FIELD OF DREAMS

One couple transformed more than an acre of farmland into a blooming garden where mature trees and lush perennials flourish.

One couple transforms an acre of farmland into a blooming garden.

When Sylvie Delisle and Pierre Leclerc took over his family’s farm in Cap-Santé, Que., it was just that – a farm. First on their to-do list: build a house where they’d raise their three daughters. Next: plant their dream garden. “We sold the crop field and completely redesigned the remaining property, starting with the grass,” says Sylvie. “We added trees to protect us from prevailing winds and create an intimate cocoon.” A split-rail fence demarcates the garden where apple, crabapple, lime and spruce provide structure. Over the years, flowerbeds were added. “I buy quality plants in a nursery where I receive good advice,” says Sylvie, who also joined a garden society to glean more ideas. “The garden is very relaxing,” she says. And the beauty she and Pierre have created will be their legacy for generations to come.

LEFT, TOP & BOTTOM Pierre and Sylvie installed the water feature themselves. “Since Pierre is a farmer, we have easy access to the necessary equipment,” says Sylvie. “We installed a canvas at the bottom of the pond, put stones around the edge and created a small waterfall to make it as natural as possible,” says Sylvie. Pierre even built the foot bridge. Sylvie’s selection of a wide variety of perennials ensures the garden is diverse in colour, shape and texture. In the pond itself, water lilies, cattails and rushes thrive.

OPPOSITE A replica of the family home, the playhouse was built several years ago for the couple’s three daughters. Now that they’ve grown, the couple use the cabin to store garden tools. In the foreground, on the right: Lysimachia clethroides, a vigorous clumpforming plant, provides graceful arches of white blooms.

ABOVE False saffron lilies (top) and daylilies provide bursts of warm colour.