By CONSTANCE SCRAFIELD-DANBY

Columnist

In the nursery at the back of the Warburton property the endless rows of pots - holding, as it seems, just brown earth and name sticks - certainly give no hint of the richness that is to come. Unless one is well familiar with the names the sticks bear, one could never imagine the variety and wealth of colour that will enhance the gardens to which these plant pots are destined.

There may be plenty of varieties that, in the normal course of plant shopping, one would not expect to find, for David Warburton, Plantsman extrordinaire, promises to have on hand "unusual and hard to find" flowers, vegetables, bushes and shrubs ("woodies") for the gardener seeking a change from the regular stock and trade of most nurseries.

Sixty heirloom varieties of tomatoes, for example, are listed in his range of plants, selected over time, as David said, for the "wonderful taste" of their fruit. Thirty hues of lilacs are amongst the woodies collection, many of which, as newer hybrids, do not grow so tall or intrude so persistently on the rest of the garden.

As it happens, for the uninitiated, the whole set up chez Warburton is unusual to say the least. Their home, nestled among luscious gardens, is a straw bale house, its roof gently arched, graced by two quite dissimilar dormers. The colour of the house, which is actually mixed into the last layer of plaster and applied by hand, is the "colour of the sunset on the straw", as David's wife, Anne Marie, once told me.

The gardens in front of the house extend in all directions, stone pathways running through them, one to the parking area, one going to the nursery, still others directed toward the pond. There are many streams running under the property so it was an obvious choice to create a pond for swimming, for sharing with frogs and whatever other wildlife decides to make its home there.

On the edges of the pond, during the planting season, stand an ever changing ebb and flow of pots, early beds for the many grasses and water plants that David installs into the gardens of some his clients.

Perhaps David is currently best known for his talent as a landscaper. His vision and ability to transform an ordinary bit of land into an extraordinary paradise of colours and points of interest keeps his schedule full.

Last year, he created a stream and small waterfall on a property where there was none before. His delighted client acknowledged that there was true artistry in making the creation look as though it had always been there.

David happily admits that his work would be impossible without his team of workers. Their professionalism and attention to detail mean that he can reliably turn theories and dreams into reality. "I'm very lucky," he confirmed, "to have such good people working for me."

It is not merely the installation of plants, paths, ponds, pool surroundings and so forth - all the needs of anyone's garden haven - but also the maintenance of such gardens that keep his crews so busy.

Still, for those who like the idea of doing their own gardens, David offers classes throughout the year and holds plant sales on his property. There are many lines of thought and information, showing how gardening is not nearly as much hard slogging as it has been thought to be that make his informative talks so intriguing.

This is now the era of the soil biologists - heretofore ignored by the gardening industry - who talk about the riches that are in the soil and which are lost with tilling and digging. Likewise, the road to eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers and insecticides is firstly, by not abusing the soil and secondly, by using organic fertilizers. To this end, David is producing both organic fertilizers and insecticides through his new business, Hockley Organic. He uses these aids in all his clients' gardens to great success, meaning that he is sure of their effectiveness.

Warming to one of his favourite subjects, David emphasized, "Rotatilling is actually detrimental to the earth because it turns the soil over, exposing the sub-soil to the sun and air. This damages and even kills the microbes in there which would normally be doing their good work in the moist darkness under the surface."

Last year, David was endowed with a sum of money, compensation to the losses his grandmother suffered as the result of the holocaust during the Second World War.

She was Gertrude Schüller, and in her name, David has built another straw bale building on his land. He is calling it the Gertrude Hälle: using money coming from a time of terrible pain to create a place of light and life. In this building, he will hold classes, build Adirondacks furniture and run his retail outlet, which he is calling Nottawasaga Trading. There he will offer "really cool" gifts for men, out of the despair he has felt trying to shop for good male oriented presents.

To really get the spring season off to a resounding start, mark your calendars for a Mediaeval Festival at the Warburtons during the last weekend of May and a plant sale that will go on for the whole week.

Beginning with the weekend of May 26, there will Morris Dancers, Mediaeval singers, Gary Wright, sculptor of faeries, vendors and, of course, the many different and beautiful plants for you to buy.

This year, goodness knows what marvels might wind up in your garden.

For all the details, just check out his website at www.tillingthesoul.com