American Northwest Vintage Homes - Paradise Found... In Your Own Backyard

Eight years ago, Steve and Lorna Bannister were convinced they could not afford to buy a home. That was until they peeked into the backyard of a 1901 Victorian in the Letter Streets Neighborhood of Bellingham, Washington. There, a hundred-year-old dogwood in full glorious bloom changed their minds. Since then, the Bannisters have been busy planting a little slice of paradise right in their own backyard.

"People are amazed by how much garden we have crammed into such a tiny yard." says Lorna.

Like most people, Lorna, Steve and their two teenage daughters are busy, busy, busy, so making time for home and family is a necessary priority. Lorna skips working on the front gardens altogether during the weekends, in order to enjoy more quality time with her family out back. "Really, the back garden is ours... although we like to share it with people once in awhile," Lorna explains. "The front garden is definitely more public. You can feel the difference. The back garden just feels private."

The Bannister's have fostered this sense of privacy in the back garden a step at a time over the years. Steve replaced the original three-foot high entry gate with a taller gate and arbor, which serves as a threshold between the outside world and their get-away-garden. Meanwhile Lorna put her green thumb to work planting perennials. Mostly, she learned what to plant through trial and error, and admits that she often made mistakes. After three years of gardening this way, she decided to take Master Gardening Classes through Washington State University, which has lead to a career as a landscaper, garden designer and consultant.

In addition to the vintage Dogwood tree, the back garden also came with a century-old Azalea, a red Japanese Maple, and a pond and waterfall the Bannisters plan to enhance for their extended family of goldfish.

And let's not forget Steve's woodworking contributions. "I'm the hired help around here," he says with a smirk. Steve has crafted gates, benches, hutches, and dressers that contribute to the overall architecture of the garden. Some especially nice touches are the garden door handles on the back gate crafted out of spades, the side-garden mirror and a chandelier that Lorna covered in moss and Steve hung over the porch.

While the Bannister's complimentary creativity is a boon to their garden, Lorna's playful use of planters in unusual containers sets their style above and beyond the ordinary. Whether combing through a garage sale, antique shop, junk store or even other people's throw-aways, she is always asking herself one question, "Could I plant in this?" This explains how a vintage camera bag, a pair of old hiking boots, even an antique Tonka Truck have become home for the unusual variety of perennials she plants in them.

Although Lorna sees gardening as a positive addiction, sometimes she feels a bit guilty when foraging for containers. "The seller may think of it in different way, but I know I'm going to drill a hole in the bottom and plant in it."

To the untrained eye, it may look as though the Bannister's garden has run out of room, even for more containers, but Lorna just laughs and says, "The gardens are never finished. There's still some grass in the front yard. We're slowly getting rid of it."

As for the future, you probably won't find the Bannisters jet-setting off to a tropical paradise any time soon. Steve might like that, they both admit, but Lorna's feet are planted firmly where they are most comfortable... right in her own backyard.

Eight Tips from a Master Gardener with a Sense of Humor:

• Don't think flowers are everything. That's a mistake inexperienced gardeners often make. Add more foliage and think of flowers as an extra bonus.

• For containers, use high quality potting soil that already contains fertilizer like Miracle Grow. For the rest of the garden, compost and a high quality fertilizer are crucial. Lorna composts "religiously" and uses Sea Spray, a kelp fertilizer from Vancouver, since 1997.

• Plant things you like, breaking rules if necessary. After a few years you start to realize what colors and textures look best together.

• Keep gardens low-maintenance by placing plants so close together that there's no room for weeds (or at least weeds are less noticeable).

• When beginning a new garden, think small to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Create little vignettes one area at a time.

• Take advantage of summer garage sales and flea markets to find inexpensive containers if, like Lorna, you believe the old adage that one person's trash is a creative gardener's treasure.

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