This is the story of a perennial garden in south-western British Columbia, Canada.

We bought our house 6 years ago and since then have bought, collected and scavanged plants at every opportunity.

We collected  grape hyacyinth bulbs, hens and chickens, japanese bushes, and peonies from a house on our block that was scheduled for demolition.

We  nurtured the few neglected plants that were here, pruning the apple trees, dividing and moving the yucca plants, digging up bulbs and moving them to a better location..

We dug up small pine trees that were growing wild by the side of the train tracks next to our house.

We have carefully collected seeds from columbine, sweet william, poppies, forget-me-nots and the money plant and sown them around the yard.

We have collected foxgloves, lupins, wild asters and other wild flowers from the sides of roads, by the side of the train tracks, and in various meadows and small portions of forest that still remain in this city.

We made a commitment to buy at least one perennial, vine or shrub each weekend last summer.

Come experience with me the delight of seeing a plant push its way out of the ground, grow and blossom year after year after year.