Philippe and Huguette Bénard: horticulturists with passion !

The happy couple will be celebrating their 40th anniversary on November 1 and they still share numerous passions. “We have flowers everywhere. It’s our passion. We love all greenery and take care of our green spaces. My wife loves it more than I do. We call her the green thumb of the family”, said Philippe Bénard. He works as a driver and delivery man for Purolator. Huguette is employed in the administration department of a school. They have four children – two boys and two girls.

Philippe Bénard believes that his house’s green landscaping represents a symbol worth mentioning. “The story begins with Montreal’s former mayor, Pierre Bourque. He has done a lot for Montreal and when I thought of him, I created this. I worked two weeks just to come up with a design for the yard. Then I bought four tons of stones and planted the perennials. My design represents a very personal symbol for my wife and I. Here you’ll see a shape of four hearts symbolising our four children while the fountain symbolises my wife and I.”

But why such a fountain ? “I come from France and my mother has always lived in that country. Three years ago, I went to Versailles, saw the giant fountains and since then that image has stayed with me. When I went shopping and saw a Versailles-type fountain, I told my wife: instead of going to Gaspé this year, let’s buy a fountain. She said – perfect !”

Standing about seven feet, the fountain is great. “Inspite of that size, it appeared small because our yard is truly immense”, Mr. Bénard explained. “We planted perennials everywhere in the yard, near the fences and out front on the balcony.”

To create the garden of their dreams, Philippe and Huguette Bénard did not hesitate to spend the money and time required. ”I began the landscaping last year. I bought everything I needed and set up everything myself. I worked part time last summer – about 10 hours a day for 19 days – right in the sweltering heat of August. This year, the perennials blossomed and I added some lights that automatically go on at night and turn off in the morning”, Mr. Bénard explained.

The price of all this ? “I bought the fountain for $500.00. For the rest of the landscaping, I invested about $2,000.00 to cover for the design, logo, perennials, rocks, cement strips and the contours. That price doesn’t include the time. We leave the fountain where it is until November.” How does he feel when he looks at the fruits of his labour everyday ? “We’re proud of course; when we’re not at work, we often sit outside to enjoy our garden.”

Can this superb landscaping job resist the bad winter weather ? “In the winter, I put the fountain in the heated garage because I don’t want it to break. We prune our perennials as needed.”

Philippe Bénard would also like to design a special type of landscaping for next winter. “I prepared a 22-feet tall Christmas tree which will be decorated with 1,000 lights and will put the tree in the same spot as the fountain. I will put about 2,000 lights in the balcony. There will be lights everywhere in the yard, on the ramp, etc. In the yard itself, we will put up 22 penguins and some caricatures of characters. Last year, I even decorated a 100-feet clothesline with lights resembling icicles. That will hike up our Hydro bill for sure, but it’s certainly worth it.”