IN THE GARDEN: LUXURY BY THE RIVER
Fort Langley estate: Jack Lee’s six-acre slice of paradise includes pools, ponds, waterfalls and its own English pub
Five years ago, Jack Lee’s riverside property in Fort Langley was little more than swampy ground with a murky pond.
It was more a haven for mosquitoes and frogs than an idyllic country garden.
Today, the six-acre site on the banks of the Fraser River has been totally transformed into one of the most luxurious estate gardens in B.C. with multiple waterfalls, beautiful ponds, sweeping lawns and lavishly planted shrub and perennial borders.
The new landscaping features top quality stone walls, multilayered terraces, elegant stone paths, an outdoor kitchen with Forno oven, babbling brook, woodland walk, firepits and numerous strategically placed viewing platforms and inviting sitting spots.
In addition, the garden has its own English country pub — the Old Mill — that feels totally authentic on the inside and has a large, working waterwheel attached to the outside.
At the heart of the garden, Lee has built a Whistler-mountain-lodge-style home complete with infinity pool overlooking the river plus a couple of hot-springs-style spa pools staggered on separate levels and offering different water temperatures.
Put it all together and you have a luxury five-star garden oasis that would rival the opulence of any movie or pop star’s private estate.
While it is not possible for me to reveal what all this cost, it is obvious from the quality of the materials used and extent of the landscaping that it has been a multimillion-dollar project.
In fact, one couple did mistake the property for a top hotelresort and drove up to the house to ask Lee if they could book a room for the night.
Originally from Calgary, Lee went to Australia when he was 21 and formed his own landscaping business in Brisbane.
The business flourished and over the next 24 years, Lee built a sizable company, employing a couple of hundred people at its peak.
However, when the Australian economy crashed in the ’90s, Lee decided to sell up and return to Canada where he started an even more lucrative business supplying fuel for heavy machinery.
His 4 Refuel company, whose trucks refill everything from ships and trains to cranes and bulldozers, took off and Lee became one of Canada’s biggest business success stories.
Four years ago, he bought the riverfront property, which looks over to Brae Island in Fort Langley.
He first purchased 2.2 acres of the previously sub-divided property and then bought the second section of 3.3 acres.
“My first job was to clear all the blackberry and brambles,” he says. “It was a mess. The site was overgrown with bamboo and blackberry and was more or less a mosquito-infested swamp.”
Lee knew from the start that he wanted to build a series of ponds and waterfalls, dotted around property.
“I love water. I love the look and sound of it. So, I knew it would be a key component. But we also wanted to create something beautiful, a garden that we could enjoy and appreciate. We consider landscaping like this to be art.”
To help make his dream a reality, Lee hired Colin Stewart, of Heartwood Landscaping in Surrey, to install all the ponds and waterfalls, lawns and flower beds.
“This was a labour of love from start to finish,” says Stewart, who made use of a natural spring on the site to supply water for ponds and waterfalls.
“We put in a system that collects site water and recycles it in a natural way without disturbing the ecology of the property.”
When the amount of water exceeds what is needed, it is allowed to seep naturally into the river.
Thousands of plants were trucked in to fill borders. Favourite perennials — day lilies, hostas, crocosmia, coreopsis, rudbeckia, echinacea — were planted along with native plants, including mahonia, kinnikinnick, salal and vine maples.
Stewart says mature trees, deciduous and coniferous, were also planted and some, including a specimen paperbark maple, had to be lifted into place by crane.
“We’ve also planted thousands of spring-flowering bulbs — snowdrops and narcissus as well as trilliums.
“These were planted in and around the hostas for a wonderful show in spring. We wanted the garden to have a lot of seasonality with something always in bloom throughout the year.”
The ponds and waterfalls are highlights of the garden. And the water is so clean and clear, Lee says he and his family and friends swim in the ponds more often than in the swimming pool.
One of the prettiest images is a small platform with two yellow Adirondack chairs next to the largest pond with dark, slow-moving water that mirrors a graceful stone bridge and surrounding trees and shrubs.
In another spot, a creek bed leads to a woodland walkway. The water from the creek runs downhill and empties into another substantial waterfall on the lower slope at the riverbank.
Here, Lee had the foreshore reinforced with new rocks to prevent further erosion and has also built a dock for his son’s float plane.
Aqua Pavers were used for the path next to the foreshore to allow water to freely drain into the river.
In other places, bricks and reclaimed timbers from the old Steveston wharf have been recycled into new landscape features, including a green wall.
Stonemasons brought in from the Prairies worked for two years building top quality walls, patios and paths.
“The trades did an awesome job,” says Lee. “This wasn’t cheap, but you do pay for quality.”
The rock work around the infinity pool and spa hot pools is all sculptured concrete made to look like real stone.
A second house on the property — the original one on the site when Lee bought the estate — has been upgraded and had a conservatory added as well as extensive stone terraces.
Lee says his idea here was to create an English-style landscape around this house, where his son lives. The terrace flower borders have been filled with a casual mix of flowering perennials.
Lee has two favourite spots for viewing the garden: one a secluded patio high above the swimming pool and spa ponds at the back of the house, overlooking the river; the other from inside a party gazebo across from the main pond.
“We are trying to make things as self-sustaining as possible. I have the ponds filled with trout and minnows to keep mosquito larvae down and we also get a lot of dragonflies and waxwings dropping by,” says Lee.
“And the waterfalls help aerate the ponds. It’s become a very good ecosystem.”
But at twilight, there is no better spot than inside the Old Mill, a small country-style pub with rustic bar and beer on tap and space for about 10 people. A window inside frames a picturesque view of the pond with its water lilies and willow tree on the bank.
“Everything is still rather new,” says Lee. “It will take time for the plants to mature and fill it. But I think it already looks very good. It makes me happy.”