Canyon Meadows backyard remade into colourful ‘park’
Entering Denyce Lundeen’s prize winning yard, you see three large spruce trees flanking the narrow front. You travel from the front to the backyard via a narrow winding path, past a large specimen mountain ash tree and a shady rock garden with martagon lilies, hostas and astilbes; and you then enter her “park.” The backyard is 36 metres across on a pie shaped lot in Canyon Meadows.
Denyce and her husband Glen moved into their house in 1979. At that time, it had a backyard pool with a chain-link fence and cotoneaster hedge surrounding it and was massively overgrown with trees — four poplars, 10 maydays and huge numbers of shrubs.
Until 1996, Denyce worked primarily in the front yard while at the same time clearing some of the overgrowth from the backyard. But then in 1996, the pool was filled in, the poplars, maydays, fences etc. were removed, and the park was created.
The backyard is a com- bination of shade and sun. A double waterfall sits in one corner surrounded by begonias. At the other end is a park bench under a crabapple tree, a concrete deer standing guard nearby.
Denyce is a collector of plants, preferring to buy a new variety rather than a duplicate of one she already has. She and Glen travel every spring throughout southern Alberta visiting nurseries to see what new plant or variety to try out. In the undulating flower beds are over 50 Asiatic and martagon lilies (some over 20 years old), eight clematis, including one climbing up a birch tree, several integrifolios, over 20 hostas in the shady spots, 10 Explorer rose bushes, pulmunaria, peonies and many more perennials collected over the years. Pots are scattered around the yard adding colour throughout the summer.