Spilling over with roses, peonies and poppies, 77-year-old Helen StewartB次元官网网址檚 one-acre garden has been used for innumerable charity events, weddings, art lessons, and even the odd ball.
When people see her stupendous Ten Mile Point property and refurbished dance-hall home, Stewart said they automatically assume she has led a wealthy and easy life.
B次元官网网址淭hey have no idea,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淣one.B次元官网网址�
Stewart grew up in Berkeley, Calif. and attended university before meeting her husband, a graduate student of anthropology with an interest in nomadic people, who decided they should move to a sheep farm in northern B.C. In 1965, the wilderness near Mount Robson where they settled was even more rugged and sparsely populated than it is today.
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B次元官网网址淎 handful of stores, mostly rather forlorn looking, had the feel of a movie set, a temporary backdrop for an old western,B次元官网网址� Stewart wrote in her 2004 book, Berkeley to the Barnyard: A Far Cry From Home. B次元官网网址淭he town was depressing to me rather than interesting, perhaps because I viewed the world as an artist, not an anthropologist.B次元官网网址�
| Helen Stewart and her five children. (Courtesy of Helen Stewart) |
Writing with incredible detail and humour, Stewart recounts the adventures and hardships of learning to run a 350-acre farm and raise five children.
B次元官网网址淕radually,B次元官网网址� she wrote, B次元官网网址渕y expectations began to change. Getting through one dayB次元官网网址檚 work at a time was enough, and many days I felt happy just for falling not too far behind.B次元官网网址� StewartB次元官网网址檚 husband was a professor at the University of Calgary, and Stewart was often left to tend to an endless list of chores by herself.
| A drawing from Helen Stewart's book, Berkeley to the Barnyard. (Courtesy of Helen Stewart) |
For 15 years she learned to raise lambs, chickens and pigs, grow and harvest a multitude of crops, homeschool her children, and ward off hungry coyotes and wandering bears. It was a life unlike anything she ever could have imagined growing up in California. It was also a life that honed her skills, enhanced her appreciation for nature, and made creating her decades-long garden project possible.
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When Stewart moved to Victoria 30 odd years ago, the property she now occupies was nothing but rock and ivy, but right away she knew it had potential.
B次元官网网址淎s soon as I saw it I knew I could have a beautiful garden,B次元官网网址� she said. It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until Stewart and her husband separated and her children had moved out that she truly took on the project.
B次元官网网址淭here wasnB次元官网网址檛 soil here so I had to build this all up,B次元官网网址� Stewart said. Her first task was to have 85 enormous truckloads of wood chips, leaves and mulch delivered. Even now, she still gets two truckloads a year for the continuous task of tending to her soil. ItB次元官网网址檚 something Stewart focuses on in her latest book, published last year, called Drawn into the Garden.
B次元官网网址淎 good gardener today must certainly be a keeper of the soil, sharing in the privileged work of the earthB次元官网网址檚 continuing creation,B次元官网网址� she wrote. Drawn into the Garden is a sort of an encyclopedia of StewartB次元官网网址檚 garden, with informative and beautiful descriptions of the plants and creatures that occupy it.
B次元官网网址淚 plant only the things I want to draw,B次元官网网址� Stewart explained. Her book is full of her stunning illustrations. It is also a call for people to get back in touch with nature.
B次元官网网址淚 feel so strongly that we need to take better care of the land,B次元官网网址� Stewart said. B次元官网网址淚 feel like weB次元官网网址檙e just committing suicide.B次元官网网址�
| A drawing from Helen Stewart's book, Drawn into the Garden. (Courtesy of Helen Stewart) |
B次元官网网址淢ost people just donB次元官网网址檛 have the awareness that they need to understand that weB次元官网网址檙e all connected to the land and the trees and we canB次元官网网址檛 survive without these connections.B次元官网网址�
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Environmental degradation is something that distresses Stewart greatly. B次元官网网址淢y way of dealing with that is either by gardening or drawing. When something negative happens in my life, I try to balance it with something positive.B次元官网网址�
StewartB次元官网网址檚 garden is the place where she can find calm and connection to the earth.
B次元官网网址淚 think some people are just born gardeners. My happiest times when I was young were in my grandfatherB次元官网网址檚 garden, and my happiest times now are when IB次元官网网址檓 in my own garden.B次元官网网址�
She said people come to her garden because it makes them feel better. Before the pandemic, Stewart would teach art lessons there and tell people all about the plants that make it up.
B次元官网网址淚 always encourage people to pay more attention to nature, because itB次元官网网址檚 so wonderful. I just feel weB次元官网网址檇 all be in a better place if we did that.B次元官网网址�
StewartB次元官网网址檚 books and artwork and a short documentary about Drawn into the Garden can be found at .
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