It might be a bit of an understatement to say that Angelika Hedley has a passion for gardening.
Over the years, Hedley, who is vice-president of the South Delta Evergreen Garden Club, and her husband have turned the yard of their Ladner home into a wonderland of flowers and foliage bursting with all the colours of the rainbow.
The yard was mostly full of trees and hedges when the couple moved in 23 years ago, Hedley said, but since then much of that has been cleared to make way for the ever-expanding and changing garden.
"It's just gradually evolved," she said.
Hedley, who retired from teaching three years ago, got into gardening in the 1970s when the couple lived in Victoria. She said they were given the OK from their landlord to start a small garden.
"It's just been a never-ending love."
The former special education teacher at Burnsview Secondary in North Delta said she loved the downtime and decompression that gardening brought throughout her working years - and retirement has just given her more time to work on her masterpiece.
Hedley's garden is home to a variety of flowers, including more than 50 different kinds of roses, and seems to be an ever-changing work of art as she walks from plant to plant describing in detail its attributes, why she chose it, where it came from and how to take care of it.
"Since retiring, I spend a lot of time in my garden," she said with a twinkle in her eye.
Last year, she decided to create a rainbow in her backyard.
The plants in the expansive garden, which spans the entire yard, embody the colours of the rainbow - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet - in the correct order.
In the front yard, Hedley has been experimenting with growing winter vegetables, such as chard and rapini, alongside her roses and dahlias.
The self-described "idiot gardener who didn't know what to do and made every mistake" wants to share the knowledge she has accumulated over the years with beginner gardeners in the community.
Hedley and the garden club are hosting a series of gardening for beginners classes starting next week at the Ladner Pioneer Library. The classes, which are designed to be taken consecutively, will cover topics like: garden design, finding your orientation, foundation and light spots; plants, what works where; and how to put it all together relatively cheaply.
The classes, which are free, are being offered on a first come, first served basis on three Thursdays - Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and 10 - starting at 7 p.m. "It's stuff that you don't really learn in books but you wish you'd known from the start," Hedley said.
She said she will also focus on starting small and taking your time.
"Don't think you're going to do a huge garden and make it awesome in one year."
Pre-registration for the classes is not required. E-mail 2evergreengardener@gmail.com for more information.
