Our notion of what the urban residential garden is all about is undergoing a dramatic change. There will always be the private backyard oasis that is shared with others at the homeowner’s invitation, but the significance of the front yard garden space, visible to every passerby, is gaining in prominence. The design elements that a homeowner chooses to incorporate into their front yard landscape are as individual as they are, but for Brandon residents like Esther Bryan, there is more at play. Creating and maintaining both a front yard garden as well as a boulevard garden is a conscious decision by Bryan to be part of a larger and dynamic urban garden network aimed at beautifying the city she loves. This takes curb appeal to a whole new level.
The length and width of Bryan’s stunning front yard garden is planted with flowering perennials and shrubs that offer a succession of blooms from spring to fall. The entrance to the garden, adjacent to the pedestrian sidewalk, is framed by a colourful border densely planted with Millenium ornamental allium. Interspersed are lilies, daylilies, false sunflower, liatris, and Sunpatiens. The stretch of border is anchored on one side of the front yard by Royal Purple smoke bush and Golden Spirit smoke bush and on the opposite side by a dramatic combination of tall Martagon lilies, Veronicastrum Culver’s root, dahlias, and Canna Australia.
On the other side of the pedestrian sidewalk is Bryan’s lush boulevard garden filled with perennials, ornamental grasses, mini edible peppers, and a gorgeous Moonrock hydrangea.
Bryan has been an active participant in the city of Brandon’s front boulevard program since it started 27 years ago. Brandon is one of the original participants in the National Communities in Bloom program which began in 1995. At the time, Bryan worked for the city of Brandon’s recreation department although after 32 years, she is now retired. “When we first started the boulevard program, it was actually initiated through National Communities in Bloom,” says Bryan who attended a National Communities in Bloom conference which discussed the idea of residential boulevard plantings.
“As part of the boulevard program, the city helped fund the removal of your sod and they put new soil down and in addition, provided participating homeowners with $100.00 towards the purchase of plants of their choice,” says Bryan. “Now, it came with criteria,” she says. “If the city needed to do infrastructure work on the boulevard such as accessing an underground pipe, it meant that the homeowner’s plantings might have to be dug up.”
The initial response by homeowners to the program was slow during the first two years of its launch. Today, homeowners are no longer given funds to purchase plants, but Bryan says that interest by Brandon residents in planting their boulevards has grown considerably over the years. “Many homeowners now are also planting vegetables in their front yards and on their boulevards.”
When Bryan is working in her garden, passersby often stop by to comment on the plants she is growing and to ask gardening questions. She enjoys sharing information about plants and inspiring others to grow plants. Bryan is a member of the Brandon Garden Club which is Manitoba’s oldest garden club (established in 1893). Each year she donates plant divisions from her garden to Brandon Garden Club’s annual plant sale.
Bryan grows tree peonies, herbaceous peonies, and intersectional (Itoh) peonies. The tree peonies are the first to bloom in spring followed by the herbaceous and Itoh peonies for a total of six to seven weeks of peony blooms. “Rain is the biggest factor in determining how long the peony season lasts,” she says. This year Bryan purchased some inexpensive umbrellas from the Dollar Store to protect the blooms from rain and plans to buy more umbrellas next year. She has created a circular bed in her front garden which is planted with peonies and lilies. “The lilies add height, and they bloom after the peonies are done. They live together quite well.” The outer circle is planted with a border of SunPatiens which blooms right up until frost.
Many of the lilies that Bryan grows are Orienpet hybrid lilies which are a cross between Oriental and Trumpet types. On my visit in late August, Zelmira Orienpet lily, Bryan’s latest acquisition, was in full bloom. The scented blooms are a soft baby pink overlaid with apricot. Bryan removes the orange pollen-filled anthers from the tips of all the stamens so that the lily’s petals are not stained with pollen.
In addition to flowering perennials, shrubs such as dwarf cranberry, vibrantly coloured smoke bush, Incrediball Blush hydrangea, Golden Elder, and Russian Almond provide a diversity of textures. Russian Almond, hardy to Zone 2, produces a profusion of pink blooms in early spring before the narrow leaves emerge.
Bryan is a volunteer member of the city of Brandon’s 2022 Year of the Garden Committee. In celebration of the Year of the Garden’s Plant Red campaign that pays tribute to lives lost and honours frontline workers, Bryan grew several plants such as Dipladenia, Calla lily, Canna lily, and Hibiscus with crimson red flowers. She complimented these with Mahogany Splendor hibiscus which has dark mahogany-coloured stems. Her garden is a magnet for bees and other pollinators.
Cars that belong to people who work at the nearby hospital are almost always parked in front of Bryan’s boulevard garden and this was evident on both my visits to Bryan’s garden. “People always tell me they choose to park here because they enjoy seeing my garden,” she says. Bryan has placed large stepping stones at points along the curb’s edge to make it easier for people to step into the boulevard garden. Alas, sometimes people exit their car and step right into the flower bed but Bryan takes it all in stride.
Bryan’s boulevard garden also includes an apple tree that she planted about 15 years ago. “It’s very much a community apple tree,” says Bryan who prunes the tree so that branches laden with fresh fruit are within easy reach of passers-by who can freely pick the fruit. “It’s all part of food sharing.”
This year’s Bryan’s garden received a Miracle Gro prize package for Best Garden Selection. It was presented to her by Brady Dane, recreation director, Parks and Recreation Services, and Alex Skelton, a summer student in the Brandon in Bloom program. “Brandon in Bloom is an amalgamation of our environmental and gardening focus programs that are offered by the city’s recreation department,” says Dane. One of the main events each year in the Brandon in Bloom program is Brandon’s Open Garden tours which Bryan also participates in.
Driving through Brandon one comes across many beautiful front yards and boulevard gardens. Tracy Timmer, City of Brandon horticulturist, has put her own stamp on the city’s boulevards with innovative plantings that include Dracaena trifasciata snake plants and giant Agave plants. The exceptional container displays that I saw on 18th Street and Victoria Avenue, for example, must literally stop traffic.
Brandon’s gardens, both private and public, have been on full display this year in celebration of Year of the Garden.
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