Paradise on Bowen Island.

Some twenty years ago, David and Aubin bought a huge pice of land on Bowen Island. Over the years, it  has always been a spectacular part of summer to go over to his place and see the changes. I have to bus to Horseshoe Bay, take the ferry to the Island and then walk a fair way to his place. It is always well worth the effort. David is a casual, warm wonderful host and Aubin always makes the most delicious food. Maxi, their dog, is my constant companion when I visit.

David calls his place "paradise." It is. He is, as I told him, the most exquisite and quirky man.

This is the pool room. Aubin uses the pool to exercise
and treat her arthritis and the grandchildren love it to
play in. That's David in the suspenders.

A pomegranate growing in the pool room.

A grapefruit growing in the pool room.

Every place has a name so you can find each other at
David's. It is such a large and busy place, everything and
every micro site needs a name. This is "Belvedere" where
they like to watch the sun go down. It is on the porch of
the pool room.

There are little places to sit and ponder everywhere.

There are a great many apple trees. The garden is largely
an edible garden. As you walk the grounds, you eat.

There are several of these wooden pots around. They fill
up with rain water and a bag of compost with a rock in it
is added to create a rich syrup for the plants.

These are an ancient apple. David loves to grow these
lost and obscure vegetables and fruits.

There are vines growing edible fruit everywhere.

The largest pond has a small island in it.

This is the large pond in full summer glory. David has bees, of course, and
birds fill the garden. There is every edible thing you can imagine growing here. 

Every year, fruit is soaked in vodka.

This is the orangerie. It is three years old and
David's favourite place to hang, I think. It is
warm all year round.

Almonds. 

Hops. 

The hearth of the orangerie is a delightful place to have
a drink and a conversation.

Hot peppers.

Mushrooms are part of the garden too.

Maxi.

Many of the apples get processes as apple juice. Harvesting and processing
all the food the garden grows keeps David and Aubin and two gardeners very
busy for much of the year.