Welcome to the Duchess of Dirt’s website and the venue for our show garden at
Growing Concern Cottage Garden!
June 2025
It has been a challenging spring for our garden this year.
Sadie welcomes you to our garden
On average, the month of March was cooler than normal and we had almost 100 mm of rainfall more than we received in March 2024. Not complaining as the garden and trees certainly need the moisture.
But it was very surprising to find the monthly average temperatures for both April and May were roughly 4 °C warmer than the same months in 2024. It seemed so much colder as evidenced by the plants delaying their spring show and me dressing up in three or four layers of clothing and donning a toque almost every day in those months. Had to blame the wind as it blew decently hard many days and mostly from the north or northwest. Felt like the daily temperatures were more in the negative range than positive.
And then we turned the calendar page to June and nature seems to have settled into her rhythm. The plants have started strutting their beauty and Sadie is anxiously waiting to welcome visitors to our garden once again.
Our regular Open Days are Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you would like to book a group tour for your garden club or visiting family, please contact us to arrange a date. (Please note: we will be closed July 17 to 20 for a Family Reunion event.)
Please note: I am the only “Duchess of Dirt” in British Columbia and there are only two of us in Canada.
I am a gardener, writer, and educator. “Duchess of Dirt” is my pen name.
Feel free to check out the items under the various Menu Buttons which will provide you with a more intimate peek at the plants and wildlife in our Zone 7a garden, located in the maritime Pacific Northwest. More specifically…we are nestled in rural Black Creek under the shadow of the renowned ski hill, Mt. Washington, within the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
Most of the photos on my website were taken by my photographer husband…John – the Duke of Compost…who is also a bona fide plant-aholic gardening nut same as me. The others… especially most of the insect ones…are mine.
We hope you enjoy the journey.
Leslie and John Cox
Growing Concern Cottage Garden
7896 Fairview Rd
Black Creek, BC V9J 1G5
