GPOD on the Road: Vancouver Hardy-Plant Study Weekend, Part 2

01.03.2024 - 09:19 / finegardening.com / GPOD Contributor

Back in June, friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong attended the Vancouver Hardy Plant Study Weekend and was kind enough to share photos of some of the gardens that she toured. Today she’s taking us along to visit Gwen and Paul’s gorgeous garden and nursery.

Blue poppies (Meconopsis betonicifolia, Zones 5–7) are only growable in climates with very cool, mild summers—like Vancouver, where they thrive.

There are countless forms and colors of annual poppies (Papaver somniferum, annual), but these brightly colored ones are just marvelous. And of course the seedheads that come next are beautiful as well.

This shady path is proof you don’t need a big area, sun, or even many flowers to make a beautiful garden. A wonderful tapestry of foliage, with a bold, white-variegated hosta (Hosta hybrid, Zones 3–8) catches the eye.

Some peonies are grown more for their seedpods than their flowers. This is one of the woodland peonies (probably Paeonia japonica, Zones 5–8), which grows well in shade and has lovely white flowers in the spring followed by these dramatic seedpods that split open to show their bright crimson inside.

Foxtail lilies (Eremurus hybrids, Zones 5–8) produce these incredible spires of flowers in early summer. They’re not hard to grow, but they tend to rot in heavy, wet soils, so give them good drainage to keep them happy.

I love this creative fencing, which visually divides the garden while still letting you see through to the plants on the other side. It looks to be made from old window frames and other found/upcycled materials.

California poppies (Eschscholzia californica, annual) usually come in a bright shade of orange, but these softer, more pastel tones are wonderful also.

A rock garden slopes up to a spot to sit and