I Am A Canadian Garden

The more you study garden design the more you realize that there seems to be no style to the Canadian Garden. We have adopted garden styles from around the world. Water features from the Italian and Spanish Gardens. From Britain we have adopted the Cottage Garden, English Mixed Border and others. France has given us the Formal Garden and the natural look of man-made Water gardens. We have even borrowed various features from both Japanese and Chinese Gardens. Many features from these gardens can be seen if you go on any of your local garden tours. As adopters the Canadian gardener has even absorbed the style of the New American Garden, which seems to use large drifts of perennials and ornamental grasses.

Boy with a water jug in a man-made water garden.
Boy with a water jug in a man-made water garden.
Mixed border garden.
Mixed border garden.
Garden with Asian influences.
Garden with Asian influences.

Canadian gardeners should continue their adoptive ways and adopt the Inuksuk Quviasuktuq of the Inuit people. This is at least geographically a little more appropriate in a Canadian Garden. The Inuksuk Quviasuktuq (Inuksuk Expressing Joy) is used by The Inuit to mark excellent summer camps and beautiful views. They are often found standing near a multitude of Tundra flowers. This is a sight to behold. The Inuksuk Quviasuktuq is built in the shape of a person standing on a base stone. You can see it's legs and it's horizontal arms. A stone is used for its neck and another for its head.

  • Mirror and native plants.
    Mirror and native plants.
  • Inuksuk.
    Inuksuk.

This Inuksuk Quviasuktuq can be built to indicate a beautiful view in your garden or as a pointer to your beautiful garden. One thing your Inuksuk Quviasuktuq should be built with stones native to your area. This I would say is very important though it does not seem so to the native plant gardeners who feel if it is a native it must be indigenous to their area.

The Inuksuk Quviasuktuq should be a staple in the Canadian Garden.

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