Gardens of contention

IF MAGGIE Thatcher were a gardener, what would we
find growing there? An ironwood (olea Jaurifolia) perhaps?
Probably not. The surrounding climate would likely be a
little too frosty. | think we would be more apt to discover
a few firethorns (pyracantha sp.) aimed at the garden of
the local representative of labor.

I do believe gardens can offer a
reflection of our personalities.
This being the case, I thought it
might be interesting to try to envi-
sion the gardens of some of our
provincial politicians.

I suppose courtesy demands
that we start with our current
Premier, Rita Johnston. What
might we find there? I’m sure that
several months ago it would have
been fantastic in appearance.

Now that the world tends to
frown on gardens of fantasy, Rita
J. seems to have abandoned her
old friend in favor of one we
might consider to be more amor-
phous, even shapeless in nature.
Being the front-runner and having
as large a presence as she does,
who could blame her if she
adopted the safety of anonymity
in her garden?

What article that combined
gardening and politics would be
complete without Bill Vander
Zaim? He too seems to have
dropped the fantasy garden
theme, but unlike Rita J’s creation
(or lack thereof), I see an Asian
garden. One with a decidedly
Taiwanese influence.

Then there is the grand old
dame of the party. ] see the beds
of Grace McCarihy being well
populated with roses. Their beauty
would surely match her wisdom of
the capacity of ihe free enterprise
system and offer a nice supply of
pointed barbs with which to de-
fend it.

She has learned well the artful
practice of attending to floral
detail and the creation of strong
focal points. With these, she
might draw the eye away from the
fortress-like appearance of her

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OVER THE GARDEN GATE

garden and generate a feeling of
safety and security.

Sitting squarely in the centre of
the most prominent patio in the
garden, I see the Socred flag.
‘From here she can rally the troops
against the forces of chaos and
anarchy she sees waiting at the
gate.

Mel Couvelier is a pragmatist
and as such his garden would
probably reflect the practical point
of view. Paths that go straight
from here to there, purposeful
plantings designed to efficiently
cut the cost of maintenance and
shrubs selected by dollar value
rather than those of an esthetic
nature.

Or the vision of Mr. Couvelier
may not agree with the current
trend towards restricting the use
of poisons in the garden. He may
believe a little poison is just the

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thing needed to get rid of a trou-
blesome weed (or troublesome in-
cumbent). Above all else is the
need to achieve the desired result:
put Mr. Couvelier at the gate to
the garden (or the door to the
premier’s office).

And then we have our long
shot. Norm Jacobsen likes to see
himself as a come-from-behind
contender, and as such we might
expect to find his garden popu-
lated by the weeds he probably
sees himself sitting in.

Perhaps this is the very reason
we should pay closer attention to
the make-believe fiefdom of this
pretender to the throne. Is it well
managed chaos or more of the
standard chaos to which we have
become used?

What of his selection of plant
materials? Are they well behaved
specimens or shall we yet again be
witness to examples of unchecked
indulgence of vegetative greed?
Will they be able to withstand the
inevitable pest problems such as
media mites and plagues of
reporters?

Lest you think me preoccupied
with the Socreds, perhaps I should
offer my guess as to what I would
expect to see in the garden of
Mike Harcourt. 1 am sure there
are lots of fences on which to sit
and from which he can get a good

r.

view of the faults to be found in
the garden next door.

Nothing too pretentious here,
just your salt of the earth type
garden. Funny, | remember writ-
ing something on salt laden soils
and their adverse effects on
potentials for growth. Well, never
mind, I'm sure he can find the
funds needed to clean it up

somewhere in the budget.

To sum up, | am quite sure that
all of our provincial hopefuls have
colorful gardens, full of the best
intentions and many surprises.
Would it appear cynical of me to
suggest that after seeing as many
gardens as [ have, I have begun to
have difficulties in distinguishing
between them?

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