Photo by Edward Gajdel
Bold and vibrant garden design
Scarlet splashes add zest to this leafy garden haven
On paper, Edward and Djanka Gajdel’s backyard reads like a typical city garden: fenced in for privacy, small in scale (about 450 square feet)—and shady. Yet one look at the space in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood shows it’s anything but ordinary. Sun-dappled shadows dot the ground while leafy vines crawl up the fences, forming a dense canopy over two chaise longues framed by billowy curtains. In every corner, from the pots of impatiens to the boldly striped upholstery, there are bursts of red so intense they almost vibrate. Then, in the back corner, a cheeky surprise: a putting green that Edward installed last year.
“It’s all about being multi-purpose,” says Edward. “When I’m barbecuing, I can step away and get some putting practice. My wife has always known me to be a bit nuts, so she didn’t resist the idea.” The Gajdels’ shared sense of fun fills the garden, making it a lively space for their three children—Max, 17, Zachary, 13, and Jelena, 8—and for the summer entertaining they do almost every weekend. But there’s also a sense of simplicity and sophistication here, which is no surprise since the couple both work in the visual arts—Edward as a sought-after photographer and Djanka as his manager. “I love how the light comes pouring through in the afternoon,” says Edward of his retreat. “And when I am still in this space and hear the birds or the laughter of people, I forget where I am.”
The garden wasn’t always such a magical spot. When the Gajdels bought the house 10 years ago, it had a tiny porch—and a concrete parking pad was eating up 15 per cent of the space. They added a graduated deck with wide stairs and a flagstone “floor” to the rest of the yard. The Gajdels designed the yard themselves, with the help of a contractor. “There’s a lot of my sweat in this backyard,” says Edward. “I do the physical grunt stuff and Djanka brings an amazing eye for balance and decorative touches.” The red scheme was Djanka’s doing—she likes the way the colour pops. “Everywhere you look, it’s like mini-firecrackers exploding, even at night,” she says.
Of course, not every bold idea has been successful. Several seasons ago, Edward decided to install a lily pond. But his hard work did little more than invite raccoons, which invaded the yard at night, ate the lilies, capsized the pump and tore up the sod. Still, one idea, even a failed one, led to another: “I thought, to hell with it, I’m putting in a putting green!”
So, the golf feature was added to the back of the yard beside a raised flower bed that houses a Japanese maple, cedars and the Gajdels’ trademark red impatiens in metal pots atop tall metal plinths. Djanka finds that male visitors are particularly drawn to the putting green: “After a long dinner, the guys go there right away,” she laughs.
The Gajdels like to serve formal dinners on the patio, complete with white china and linen napkins—a real departure from the paper-plates-and-hamburgers style many families adopt in the summer. But for them, outdoor dining is serious business. “My husband and I are both creative people and to us food is art,” explains Djanka. “It’s about finding the best olive oil, the best crunchy bread, the best tomatoes. And to bring it outside, to me, is to somehow honour the meal.”
In fact, it’s the family’s love of entertaining that inspires changes in the space. Djanka studies her guests: do they walk in and stop or do they wander? “I’m particularly pleased when people walk in and start to explore,” she says. “That tells me the energy is drawing them in and inviting them to be there—and that’s the most important thing of all.”
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