Photography by Christin Geall except where noted.
The garden of Graham Smyth in Victoria, British Columbia faces southwest and drains fast, sloping at 20 degrees over half an acre.
Dense plantings of southern hemisphere foliage plants define Smyth’s aesthetic. With a Pacific climate that pours rain in winter and yet endures summer drought, Smyth’s choice to use hardy semitropical plants and succulents is site specific.
Layers of foliage envelop the front door landing, with the contrasting textures of a blue Agave americana and creeping rosemary. Smyth’s success can be attributed to his willingness to take risks: not solely with design, but also with plants.
Photograph by Graham Smyth.
The front path edged with lavender and Crambe cordifolia just coming into bloom.
Photograph by Graham Smyth.
“Try a plant in the ground and hold another in a pot, just in case.” Through that method of trialling new varieties, Smyth claims he’s growing plants “up to zone 9.”
Photograph by Graham Smyth.
A collection of textural grasses lines the front path.
Photograph by Graham Smyth.
Situated at the highest point of the garden is the summer house, designed to complement the Arts & Crafts style of the main house.
The entrance pathway is lined with Petasites ‘Golden Palms’, from which the Australian plant Baloskion tetraphyllum rises.
Smyth’s greenhouse serves as a propagation house and a dry storage area for succulents.
Smyth has gained inspiration from the The National Botanic Gardens in Dublin; Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens in Dorset, England; Cistus Nursery in Oregon, and Dan Hinkley, the horticulturalist behind Heronswood in Washington state.
An old enamel-topped table in the greenhouse offers a practical and pretty setting for a collection of succulents.
Steve Ansell (at left) helps Smyth in the garden one day a week. A true plantsman, Smyth estimates he’s growing hundreds of different species on his property.