Creating a front garden When Karin and Stan Smith first moved into their 75-year-old Point Grey home back in 2002, what they got was a house with character in need of renovation and a tired garden sloping from the sidewalk down to the front steps. Still, the Smiths were grateful to find any property in Vancouver's fashionable Westside - even with Karin's connections as a realtor - and once the home renovations had been completed, they focused their attention on creating a front garden to complement their revitalized residence.Karin knew from the outset what she wanted, as she herself wished "more homeowners would forget the front lawn and do something far more architecturally interesting with their gardens." Taking her own advice, she planned for an intimate courtyard, year-round interest and, above all, a selection of plants emphasizing architectural form over flowers. However, one of the first challenges she faced was dealing with the extreme slope and resulting below-grade bleak view of the tires of passing vehicles and the legs of passersby. As well, sunlight is filtered through the dense canopy of the mature elms that line the street, creating various degrees of shade.Acting as her own general contractor, Karin first hired local landscape architect Donna Chomi-chuk - herself an avid gardener - to provide the structure and technical expertise necessary to deal with the hardscaping and grade changes. Donna's initial design proposal addressed the issue of the slope while being mindful of Karin's budget. It featured a central concrete wall faced in basalt stone, with the balance of the structure composed of less expensive concrete block, which would eventually be covered in plants. After some fine tuning, Karin brought in the subcontractors to begin building her garden. The hardscaping proper comprises a garden wall, a pathway of tumbled Roman pavers, a gravel courtyard, and various architectural pieces, including a sundial and the plinth that supports it. Once the bones of the garden were in place, Karin selected plants to complement the hardscaping in consultation with Donna and Kirstin Orr of Artemisia Garden Design. The resulting garden, although small, is incredibly diverse, mostly attributable to Karin's exposure to European gardens; she noticed that "with smaller homes and lots, people make the most of what they have."Image: This sundial and the plinth it sits on are just two of several architectural pieces in the garden. Plant ideas Given the Smiths' demanding work schedules (Stan is a business consultant in the travel and leisure industry), it's no coincidence that their garden was designed for low maintenance. Karin occasionally finds the time to rearrange plantings or do some light pruning - including cutting back the roses and hydrangeas in spring - while Stan, who is happy to help out when asked, really prefers to just sit back and enjoy the view. A twice-yearly major cleanup is done with the assistance of hired help, which is more than sufficient, says Karin, despite the opinions of many novice gardeners who have the misconception that "gardens with many plants are very time-consuming." But that doesn't mean their landscape remains unchanged. Says Karin: "Living in Vancouver is a constant inspiration." And judging by the frequent glances of neighbours and passersby, it appears the Smiths' intricate courtyard provides some inspiration of its own.Garden factsSize -14 x 19 m (front garden)Orientation southConditions dappled to full shadeGrowing season year-roundGarden focus structured hardscaping, white blooms, architectural plant forms Zone 8While the garden wall is Karin's favourite garden feature for its seasonal beauty ("I love to look out at it from the house. In winter, I can see the stone and inserts from my old planter, and in summer, it's a mass of clematis"), it also accomplishes three purposes: it accommodates a major grade change, provides some degree of privacy and creates an inner courtyard. Running approximately two-thirds of the property's width, the central portion is built slightly higher and is ornately faced with basalt stone and shards from a broken decorative pot.The wall is adorned with a number of vines, including the spring-blooming white-flowered chocolate vine and Himalayan clematis, complemented by a pair of Japanese hydrangea vines (Schizophragma hydrangeoides) on the east side.Edged in pavers, the inner courtyard area is inset with large pieces of bluestone slate; the remaining surface is filled with "root beer" pebble. Strategically placed specimen trees include the 'Koto-no-ito' Japanese maple (Acer palmatum 'Koto-no-ito', shown left, among white Siberian irises), an 'Eddie's White Wonder' dogwood just inside the garden wall, a Japanese stewartia on the eastern flank and three fragrant snowbells that anchor the west side of the courtyard. A selection of yews - upright ('Hicksii' and 'Hillii') and spreading ('Repandens') - are used to screen portions of the garden or provide an evergreen backdrop, as do several broadleaf evergreen shrubs, including 'Lolita' Portuguese laurel and waxleaf privet (Ligustrum japonicum 'Texanum'). Image: Karin took her own advice, wishing that more homeowners would "forget about the front lawn and do something far more architecturally interesting with their gardens" Karin's burgundy and silver plants Filling out the mid-height portions of the beds are 'Aztec Pearl' Mexican orange blossom, lily-of-the-valley bush (Pieris japonica) and Viburnum x burkwoodii. Used extensively throughout the garden - due in large measure to the sweet scent it emits in mid-winter - is the evergreen shrub sweet box (Sarcococca hookeriana var. humilis, shown opposite, to the right of the plinth).Combo actSilver-leafed plants are a common foil in white gardens and are prized as much for their unique textures as they are for the foliar contrast they provide. In Karin Smith's Point Grey landscape, these silver specimens are liberally dispersed throughout the garden among perennials featuring burgundy blooms or foliage. This eye-catching trio of white blooms, silver leaves and burgundy highlights breaks with the traditional pairing of white flowers with green or silver foliage. Here are just a few of the numerous burgundy and silver plants Karin is experimenting with in her garden:'Black Barlow' granny's bonnet (Aquilegia vulgaris var. stellata 'Black Barlow' Barlow Series) Blooms May to June. Zone 2'Powis Castle' wormwood (Artemisia 'Powis Castle' syn. A. arborescens 'Brass Band') Vigorous, finely cut silver foliage makes this sub-shrub a universal blending plant. Zone 6'Chocolate' boneset (Eupatorium rugosum 'Chocolate') Blooms August to September. Zone 5'Obsidian' coral flower (Heuchera 'Obsidian') Blooms June to July. Zone 4 x Heucherella 'Burnished Bronze' Blooms May to July. Zone 4Carte blancheKarin Smith didn't set out to create a white garden. While she admits her garden tastes were influenced by her time spent in England, she didn't actually have the opportunity to visit the famous white garden at Sissinghurst. What she did glean from English gardeners, however, was the importance of well-structured hardscaping, plant texture and the fact that white flowers could be incorporated with minimal distraction - essentially, a refined form of landscaping that Karin refers to as "exterior design." With that in mind, here is just a sampling of the white-blooming plants featured in Karin's garden.Trees'Eddie's White Wonder' dogwood (Cornus 'Eddie's White Wonder') Blooms in May. Zone 5Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) Blooms midsummer. Zone 5Fragrant snowbell (Styrax obassia) Blooms early summer. Zone 5Shrubs'Aztec Pearl' Mexican orange blossom (Choisya 'Aztec Pearl') Blooms in spring and late summer. Zone 8'Lolita' Portuguese laurel (Prunus lusitanica 'Lolita') Blooms in early summer. Zone 7'Blanc Double de Coubert' rugosa rose (Rosa rugosa 'Blanc Double de Coubert') Blooms from spring through to fall. Zone 3PerennialsWood anemone (Anemone nemorosa) Blooms March to April. Zone 4'Shaggy' masterwort (Astrantia major ssp. involucrata 'Shaggy' syn. 'Margery Fish') Blooms June to August. Zone 4White bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis 'Alba') Blooms May to June. Zone 3White Siberian iris (Iris sibirica 'Alba') Blooms May to June. Zone 3Great white fleeceflower (Persicaria polymorpha) Blooms July to September. Zone 3'David' garden phlox (Phlox paniculata 'David') Blooms July to September. Zone 3Image: A shallow bed runs the length of the wall streetside, ending where the offset walk begins its gentle, curved descent toward the house. The hedges to the right of the 'Koto-no-ito' Japanese maple are 'Lolita' Portuguese laurel.