cobble hill mountain
This garden is all about the views you are greeted with after you wind your way up, up, up the narrow road to the top and stop right at the edge of a steep slope. Breathtaking. Exhilarating. This house is built on a rocky outcrop with spectacular panoramic views of Salt Spring Island and the Gulf Islands on one side; on clear days, Mt. Baker floats on the horizon. On the other side, there are stunning views up the Cowichan Valley.
Potential planting areas around the house were extremely limited by the steep landscape - rocky slopes and rubble infill sloped sharply down and away from the house itself and there was virtually no native soil, only rock and a few trees that had wriggled their roots down into cracks. We brought in over 300 cu. yds. of custom soil blend to create planting areas.
Our next biggest challenge was deer, and the potential for elk. The idea of fencing seemed intrusive to the clients so the gamble was taken to go without. The planting areas around the house were designed with deer resistant/tolerant plant material, with a few special items protected by prickly and/or evergreen shrubs. A rooftop garden was built over the garage so that there was a safe haven for roses, hydrangeas and other specials that would have been gobbled up in a second.
Post-script: The garden was not fenced for the first 5 years, but by the 3rd year the elk had discovered the garden. After several late-night incursions (they really like sleeping on the lawn) and subsequent experiments with air cannons, the clients have decided to fence the area around the house.
