05/30/03: Vancouver Sun headline reads:

“The garden, which was called the Sanctuary, was one of the main displays at last year’s Van Dusen Flower & Garden Show. More than 31, 000 entered to win this $25,000 Give-Away Garden. It was won by the Leffler family. The day Cathie Leffler got the news that she had won the $25,000 Give-Away Garden was also her 44th birthday.
The initiative to build the garden started with Bill Hardy, manager of Mandeville. He gathered a team of professional garden-builders that included Don Fraser of Northwest Landscape and Stone Supply, and Bruce Hunter of Hunter Landscape. To design the garden, Hardy called on Reinier van de Poll. With more than 15 years experience in designing gardens, Reinier has seen his designs win numerous awards.
For the Sanctuary, his aim was to create a garden with strong geometry, softened by naturalistic planting. The main goal, however, is to create a totally tranquil place – a private space full of peace and calm. Bruce Hunter, of Hunter Landscape, installed the garden at the Leffler’s, while Don Fraser of NorthWest Landscape and Stone Supply provided all the hard-landscaping elements. ”

What Steve Whysall says:
“Wow, what a difference. The impact is instant the moment you step through the back gate. The yard has been transformed into four distinctive garden room areas.  What is immediately engaging about the garden is the more intimate scale and gentle level of changes, adding interest and diversity.”

What Don Fraser, of NorthWest Landscape and Stone Supply says:
“I’m thrilled with it. I think it is an award-winning garden, no doubt in my mind. There are so many textures and colours. It has a lovely feeling. The whole thing looks wonderful.”

• See: Preview photos of the prize garden!

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