Dunbar in Bloom Unlocks Garden Secrets

By Carol Volkart

For years, I’ve paused before a certain gate along Collingwood Street to ponder the tantalizing mystery beyond. The tiny house way at the back of the lot, so different from the neighbours’; the little winding path; the lush entrance plantings hiding what lies beyond –all questions demanding an answer.

On June 22, thanks to Dunbar in Bloom, all was revealed. Kathleen Salbuvik, the passionate master gardener at 4731 Collingwood, was among about a dozen property owners who graciously threw open their gates that day to self-guided tours of local gardens. And so I learned why her pathways wind; how she’s turned her narrow lot into a thriving Eden of flowers, food and greenery; and why her home is what it is, where it is.

It was among the many things I saw and learned that day, the first time I’ve participated in Dunbar in Bloom. Now in its 28^th year, it began as a Salmonberry Days event that’s since moved from May to June because of changing weather – plants just bloom later these days. And organizer Anna Knowlson says its popularity is ramping up, with as many as 74 visitors at some gardens this year.

Besides the little house in the woods, I saw a century-old weeping beech that canopied two-thirds of a garden; a pear-sized beginning of what may become a  2,000-pound pumpkin; a garden that was mostly a pond, complete with curved bridge, goldfish and lily pads; a garden with dramatically different front and back yards; and a tapestry of succulents in a meticulously kept garden.

But most of all, I saw the graciousness of the gardeners, welcoming strangers to share not just their space but their stories about their homes and gardens. And the appreciation of the visitors, who profusely thanked their hosts for the glimpse of what lies behind the fences and hedges of the neighbourhood.

In her Collingwood garden, standing beside an arch of flowering white jasmine and yellow roses, Salbuvik was the ultimate host, answering questions from simple to advanced with a smile, looking up the origins of one her more mysterious plants, and, for those curious about her accumulated knowledge, displaying the books that trace her gardening journey.

As for the history of her unusual property, she explained that it began as a root cellar in 1904 to store fruit from a nearby orchard, then was added to until 1926, becoming known as the “The Orchard-Keeper’s Hut.”  When she bought it in 1993, she made a verbal covenant with the seller to save it, which she honoured when the falling-down house had to be renovated in 2005. It took some persuasion to convince the city to grandfather its non-conforming location, but with strict height and location guidelines, the renovated house was allowed to remain on its original site at the back of the lot. “There’s still part of the old house in it,” she noted.

But it’s the garden that is Salbuvik’s joy. The design comes from her childhood love of winding paths and her preference for curves over straight lines. Along the path, there are little seating nooks, berry bushes, a greenhouse, raised beds of flourishing greens,  and a variety of trees and flowers to beautify all. How does she gets so much to thrive in what is actually a small area with many constraints? “I try to work with nature instead of controlling it,” she said, adding that includes finding innovative solutions to deal with the invading roots from the English oak on the boulevard.

On the other side of Dunbar, at 3863 West 31st, Nicolas de Haas’ garden also had its surprises. The front was disarmingly casual, with a white picket fence and ferns on the boulevard providing a seamless transition to the park setting beyond. But slip into the back garden, and wow! It had the carefully ordered beauty of a stage set, with meticulously pruned wisteria overhead, perfectly espaliered apples and pears against the fence, and pots of lavender making a perfect contrast against the bright white garage. Further surprises: An outdoor shower tucked in by the garage, and in the alley, a buzzing beehive operation.

A few houses along, at 3873 West 31st, the surprise was revealed as soon as visitors found their way past the entrance. What they saw was a garden that was mostly a pond, with a curved bridge and beneath, a flashing fleet of goldfish, water lilies and other pond plants. From his patio seat at the far side of the pond, owner Jim McLennan heartily welcomed the visitors who peeked gingerly in at the entrance.

“Come in, come in,” he called, and after they’d made the trip across the bridge, was ready for the question on almost everyone’s lips: How do the goldfish survive the predators? In answer, McLennan pointed to the statue of a heron in the pond. Herons are territorial, it seems, and the fake one seems to dissuade at least the herons. Raccoons and neighbourhood cats are another question, but the goldfish go on.

As for the property’s history, the pond was already installed when he and his wife bought the place in 1992 “and it’s pretty much the same as when we came here.” One of his favourite things about the property – echoed by his neighbour de Haas – is how they can “borrow” the park across the street for the views from their own gardens.

A block away, at 3815 West 30^th, there were no secrets about what was happening in Mike Polay’s garden. He’s well into his third year of competitive giant-pumpkin growing, and you can’t hide a big lit-up plastic tent full of vines, fans and other equipment that covers half the front yard, plus another big pumpkin vine romping along the boulevard.

Polay is used to questions – he often puts a whiteboard with the answers to the most frequent ones on his front sidewalk – but for the Dunbar in Bloom crowd, he patiently explained how giant-pumpkin-growing works. How one yard-covering vine feeds one pumpkin, how pumpkins can grow 20 pounds a day, how pumpkins are babied to keep the skin from cracking, and about the irrigation, the fans, the lights and the nutrients they need to achieve their gigantic size. As a special treat, he even removed some protective cardboard to give visitors a glimpse of the little pear-sized oblong  he hopes will eventually reach 2,000 pounds.

Last year, his 1,161-pound pumpkin, grown in the same place, won first prize in the 2024 B.C. Giant Pumpkin weigh-off at Krause Berry Farm in Aldergrove. This year, using seeds from Spain, he’s hoping to grow two even bigger pumpkins – one in the front yard and one on the boulevard. “You have to have dreams,” he said.

And just in case the visitors had an urge to grow their own giant pumpkin, he offered envelopes of seeds from his last year’s prize-winner.  “Join the giant pumpkin cult,” he joked.

Anyone walking along Camosun at 33rd can look across the fence to enjoy the sight of  a spectacular European weeping beech. But those who saw the Dunbar in Bloom flags at the entrance to 4094 West 33rd and took the path to the back of the property got an insider’s view of what it’s like to live with such a big, 100-year-old-plus tree.

Helen Heacock, who with Jason Rivers bought the property in 1996, had old black-and-white photos of the tree when it was a youngster in 1927, another from 1932, and a later colour photo showing it virtually taking over the property. With its canopy pruned every two years to keep it at a reasonable height, it’s better behaved now, but it still takes up two-thirds of the garden, produces 70 bags of leaves a year, and has forced Heacock to give up any hopes of grass beneath it. Pointing to the tree itself, Heacock showed how it has self-grafted over the years, a kind of natural bracing, with one limb forming a bridge to another at one spot, and elsewhere creating a ring of wood.

Clearly treasuring the history of her garden, Heacock also singled out an apple tree and a rose that were planted by the original owners, then talked about how other plants have changed over the years. “It’s a very peaceful, very quiet place,” she said of her garden, especially because it’s just across Camosun from Pacific Spirit Park.

A few blocks south, at 5525 Crown, Bob Dunn’s perfectly maintained garden featured a stunning arrangement of cacti, succulents, carnivorous plants and ferns, with a lily pond – more goldfish! – providing a focal point. Dunn was away at a VanDusen Garden event, but Dunbar in Bloom’s Anna Knowlson sat in for him, answering visitors’ questions after bouncing them off Dunn by phone and keeping careful count of the number of people  filing in.

“Everybody really appreciates being able to come in and see people’s gardens and to ask questions,” Knowlson said, adding that the event also creates connections in the community, especially among gardeners. “There’s a networking thing going on.”

The gardens change year by year, with some dropping out and new ones added. Knowlson is always on the lookout for interesting new gardens to add to the list.

Time constraints meant I only got to about half of this year’s open gardens. But each one I visited was well worth it – whether for the sheer beauty of the garden, the knowledge of the gardener,  the chance to connect with other garden lovers – or just to discover the secrets behind some of the neighbourhood’s gates and hedges.

As Nicolas de Haas said: “There is nothing more neighbourly than to open your gates and to have people come through your private space.”