Some of Okotoks’ most beautiful yards will be open for the public to peruse this weekend.
The Okotoks Garden Club is hosting its annual Big Rock Garden Tour, inviting people to walk through nine exceptional locations on July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“We have so many beautiful yards in Okotoks,” said club president Susan Russell. “It’s not just a case of looking at plants but how people use the outdoor space. It’s lovely for people to get together and talk about this nice aspect of the community and for people get to know each other.”
Russell, a native of the United Kingdom, has lived in northern Alberta, the United States, the east coast and west coast, and said the gardens in Okotoks definitely stand out.
“Other than Victoria and Vancouver, I don’t think I’ve seen anywhere that has had more lovely gardens than we have here,” she said. “Okotoks is a very pretty little community. You are hard pressed to find a yard where someone doesn’t have more than grass. I’m English so having beautiful gardens goes back hundreds of years in Europe.”
The Big Rock Garden Tour began as an initiative of the Town of Okotoks 30 years ago and in 2014 the Okotoks Garden Club was asked to take it over, said Russell.
At one time, the tour featured a competition where judges selected the best yards. Then it was up to those touring the yards to pick their favourites, she said.
When the garden club took over, the competitive element was removed, said Russell.
“I don’t see gardening as a competitive sport,” she said. “I don’t know how you choose between 10 gardens which one is the loveliest. In many ways it doesn’t lend itself to a competition. You want people to recognize every garden for it’s own version of loveliness.”
The garden club, which consists of about 40 members, often invites speakers to talk about gardening topics ranging from composting to herbs.
Two members of the garden club will be among those showcasing their yards, including Russell, and the rest is up to members of the garden club to find themselves. Finding seven or 10 yards is rarely a problem, said Russell.
“It’s becoming something the next generation is doing - not just vegetable gardens but the whole yard,” she said. “It’s a challenge. Money doesn’t buy you a beautiful garden. It still requires an effort.”
Among those opening her gates to the tour is Christina Suykens, who lives on Westridge Rise.
Suykens built her yard from scratch in 2011 when her home was built. Rather than bring in sod to green up her yard, she chose gravel and rocks.
“I feel that my yard is environmentally friendly,” she said. “I water my yard maybe every four days. I’ve trained my plants to have a deep root system. The more you water the shallower your roots are. The deeper they are the more self-sustained they are.”
Suykens’ yard is decorated with a variety of non-native plants including lavender, creeping jennies, echinacea, lilacs and bleeding hearts.
She also made good use of her bi-directionally sloped yard.
“In one corner of my yard I have a dry river bed that slopes down to a big pond so it’s an advantage to have a sloping yard,” she said. “When you sit on the deck you feel like you’re in a little oasis.”
Suykens yard gets its fair share of compliments from those passing by.
“There is a walking path behind me,” she said. “When I’m in the yard usually people will hang over the fence and go ‘I just love your yard.’”
Suykens’ pride and joy is her yard.
Her first opportunity to garden was while living on an acreage in DeWinton. Following her divorce she moved to Okotoks and started over again.
“When I moved into this house it was like therapy for me,” she said. “I just went nuts. Being in the yard is like this total zen experience. I kind of get lost in time.”
Suyken said the yard took years to perfect.
“I would say about 2015 it started to look like a yard,” she said. “Last year it was fabulous and then the stupid hailstorm came.”
The hailstorm resulted in the cancellation of last year’s garden tour.
With much better weather this year, Suyken is eager to show off her yard to the public.
“Because people always stop when they’re walking by I think it will be great,” she said. “My parents come over and sit on the deck and they say, ‘We just love your yard it’s such an oasis.’ If I can share my work with somebody then my job is done.”
Tickets to take the Big Rock Garden Tour cost $10 and can be purchased at Sobeys July 14 and 15. Proceeds go to the Okotoks Food Bank and Food Bank Community Garden.
