to stroll through your garden and take in all the natural beauty of the magnificent countryside and also sit and have a chat in your cozy cabin. That’s what dreams are made for and I thank you Rose for the tour of your 5 acres and sharing with us the day to day achievements accomplished by yourself and DH right through from the bare land until what we all love and admire today.