Take a peek inside a magical garden

Attention to detail is key to Audrey McPhadden’s vision for her garden which is one of the reasons she and her husband Alan make such a good team.

Audrey says gardening brings her organizational pleasure.

“I like things that are intentionally supposed to be there,” she says.

When Audrey is not gardening, she is quilting, a hobby which involves piecing techniques, colours, patterns, and geometric shapes. Alan enjoys carpentry.

“It’s a different application,” says Audrey, “but it’s the same principle. The look for my garden that I’m hoping to achieve and what Alan’s capable of doing, we’re able to dovetail sufficiently.”

To get a sense of what this couple has created together, let’s start with the plants in their front yard.

Lush plantings abound on their Crescentwood property which is approximately 15 metres wide and 32 metres deep. But there is also an extensive boulevard garden which provides passersby and visitors with the first glimpse at the types of plants that inspire Audrey’s garden design.

“I love thinking large and I love big plants.” Tall yellow foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora) with creamy yellow flowers is planted alongside centaurea macrocephala, also known as giant knapweed which has hairy stems, big wavy-edged leaves, and thistle-like yellow flowers. A sturdy clump of tall delphiniums with brilliant blue flowers combines for a Provencal colour palette.

The boulevard garden includes some shorter plants as well, including irises, Lamb’s-ear, and a mass planting of perennial cranesbill geraniums with mauve flowers. A border planting along the sidewalk entrance to their house is planted exclusively with tall plants, most notably common milkweed with paddle-shaped leaves and pink flower clusters, a captivating clump of Jerusalem sage (phlomis tuberosa) with woolly lavender-pink flowers on dark burgundy stems, and Rosa F.J. Grootendorst rose, believed to have been bred by Manitoba’s Frank Leith Skinner around 1908 but later appeared as a Dutch release.

But that’s not the only backstory I found so intriguing on my visit. Audrey, whose maiden name is Olmsted, is a descendant of Frederick Law Olmsted, famed American landscape architect who designed the grounds of New York City’s Central Park and other well-known parks.

A wide flower bed in front of Audrey and Alan’s house takes centre stage with lilies, coneflowers, tall Campanula bellflower with bright blue teacup-sized flowers, delphinium flower spikes in pinks and blues, and vivid red-orange Maltese cross. The tall flowers are a vertical element that provides a lacy screen in front of the house. But one can’t help but wonder, how are these tall plants supported when there are no visible signs of support?

“Well, sometimes you have to throw them a bone,” says Audrey.

She has a passion for all things metal and is a frequent visitor at Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore locations, as well as local thrift shops. In one example, the stems of a Veronica speedwell plant grow through the openings of a wire basket which has been turned upside down on the ground. In another example, pieces from the wire frame of an inflatable Santa decoration have been used to support tall delphiniums but only at the bottom of the stems where the support is not visible.

Now here is where Alan’s vision begins to come into the overall scheme of things. Alan has skilfully incorporated Audrey’s found treasures into cohesive, functional elements throughout their landscape. Rustic windowless frames have been paired with shutters and window boxes constructed by Alan who uses multiple colours of paint to add interest and depth.

A classic arched gate designed and built by Alan leads to their backyard but also serves the dual purpose of diverting water from the roof of their house and redirecting it to where it is needed. A pair of artisan-made Canadian First Nations moccasins hang on the front of the gate. Audrey is a retired operating room nurse.

“When I worked in interventional radiology at the Health Sciences Centre, native craftspeople often brought in their artwork. The moccasins are my nod to honouring and bringing awareness to Indigenous people.”

As you enter through the gate, vertical elements such as two freestanding scrolled iron screens which Alan framed in black-painted wood create stunning visual interest. A grouping of Maltese cross plants with apricot-pink flower clusters is juxtaposed with tall blue delphinium and a leafy hedge of vase-shaped ostrich fern.

A four-metre long vine-covered tunnel arch screens an upper wooden deck but also provides a cooling effect as well as an air of mystery created by the darkening effect of the natural canopy. There are other unique garden rooms as well.

The exterior wall of Audrey and Alan’s three-car garage facing into their backyard appears for all intents and purposes as a quaint cottage complete with a screen door, faux window, flower-filled window box, and artwork. Audrey starts all her annual flowers from seed and has filled the window boxes with a romantic mix of double-flowered orchid mist petunia in blush, white, and rose together with pink-flowered Silene armeria (also known as garden catchfly) and Dimorphotheca African daisy.

In front of the garage on one side is a flower bed planted densely with tall Oriental lilies and a mass planting of golden yellow Trollius globe flower. On the other side is a seating area with a wooden deck and an inlaid checkerboard. Alan has designed the wooden playing pieces so that they can be moved while standing using a pole.

While the many flowers, playful elements, and decorative accents command much of the visitor’s attention, Alan and Audrey’s innovative ideas can also be seen in their vegetable garden. For example, to grow their zucchini plants vertically, Alan built a series of black wooden stakes with short cross bars from a design that Audrey created. They grow several types of winter squash – hubbard, delicata, spaghetti, butternut – in a narrow, raised bed that runs the length of an outer wall of their garage. To support the squash which will grow to the very top of the garage, Alan has lined the bed with a row of vertical poles above which are horizontal rows of string that reach right to the top of the A-shaped side wall of the garage that forms the peak of the roof.

There is much more that I could tell you about this magical garden but why not see it for yourself? Alan and Audrey’s garden is one of the featured gardens on the Manitoba Master Gardener Association garden tour which starts today at 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. To purchase your ticket online or for more details, please visit www.mgmanitoba.com.

For advice, ideas and tips to keep your outdoor and indoor plants growing, sign up to receive Winnipeg Gardener, a free monthly digital newsletter I write for the Winnipeg Free Press at https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/newsletter/winnipeg-gardener

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