HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2000-05-10, Page 14PAGE 14. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2000.
Home & Garden 2000
Riverside Perennials — that hobby that grew
Prize winning
The beautifully-landscaped riverside home of Corrie and Leo Sanders captured a well-
deserved second prize in the county’s Beautification contest, held in conjunction with the 1999
International Plowing Match.
By Bonnie Gropp
Citizen staff
You could say it was a hobby that
grew.
For as long as Corrie Sanders can
remember she has been an avid gar
dener. With that interest, she and her
husband Leo took good advantage of
their property’s picturesque riverside
setting, on County Rd. 16, east of
Belgrave, by planting gardens
around the house. In the early years,
when the children were smaller,
Corrie says she focussed more on
annuals, though she did have one
perennial bed.
The Sanderses constructed a small
8’x6’ greenhouse in which Corrie
To be proud of
Corrie spends a rare moment
enjoying the blooms of her
labours.
grew her annuals. She eventually
had such a substantial inventory that
about 15 years ago she sold them at
a neighbourhood yard sale. From
there, she says, things have just
grown.
Having continued to sell what she
grows, Corrie says, “I slowly started
to switch to perennials in the last 10
years or so.” Next they began adding
on average one flowerbed per year to
further enhance their property’s
esthetics.
“Once I got started I just couldn’t
stop because perennials are so popu
lar that each year there are new vari
eties out and I like to have them.”
The most recent addition is grass
es, which Leo planted by the road.
“He has a green thumb and is inter
ested in gardening too,” says Corrie.
To supplement her growing habit,
Riverside Perennials as the property
is known, retails the blooms of her
labour which are now nurtured in
two 12’x30’ greenhouses construct
For respite
While Corrie is seldom sitting idle, spending every minute
she can in her beloved flowerbeds, Riverside Perennials is
a restful stop for passers-by.
ed to replace the outgrown original.
“Basically my sales go towards my
addiction,” she says. “If I see a nurs
ery I stop because they always have
something I don’t. I cover my
expenses to expand my flowerbeds.”
Passers-by attracted by the glori
ous beds are invited to stop and
browse through the Riverside gar
dens, cut their own bouquets or just
relax and take in the breathtaking
landscape. “Basically people will
come by chance. They drive in and if
we’re here fine,” she says, adding
that from the middle of May to June
they’re almost certain to find her at
home. “I don’t even go for gro
ceries.”
Other times, Corrie says, she often
comes home to find strangers in her
yard, a situation she says is “just
fine.”
Organizations, such as horticultur
al societies and WIs frequently tour
the gardens, which with over 500
varieties of perennials, are also a pic
ture perfect setting for wedding pho
tos. One was recently featured in a
national magazine.
The ideal time for photo shoots in
the gardens is July, Corrie says,
when the perennials are in peak
colour.
To keep the beds at their best,
Corrie gives every moment she has
to gardening, whether it’s in the beds
in the fall or the greenhouses in the
spring. She enjoys talking io visitors
Utopia
Laid out against a picturesque natural settings, the lovely
gardens at the Sanderses’ Belgrave-area home, attracts
more than people.
to Riverside and will spend time
offering advice if asked. She also
will lay out flowerbeds for anyone
interested. “The trick is to have
something blooming in the beds all
the time.”
With the spacious backyard drop
ping off to the river, Corrie says she
still has room to grow. “But I have to
be careful. I like the natural look of
the scenery. And what I have now I
can handle.”