Bright and beautiful

Hers isn’t "an old-fashioned English country garden," as she herself put it. But the bright blue spark in this small bird of a woman’s eyes speaks to the labour of love she’s naturally expanded over the years, 35 and still growing, until now her home surrounded on three sides by gardens and groves of blooming flowers, shrubs and fruit trees is in finest form and colour.

It’s also one of six amazing gardens on display in this year’s Garden Tour hosted by the Thunder Bay Art Gallery. The tour takes place next Sunday, July 25 so people have a bit of time to get their tickets and a map of the locations around town before then: details follow.

Wyoma and William Fauconnier’s front yard is simply a vision of bright colour amidst lush green fronds: hundreds of day lilies (they only last for one day, hence the name) but there are so many of them their beauty gets renewed with each new sunrise.

Gold Spider, ruby red Bold Knight, Oriental Pet, Rudbeckia, Echinacea, Heliopsis, Centuria and Iris are just some of Wyoma’s chosen varieties separated by gentle paths of Woolley Thyme and Irish Moss.

Instead of a second burst of vibrant colour flowing outward from its centre, one delicate lily, the Asiatic, has a rich cream-coloured core from which six large petals edged in bright pink radiate outward in perfect symmetry. The edges of some lilies are curled and furled like the ruffles of Cinderella’s ball gown; one wonders how nature is able to fashion itself so miraculously.

"Surprises? Sure, I get them," Wyoma said with a smile. "I forget from year to year what the different flowers look like, especially with my day lilies because I have so many. So, on any given day whatever is blooming becomes my favourite and is always a wonderful surprise."

Beyond the lily garden the Fauconniers’ property includes beds of roses, shrubbery, a river bed, a vegetable garden and a fruit grove filled with blueberries, cherries, plums, currants, haksap (Russian blueberry), raspberries and saskatoons. How delicious!

In any garden the soil is certainly one key to success.

"When I make my gardens, I start off with really good background soil," explained Wyoma. "Put together from the bottom up and then I never dig again. I put in all my own compost. Sometimes I dig down deep. Other times I use a lasagna-method with eight to 10 pieces of newspaper dividing the layers of compost."
Wyoma’s advice for novice to intermediate gardeners: "Start slow. Don’t get over-ambitious. Start with one bed you can handle, make sure you get it the way you like it, make sure it’s weed-free. Then move on to your next one."

As mentioned, next Sunday between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. people are invited to move from one amazing garden on to the next during TBAG’s 2010 Garden Tour.

Master gardeners will be on hand to instruct and answer questions; in some of the gardens musicians will serenade visitors (weather permitting) as they stroll through all the natural beauty.

Garden Tour tickets: $15, available at the gallery, Vaillant Florists, Landale Gardens and ‘Twas the Month Before Christmas. See you next Sunday!