After hold out their entire lives in Alabama , and with a trivial encouragement from some friends , Phillip Oliver and his husband made their dreams a reality by retiring and relocating to the Pacific Northwest . They establish the perfect dimension in Vancouver , Washington , with a landscape that was a white slate , empty and ready for the many bed and molding Phillip was eager to replete the space with . While some might guess building a firebrand - new garden in a new clime would be a long and toilsome labor , Phillip transformed his Modern landscape painting quickly . “ The previous owner had maintained a flawless lawn , ” he says , “ and he would probably be disgruntled to notice that we ’ve remove about 95 % of it . ”
Garden at a glance
Size:¼ acreLocation : Vancouver , WashingtonZone:8b
condition : Mostly sun with some areas of wraith ; part clay , part arenaceous soil enriched with organic matter
Age of the garden:6 years
Another factor that bestow to the easy modulation was the fantabulous soil . “ We lately learned that the woman who live here in the fifties used to hale garden cart of humus from a forage area up the street , ” he excuse . “ I have sex from talking with other gardeners in the area that the soils here are generally hard stiff , but the terra firma is prosperous to dig into in our garden , and I never hit any rocks . ”
Garden happiness is possible in almost any zone . Avid gardener Phillip Oliver seemed to have it all in his warm southerly garden , but moving to the cooler Pacific Northwest opened up a new world of industrial plant possibilities , where New Zealand flax and broadleaf evergreens abound ( top photo ) .
complemental colour are key . Purple and yellowish are two hues you ’ll find repeated throughout the gardens . Here , a large wall painted a dark plum make an ideal background for the gilded Tiger Eyes ® sumach ( genus Rhus typhina‘Bailtiger ’ , Zones 5–8 ) .
Now that he ’s gardening in his dreaming climate and work with a site primed and prepped for gardening excellence , one of the few challenges Phillip faces is find space for all the plants he would wish to grow . While he continues to grow many of the industrial plant he enjoyed in Alabama , his planting possibilities have flesh out greatly because he ’s now capable to incorporaterhododendron(Rhododendronspp . and cvs . , Zones 5–9),fuchsia(Fuchsiaspp . and cvs . , Zones 6–9 ) , New Zealand flax ( Phormiumspp . and cvs . , Zones 8b–11 ) , and other plant that would n’t make it for him in the South . Phillip also has a long list of favorite plants that he savor collecting , many of which can have a large step , such asheirloom roses(Rosaspp . and cvs . , Zones 3–9),camellia(Camelliaspp . and cvs . , Zones 7–10 ) , and various other Tree and conifers . If all of these choices and planting possibilities were n’t hard enough , this completed gardener took a part - time caper at a local garden center . He ’s a nipper in a candy store with temptation right under his nozzle every day he ’s there .
From his many years of horticulture and his experience aline to a new clime , Phillip has learned a lot about plants and landscape design . There is just one thing he has n’t get over : constraint . He say , “ I just do n’t be intimate when to hold on , and my desire for plants finds me cramming more and more into crocked space . And I ’m certain my fancy for trees is become to leave us with more and more shade as time goes on . ”
Kaitlyn Hayes is the digital content manager forFine Gardening .
photo : courtesy of Phillip Oliver
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Garden happiness is possible in almost any zone.Avid gardener Phillip Oliver seemed to have it all in his warm Southern garden, but moving to the cooler Pacific Northwest opened up a new world of plant possibilities, where New Zealand flaxes and broadleaf evergreens abound (top photo).
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Garden happiness is possible in almost any zone.Avid gardener Phillip Oliver seemed to have it all in his warm Southern garden, but moving to the cooler Pacific Northwest opened up a new world of plant possibilities, where New Zealand flaxes and broadleaf evergreens abound (top photo).
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Complementary colors are key.Purple and yellow are two hues you’ll find repeated throughout the gardens. Here, a large wall painted a dark plum creates an ideal backdrop for the golden Tiger Eyes®sumac (Rhus typhina‘Bailtiger’, Zones 5–8).
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From edible beds to an entertainment area.For the first two years, this spot was dedicated to raised-bed vegetable gardens. But Phillip felt the area needed more structure and ripped them out, replacing them with a large deck and pergola. That created a perfect stage for a new gravel courtyard to take shape in front of the new outdoor living site.
