Dreams of vistas - Aug. 18, 2021

In this article, historic photos Ian Curry and Niki Clark; current photos Kim Cartwright

Above is an old composite winter picture of the just purchased property which would become Nikian Gardens. Note the open vistas but no rockwork, no gardens. The field did house a racetrack once, after all topsoil had been removed and sold, and prior to Ian and Niki buying the old farm.

Sand and gravel and subsoil above became:

And the small white cottage that was on the property when purchased

Was transformed into a beautiful recycled-materials home

With great effort, incredible strength, ingenuity and very long hours, the native Nova Scotian Ian and his partner Niki, have taken twenty years to build their paradise. Recycled materials were amassed and Ian built them a lovely home. At the same time, he also undertook landscaping, turning bare fields into terraces with large stonework, and Niki created incredible vistas of color, texture and beauty with some old favourites but many from rare and unusual plant species . Many of the hundreds of perennials, shrubs and trees were planted from seed by Niki and now, after decades of nurturing, the plants are returning her love and care with huge bounty.

The overgrown spruce hedge above became:

And this:

Stay tuned for next week...