HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2007-05-03, Page 16How many kinds of sweet flowers
grow
In an English country garden?
— English folk song
With riotous colour and lush
formation, they may seem at first
simple to achieve.
But, in creating an English country
garden one soon learns that such
apparently untamed beauty is
anything but. An English country
garden, plants juxtaposed to create a
varied palette of colour and texture,
is best achieved with education and
planning. It is alive with form and
fragrance, throughout the growing
season.
Sue Tibbs of Brussels is an avid
gardener who learned at the
footsteps of her father in England.
“He taught me everything. He was a
marvelous gardener and I followed
him around everywhere.”
Tibbs, who has inspired the same
love of horticulture in her husband
Chris, also a native of England, said
the key to the country gardens are
perennial beds, laid out informally
with a mass of perennials that bloom
at various times from spring to fall to
create continuous interest.
The Tibbses found garden gold
when they purchased their Brussels
home last year. Having lived in
Canada for 10 years, they had
returned to England in 1989. They
moved back to Kitchener in 2001,
but soon tired of the city life.
When they discovered the former
Melville Presbyterian Church manse
overlooking the Maitland River,
which the couple has turned into a
bed and breakfast, it was love at first
sight. “I didn’t even notice the
gardens at first. We were here in the
fall, so it was the house that attracted
us. I had always wanted a house like
this in England but the price, well..”
While the previous owners had
done “a marvelous job”, Tibbs soon
began creating a list of everything
“you could ever want in an English
country garden”.
Some of the most popular plants
used in this type of garden, said
Tibbs are hollyhocks, foxglove,
lupins, dianthus, anemones and
lilies.
Once choices have been made,
Tibbs said placement depends on a
number of things. It is important to
plan the beds, giving consideration
to soil, continuity, sunlight and flow.
“That said, there’s a lot of luck
involved,” said Tibbs, encouraging
new gardeners not to become
discouraged by their efforts. “A
famous gardener I used to watch on
TV in England said that no matter
how good a gardener you are, you
have a 50/50 chance of success. You
can be an expert and things are going
to die.”
She recommends novices go to
nurseries for assistance. “There are
PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2007.
Spring cleaning
Sue Tibbs can hardly wait to begin tidying up the many
perennial beds around their Brussels home. The avid
gardener, an artist, has been working with, and adding to,
the existing beds to create the quintessential English
country garden. (Bonnie Gropp photo)
Couple brings a little of home to gardens
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Plant
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Go directly to the Grower
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By Bonnie Gropp
The Citizen
Continued on page 17