The Nanoose Garden Club and invited us (and our cameras) to two open gardens on July 25, each garden will be open for 2 hours at two different times. 

Jeff Healey’s Garden (10:00AM – 12:00 PM) 

1780 Morello Rd, Nanoose 

Travel north on Hwy 19, take the first road on the left after the lights at Northwest Bay Rd, follow Morello Rd until you reach 1780. There is a 200 ft driveway, with limited parking at the top, drive to the top of the driveway, turn around and park on the side of the driveway facing down.

This is a 5 acre property with a ver small part as the garden surrounded by natural habitat. The garden, started in 1990 consist of a wide range of plants started from seed and cuttings from friends. The owner has started a collecting brugmansia or angel trumpets in 2012 hand has a variety to add drama to the garden. There is also a large variety of ornamentals and vegetables. 

Robyn Arnold’s Garden (11:00AM – 1:00PM) 

3443 Redden Rd, Nanoose 

Take Hwy 19 to Northwest Bay Rd (PetroCan), head east along NW Bay Rd to Powder Point Rd (just across the rail tracks) and turn right. Follow Powder Point Rd, which becomes Fairwinds Dr through the golf course past the club house. This road then becomes Dolphin Dr, follow Dolphin Dr east until you see Westerly condo buildings / Schooner Cove Marina. As you approach the intersection heading into the condos (Outrigger) Redden Rd up the hill opposite Outrigger. Turn left on Redden and drive up the flat area at the top of the hill. On the right is a large rock face with a Vectis Construction sign. The drive way to 3443 is just beyond the current new construction site, it is a grey house below the road with a concrete driveway. Please park alongside the empty lot above the front garden. Walk north along the top of the front garden to a concrete parking pad, there is a railing alongside pathway for safe access down to the house, head down to the lower garden, the gate will be open. You can also use the gravel path beside the railing. 

The garden was started in 2013, and there is an extensive collection of trees and ferns. Many of trees and plants are rare and uncommon. Group plantings of summer and winter heathers give year-round colour. Various grasses provide privacy to the front courtyard. In the lower courtyard there is a funky umbrella pine with gulf stream nandinas that durn pink in the winter and bamboos. The water feature in the front year has a Giant King Tut Papyrus and Foxtail ferns surrounding it. The road down to the lower gardens has several species of trees. With climate change the owners has started planting common to their South African heritage, such are Red Hot Pokers (Kniphofia).Under the shade of Garry Oaks on east side of lower garden, ferns/Aucuba/flowering currant/Cryptomeria and Arbutus Unedo doing well. An extensive garden filled with interesting and unusual plantings.