Helen Stewart Garden In Victoria

Artist and author Helen Stewart has created a delightful and magical garden at her home in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

I have visited Victoria, British Columbia, Canada a number of times. On a recent visit, my sister, who lives in the city, and I used the book 111 Places in Victoria That You Must Not Miss by Dave Doroghy and Graeme Menzies to explore places in the city we hadn’t yet experienced (and to revisit a few we had).

One of the featured places particularly intrigued me. Helen Stewart’s Garden is the private garden of artist and writer Helen Stewart, who lives in a heritage home in the Ten Mile Point area of the city. Viewing the garden was listed as “by appointment.”

Victoria is sometimes called the “City of Gardens.” There are several stunning public gardens. City areas are beautifully landscaped. Many residents are passionate about their own gardens. Although I was curious to find out what made Helen Stewart’s garden special in this city of gardens, I was also a bit hesitant to call a stranger and ask to see her garden. On the other hand, I figured if she hadn’t wanted to be called, she wouldn’t have agreed to be in the book. I decided to contact her. As serendipity would have it, before I did that, I discovered that a friend, who also lives in Ten Mile Point, was a friend of Helen Stewart. My friend reached out to Stewart, who was very happy to show us her garden, and joined my sister and me on our visit.

Stewart is a printmaker who writes and illustrates books. Her art is exhibited in numerous galleries and private collections. She grew up in Berkeley, California. In 1965, she married and moved to a northern British Columbia sheep farm. The farm later became the subject of her book Berkeley to the Barnyard, a beautifully written illustrated storybook for adults. In 1980, now with a family of five children, she moved to her current home in Victoria.

What was nothing but rock and ivy when she moved in is now a peaceful paradise of picturesque plantings, unique garden areas, and pathways running through them. My visit was mid-April. My photos, therefore, feature spring blooms.

The rich variety of plantings in the garden mean that as the garden changes with the seasons, there is always something of beauty to see. I saw many rose bushes that would be colourful and aromatic later in the summer. As we walked, Stewart pointed out a few flowers saying she is fond of unusual flowers. Her garden also contains plants she likes to draw.

She began building her garden with pockets of soil between rock and ivy. As she learned more about gardening over the years, she also learned about soil. Each year, she brings in more soil. In the introduction to her latest book My Garden: Beauty Above, Wonders Below, she writes “This book also includes many earlier thoughts and writings, but my interest is now centered on the magic and miracle of soil. I have learned, after many long gardening years, that soil is where life begins (and ends) and most certainly where every gardener should begin.”

Pathways through the garden connect its different areas, each with its own distinctive character. Overall, it feels like many gardens in one.

Stewart worked with gardener Chris Ball on some parts of the garden. She created the garden in layers over the years. She told me that thirty years ago, there were days she’d spent ten hours in the garden. Today, on a good day, two hours is the most she can manage. Fortunately, there are people helping her care for the garden.

The property’s Arts-and-Crafts style house, dating to around 1910, has stories of its own. Stewart told me one about it having been originally built for a German man who intended for it to be a ballroom where his daughter could hold parties. The story is that the German man set off in his rowboat one day and disappeared, never to be seen again. That story is recounted in a book by Valerie Green, If More Walls Could Talk: Vancouver Island’s Houses From The Past in a chapter entitled “Helen’s House: Full of Enchanting Myths and Magic.” That story is not repeated in the Saanich Heritage Register 2008, although the house is described (on page 34) a being “built around a ballroom.” That register says records suggest the first owners were Helena Dorothy Maud (née Bulwer) and Thomas “Leslie” Longhurst. It had several other owners over the years and was at one time during World War II a temporary hospital. The chapter in If More Walls Could Talk recounts rumours that the house was once a gambling den with liquor brought in from the notorious nearby Smuggler’s Cove, but notes those rumours have been refuted.

The ballroom remains a large “great room” in the house. It is easy to imagine Stewart’s five children running around and playing in it when they first moved there. Today, it serves largely as Stewart’s studio with room to display her books and her art, and to keep her printmaking machine. It is sometimes used for community events and gatherings.

Stewart’s art is delicate and detailed, featuring plant life, birds, and butterflies. Her books include illustrated children’s storybooks. Others feature her prints accompanied with short stories that combine prose, poetry, and facts about the wonders of nature. She also makes greeting cards. Find out more at her web site.

A sign on the trees in front of Stewart’s house reads “Mossy Rocks.” A series of Beardie dogs have been Stewart’s faithful companions over the years. Each one was named Mossy. Sadly, when I visited, she was still mourning the loss a couple of months earlier of her latest Mossy. She was unsure as to whether she would or would not get another dog.

Stewart’s garden continues to be an inspiration for her art and an inspiration to visitors. It has been included in many garden tours and featured in a number of articles. See the Press section of her website. She still occasionally opens it up to the public on specific days and times, sometimes around Mother’s Day or Father’s Day, when it can be viewed without appointment. My sister returned for such a visit when the garden was opened up for Mother’s Day weekend. On that weekend, some of Stewart’s paintings were displayed in the garden amongst the plants that had inspired them.

Helen Stewart’s Garden is a peaceful oasis full of beauty where you wander from one delightful garden spot to another. Not only does the garden provide inspiration for her art, it is a piece of art itself. The story of its creation, the heritage of the property, and Helen Stewart’s own story and personality add to its charm. It is a special place.

You can keep up to date with Helen Stewart’s garden and art via her Instagram page.

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