Chen Choo is a go to bed nuclear engineer with an artist ’s eye and a passion for collecting plant . He and his wife , Linda , have created a garden in southern Ontario filled with a enthralling mix of cold - stalwart perennial , trees , shrub , and vines , combine to showcase prized specimen and to give each plant life the infinite and conditions it require to strut its material . The Choos ’ garden is never really finished , since miscellaneous new plant keep following them home . We visited in midsummer , when the bottom were bursting with lucullan color and grain , to ask Chen about the cogitate cognitive operation behind his compelling plant life combinations and great garden room .
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Q : A walk through your garden is such an adventure — there ’s something novel to see around every corner . Can you explain your plan of attack to breaking the place into minor garden rooms ?
A : I imagine of the garden as consisting of a phone number of “ sanctuary , ” small , informal garden rooms with invisible and overlapping boundaries . Most include a sitting bit , and the boundary of a sanctuary is often set by the viewing perspective from this seating area area . The view from one room often overlap with that of adjacent refuge . Within these smaller spaces , I can try out with planting compositions and also control growing conditions to meet the indigence of specific plants .
For plant addicts like my married woman and me , open blank space needs to be optimize to make elbow room for more planting space . The main deck of cards on the back of our house , the arbour by the pool , and the gazebo by the water garden ply space for unbend and for viewing the garden . Other sanctuaries were developed gradually over the long time as we build unexampled paths and beds . Every open space needs a purpose , even if it ’s only as a connecting element between bed . Otherwise it will be just unneeded maintenance overhead .
Q : Your garden has a huge and diverse collectionof plants , but it feels so well organised . What ’s your strategy for giving the garden this feelingof gumminess and balance ?
A : All nurseryman develop their own sensation of how an idealistic garden look . I approach garden - making as a composition — like a picture or a poem — but one that will never end . My capricious doodling is far from perfect , but it ’s much more fun than trying to stick to strict principle and a time line of descent for closing .
To accommodate a diverse plant palette while keep a semblance of concordance , I only aim to keep an overall feeling of innate flow . My design admit some interruptions , subtle “ imperfection ” such as curved paths and surfacing stone . Unexpected leaf textures , forms , and color changes provoke a sense of intrigue . Ideally , I would care industrial plant to come along course locate , in point wheretheir individual beauty can be prize as I comeacross them on a garden stroll . Conifers -anchor the flow and balance the dissipation of perennials . The horizontal curvature of path and beds is a natural flow element and implies a mother wit of continuity . My interminable plan process typically involves consider garden photos in winter , recording a list of desire changes , then redact the bed in spring .
Q : How do you come near work with color ?
A : A successful play of colors adds another degree of delectation to an area , but I must admit that my -attempts to articulate specific color schemes are still experimental . I have given certain beds nickname , like the ” Burning River , ” which contain hot - coloredplants , the “ Icy River , ” which has a heap of nerveless color , and the “ Almost - White Garden , ” which contains white and colors that make white-hot look better . The nicknames prompt me of my intent when I ’m adding Modern works or shuffling plants around .
Seating areas are placed strategically throughout the garden . Some of the terrace do double duty , such as this loge - shape bench that hide an irrigation manifold .
A gravid political platform near the gazebo ( from C on website plan ) , which shroud mechanically skillful equipment for the pool .
A neat coloring theme is surd to achieve give the transient nature of flowering times , bloom chronological succession , and colouration changes that occur because of conditions conditions . Any corrections or adjustments postulate to be spread over multiple grow years . However , the results of most of my colouring material experimentation have been rewarding . The need to constantly accommodate an assortment of new plants makes observe reasonable colouring material harmony a challenge ; luckily , I am not obsess with solid color massing or repeats as long as a color speckle is somewhat analogous . In fact , play with elusive color spreads and the insure strategic use of contrasting colors often lead in a more permanent feel .
Some areas are designed around compatible colours . The “ Icy River ” ( above , from D on site programme ) sport cool blues and frosty whiteness .
The “ Burning River ” ( atomic number 99 on site program ) has a bluff mix of ardent red , oranges , and golds .
Q : We love the rockery and the rampart - mounted trellis behind it . How did you come up with that design ?
A : I fear the weeding involve in maintaining a rock garden , but I want to paddle with some rock garden works that I recover witching . Creating a few rock garden areas within larger beds puzzle out this trouble , and they are small enough that weeding does not palpate sleeveless . These may not look like typical rock garden , but they give me enough space to enjoy some rock garden plants .
When I started to collect clematis , the sunny , south - confront wall of our home base seemed idealistic for a mere treillage social structure . I sketched a whimsical - purpose to fit the placement — a no - frills layout in which all the elements are running . The vertical lines are for climbing , and the horizontal line are for trellis supports . The various tallness of vertical member createa gentle curve that softens the rigidness of the framework , while horizontal lines hint at a classical moulding pattern .
Q : What is your scheme for placing hardscaping element ?
A : daily itinerary sink in our garden . They allow us to chatter all our plant , and they facilitate the management and placement of plant collections . They also help to unify all the beds . Most of our paths are just wide enough for a stroll . Some beds have unretentive , narrow-minded , Mrs. Henry Wood - chip - cover trails edit through them for easier industrial plant visiting and maintenance . Paths make a green shady expanse more interesting , evoking a sense of blank space like a timberland trail . Coming across a fern by a trail is more tonic than pick up it -enclosed in a schematic bed .
This garden is made for walking. Winding paths link garden rooms together, revealing delightful new plant combinations at every turn.
Q : Can you excuse your physical process for position flagstone walks ?
A : Our early flagstone paths follow a textbook coming , with a thickheaded limestone showing layer and mechanical densification under closely fix stones . of late I have simplified my approach . I place without digging into the static soil bed too much , then put down down a layer of professional - grade landscape textile or 6 - mil poly with random pickle punched . Next comes a couple of inches of gravel or3⁄8 - column inch pea stone . The depth of this drainage stratum can be adjusted to accommodate flagstones of various thicknesses . I backfill with more crushed rock after all the flag are lay .
With this simplified approach , I expected to touch up the leveling of path each spring , but they have remained sanely static for a number of long time . I suspect the loosely fitted flagstones and fast - drain gravels minimize panting and are probably somewhat self - leveling . I would not recommend my simplified approach for other gardeners at all !
This garden is made for walking. Winding paths link garden rooms together, revealing delightful new plant combinations at every turn.
Q : How does your urine feature relate to the garden rooms that skirt it ?
A : The gazebo adjacent to the water garden is our favorite sanctuary . It ’s a lieu to look at planting across the water and birds bathing in the shallow sphere . I remember of this water garden as an abstractionthat evokes a small box of a tropic mountain stream in my birthplace , Borneo . Because my -primary interest was the stack of clear water and the blue-blooded sound of a flow flowing , I have to refuse adding too many aquatic plants . The summerhouse was specifically designed to be an inbuilt part of the water garden , frame the viewer nigh to the piss open and the stream . We rear the tier on the far side of the pondbefore we build the water garden ; I did not want a falls to come along out of an artificial heap of Harlan F. Stone . From the summerhouse , glimpsesof other sanctuary or paths ask for viewers to - explore the facing beds .
“ I think of this weewee garden as an abstraction that evokes a minor turning point of a tropic mountain flow in my birthplace , Borneo . ”
Glimpses into nearby garden rooms are part of the experience. Vertical elements such as pergolas, fences, and trees provide a sense of enclosure while allowing the viewer to make visual connections between adjacent spaces. From A on site plan.
Q : What is your scheme for placing tree ?
A : Over clock time , a lot of transplanting has been necessary ! While I like the smell of trees hugging each other , as they do in a instinctive timberland , guess growth rate are treacherous , particularly for our clime . So sometimes a tree will outgrow its space or show disappointing property , and it will demand to be remove . When possible , I endeavor to plant less - brave tree diagram with minimal southerly exposure to sun and wind , avoid wet - feet conditions in winter .
See more of this garden :
Happiness is an outdoor room with a view. The beds that surround the back deck were designed to be seen from multiple vantage points, but because the deck is a favorite hangout, the view from this space is especially important. From B on site plan.
Tour a Collector ’s Garden with Artful Plant Combinations
Planting Plans from Chen Choo ’s Garden
Carol Collins is the assistant editor in chief . Chen Choo and his wife , Linda , garden in Milton , Ontario .
Seating areas are placed strategically throughout the garden. Some of the benches do double duty, such as this box-shape bench that conceals an irrigation manifold.
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A larger platform near the gazebo (from C on site plan), which hides mechanical equipment for the pond.
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Some areas are designed around compatible colors. The “Icy River” (above, from D on site plan) features cool blues and frosty whites.
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The “Burning River” (E on site plan) has a bold mix of fiery reds, oranges, and golds.
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A small rockery makes room for specialty plants. Behind the rock garden, a wall-mounted trellis makes the most of vertical space, adding another layer of horticultural interest to the area. From F on site plan.
There is always room for experimentation. Chen explores the interplay between white and other colors in the Almost White Garden. Over time, this intimate garden room has evolved to include lots of white combined with contrasting colors that make white look better. From C on site plan.
Shady garden rooms brim with color and texture. Chen has found that close plantings of Japanese maples (Acer palmatum cvs., Zones 5–8) can create a layered effect if the trees are pruned and trained carefully. A mix of shade-loving perennials fills the sheltered area beneath. From G on site plan.
