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The Bio

Born and raised in a small French Acadian village in the east coast of Canada, I moved to Ottawa, Ontario in my mid-20's to get an administrative career.  I met a fabulous guy whose Step-Mother was an avid gardener.  She had created a wonderful garden retreat in her back yard and when she found me constantly drawn to sit there instead of indoors, At Property Entrance she gladly shared her plants, prompting me to create my own garden space on our small city lot.  That was the start of my gardening passion.

Being so inexperienced and so anxious to create my own garden space as lush and colourful as hers,  I attempted to grow sun-loving annuals amongst packed tree roots in full shade, threw seeds down all willy-nilly without giving a single thought to how they would grow!  What on  earth was I thinking?  Turning to gardening magazines and seed catalogs and then the internet with its immense knowledge base, I quickly learned that gardening was something that I cherished and soon created wonderful rainbows in my gardens! Starting seeds indoors provided me with hundreds of choices and allowed me to make the most of my very short Canadian growing season.

Of the many plants my Mother-In-Law shared with me, the oddest looking ones were 3 small rhizomes of a historic Bearded Iris variety that I have never been able to identify.   The sweet scented blooms were absolutely fabulous and it being so prolific, I lifted the clump and divided it up into 48 rhizomes just 2 years later and planted them throughout the property.   The early summer garden was filled with this wonderful scent and I fell in love with the Bearded Iris from that moment on!  Little did I know that this little historic beauty was not alone in the Bearded Iris world!

That small city lot is where La Vie En Rose Gardens set roots.  To increase my hobby budget, I harvested seed and held plant sales throughout the growing season.  In 1998, I discovered that eBay was a wonderful way of sharing my seeds and Home & Garden products while at the same time increasing my spending budget for my hobby and so the international sales of my efforts began. 

Annual Friends of the Farm Plant SaleIn 2001, we purchased a wonderful home on a 3-acre country property.  The back-breaking work of digging up all plants, transporting and replanting was hard work but so was the task of producing brand new beds and growing spaces. Faced with a blank canvas for my passion, I created odd-shaped flower beds, rustic country areas filled with annuals, perennials and rose bushes.  In memory of my Mum, I created an entire area filled with every shade of pink,  her favourite colour. 

Then my obsession for the Bearded Iris took hold and went completely wild as I discovered that the  lilac-colored historic that was given to me years before was a mere drop in the bucket of the thousands of cultivars available.  My collection quickly grew to over 300 cultivars and Bearded Iris became the focal point of my efforts.  I have not yet attempted hybridizing, a process that I find absolutely amazing, but I intend on 'dabbing' at it.
My small city lot with only a portion of my collection The year 2006 brought great dissappointments of many levels.  We sold our property, went our seperate ways and I moved back to the city where my collection is now divided between my own small city lot and host gardens. 

I have crammed as many Bearded Iris as I can in my small gardening space.  As age is quickly making its presence known in my back, I guess I should be thankful that lack of space is keeping my passion in check and preventing me from acquiring even more! 

I continue to source different seed varieties as well as unique items for home and garden.  I truly hope that you will visit my "Rows" often and that you will find just what you are looking for.    

 

Floriferously yours!

Owner / Grower