My friend Uli Havermann has the most inspiring garden. [Note: you might remember Uli from the community greenhouse and this incredible succulent pot.] She manages to bring a passion for foliage and a love for vintage metal and terra cotta together in a way that is visually mind-blowing.

I first met Uli when I visited the garden that she shares with her partner Paul Zammit on a Toronto Open Gardens day way back in 2010. I did not do any research on the gardens that I would be visiting on that day, and had no idea what to expect. But the moment we drove up to Uli and Paul’s, I knew I was in for something special.

I took the shot of their driveway at the top of the page in 2010 when it was all gussied up for the garden tour. Here it is this week. Uli would like me to tell you that some of the plants are still in plastic pots as she had only just brought them home from the store. Look at all of the succulents!

Lots of tomatoes in pots. This is their front porch.

The view from their front porch. I love that they do not have a typical suburban front porch. Their’s is filled with plant material.

It was only on this last visit that I realized that all of those hostas are in pots!! Don’t you love the rusty, white, metal fence? It’s an oak leaf and acorn motif, which happens to be Uli’s signature imagery.

The first thing you notice is the sheer volume of plant material. I am sometimes overwhelmed by the volume of plants and pots that I manage to cram into my own small garden, but then I visit their place and realize that I’m an amateur by comparison. They do volume well. As a plant enthusiast with a small space to work with, I’ve never been able to follow the rule of multiples (planting 3 or more of the same plant together rather than dotting the bed with an assortment of singles). There are simply too many amazing plants in the world and my garden is far, far smaller than my eyes. The trick in breaking this rule is to plant in such a way that you are not left with a garbled mess of plants that are all competing with each other on the same level. Mine often suffers from this affliction, which is why in the short time I have been gardening here I have moved some perennials 3 or more times. Uli and Paul’s garden spaces are full and somewhat hyperactive, yet also surprisingly calm and pleasing. I attribute their success, in part, to a finely tuned ability to see, understand, and pair textures.

A wonderful example of playfully mixing textures.

When I think about their garden, this is what I see most: TEXTURE. This brings me back to Uli’s collections. Over the years she has scoured flea markets, yard sales, and thrift stores to amass an impressive collection of cast iron and metal urns, pots, fences, and other garden accoutrements that they have together incorporated into the design of the front and back yards. Uli doesn’t just go for clean, perfect pieces. Like me, she sees value in the textures and patinas of broken and rusty old things — the sorts of things that most people would pass over as garbage. And then she brings them home, and together, she and Paul elevates these hardscrabble old treasures into something jaw dropping, playfully weaving their textures with colourful and equally textured foliage.

None of this is as easy as you’d think. Most “full” gardens, especially those that are full of “stuff” (another of my afflictions), tend to start looking like an outdoor junk shop. Not their garden. Somehow, it all comes together to create something that is graceful, yet fun; high brow and low brow all at once. And evidence that here live two people who really, really, really love plants.

This corner of incredibly decorative and weather-beaten old urns is one of my favourite parts of the garden. Give me a minute and I’ll decide another part is my favourite. It’s all my favourite.

Apologies for the quality of this cellphone camera shot (never mind the terrible composition), but I wanted to show you the volume of plants and pots on their back deck. This is very unusual for this part of the world where we have to shift all planted terracotta into a protected spot for the winter to prevent breakage. Uli and Paul dedicate a significant amount of time and effort to driving and hauling tender plants back and forth between their home and a community greenhouse space where they house the plants for the winter. That is serious commitment.

I took this shot in 2010. They have since changed this planted cage from a hanging basket to a pot topper.

Uli and I share a love of crazy euphorbias. We unknowingly bought the same variegated euphorbia (bottom left) recently.

Every time I visit I have the same visceral response, “I could live in this garden forever!” And then, when I am forced to go home, I feel newly recharged and inspired to try to make a garden that is even half as awesome as theirs.

I hope to show you more of Uli and Paul’s garden in the future as I have barely scratched the surface here. I gave you a peek at their front yard, but did not show you it’s whole splendour.