Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/136981
V bi nation isitors to Elisabeth Zoffmann's garden are initially dazzled by the spectacular view of Burrard Inlet with the North Shore mountains looming beyond. Clouds scud above cargo ships riding at anchor in the blue water while seabirds ride the air currents above. But sooner rather than later, the astonishing array of plants closer at hand demands attention too. Although a sturdy railing separates her north-facing terrace from the sheer drop to rail tracks and wharves below, a long colourful border of shrubs and perennials flourishes on both sides of it, some clinging to the very edge. A tall windmill palm in one corner with a carved stone tiki underneath suggests the steamy tropics rather than cool Vancouver. Bold shapes and bright colours reinforce this sensation. Elisabeth is first and foremost a plant collector. "I have unrestricted plant greed," she admits. Her garden reflects her passion with its many rare plants and unusual forms of familiar ones. Some she bought as young plants, some she has nurtured from cuttings and many she has grown from seed. A purple-leafed silk tree, a kiwi vine with orange flowers and a double pink clematis stand out among the many unusual varieties she has cultivated. But it is her skill in creating clever combinations that gives the garden its unity. Themes of gold, purple and soft sage green repeat throughout the borders. Golden privet, golden succulents and gold-striped grasses gleam between darkleafed perennials and shrubs. Low-growing black mondo grass and Sedum 'Black Scallop' thread between lemon-yellow Sedum 'Ogon' and the brass-and-copper leaves of pelargonium 'Vancouver Centennial'. A yellow lily with a burgundy throat cosies up to both camps. The pink flowers of a dogwood echo those of wild rose Rosa glauca, whose sage-green leaves are rimmed with purple. Hydrangea 'Nikko Blue' beside the tiki gets an answering chorus from the smaller flowers of a California lilac at the opposite corner. Corydalis 'China Blue' explodes like fireworks among the green-gold leaves of Hosta 'June'. More sparks fly when clematis 'Niobe', sprawling quietly over a nearby clump of salal, suddenly opens its velvety-red trumpets. The stems of the salal are a more subtle tomato red, echoed by the exotic bracts of a passionfruit vine, and the soft leaves of Coleus 'Sedona' among the black and gold groundcovers. July/August 2013 BC HOME & garden | 35 p34-39_Zoffman garden.indd 35 13-06-07 12:24 PM