This smaller East Vancouver lot packed in a big wish list. The garden still has another phase ahead—new stair treads at the entry, a sauna, a patio under the maple, and a couple veggie beds. Stay tuned.

Though compact, the site had more complexity than you’d guess at first glance. Layers of cracked walkway and retaining walls needed to be demo’d and the whole site re-graded before we could even get started. Once cleared, we hardscaped a new pathway and built a long garden bed along the front property line—designed to act as both a soft screen and a friendly, open invitation. A custom gate marks the entry.

We left the sauna area (for phase 2) as a seating nook for now, tucked among grasses and pollinator-friendly plants for a meadow-like feel. Classic long-bloomers—Echinacea purpurea, Gaura lindheimeri, Veronica lavender ‘Lightsaber’, Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’, Coreopsis verticillata—bring colour from early summer into fall. Structural and textural interest comes from Salix eleagnos, Calamagrostis x acutiflora, Nassella tenuissima, and Artemisia absinthium.

These photos were taken just one month after planting. Can’t wait to see how it fills in by year two.

Photo credits: Jennilee Marigomen