Multi-million dollar homes have been in the news for a long time. Foreign buyers come in, flush with cash and locals are priced out of the market. Or so one story goes. I am not an expert on real estate. Nor am I in a position to buy one of these Vancouver homes. But, I am qualified to work on them.
When my buddy recently asked me to help him upgrade his Vancouver home, I jumped at the chance. Not only was the compensation generous by BC landscape wage standards, it was also consistent with my personal mission. The mission being to constantly seek out new experiences, both in my personal life and work life.
The goal
The goal was to upgrade the landscaping very quickly so the house could be put on the market. All new flowers had to look good for the next three months or so.
The home is built on a man-made hill
The view! Note Cedrus deodara tree on the left, the topic of an earlier blog; it sports huge upright cones visible from the house
Basic tasks
- weed the front garden
- prune rhododendrons
- remove patio crack weeds
- prune plants off upper stairwell
- expose house numbers obscured by Cotoneaster
- push back ivy from main entrance area
- remove dead shrubs
- prune Forsythia spikes
- install new soil
- install new plants
- line trim wild looking lawn
- cut out cherry suckers
- clean up blow
Hebe ‘Hinerua’
Achillea millefolium ‘Strawberry seduction’
Hebe and Yarrow covering what was a bare slope
The main entrance beds were planted with three new roses, Dianthus ‘Kahori’, Hemerocallis ‘Scottish fantasy’, petunias and cacti. I helped with the install; not the design and plant selection. The only tricky part was planting the Yarrow because the tall stems can break off.
Fluffy organic garden blend soil Overkill at $50/yard since the home is about to be sold
After two work sessions the house looked much better. I can’t wait to see how quickly the house sells and for how much. What’s the chance the new owners will require maintenance help? It would be fun to work here again.
