Back to WIG to get treatment for my little succulent picture

My little picture frame of succulents, which has decorated the front of my garage for the past five years, finally started to show its age this week and began to look a little tatty.

I decided it was time to lift and carry “the patient” to the plant hospital for treatment – in this case WIG, my favourite succulent nursery at 6151 Thorne Avenue in Burnaby.

Alfred Kwan, who run WIG with his very affable brother, Danny, took one look at my ailing box of succulents and pronounced that it needed a complete transplant.

And that’s what he gave it: Out with the old interior trays full of overgrown and tired echeveria and in with a new tray of fresh, vibrant echeveria, sedums and such.

The new look is terrific. I’m very happy with it. These assemblies tend to last for years and years, as long as you bring them in to a frost-free place for winter.

I wrote four or five stories about Alfred and his nursery when I was garden writer at The Vancouver Sun. Some people said it was because we were friends and it was a sign of favouritism.

That was never the case. Alfred is simply the best at what he does, a fantastic plant person with a gift for growing succulents and present them in exciting ways.

WIG, which stands for Western Independent Greenhouses, is also a supplier of top quality seasonal colour plants.

If you want to refresh your summer garden, this is the place to go – it is always full of affordable, fabulous plants that can be simply popped into spots to inject instant colour and new life.

It is also the place to go right now if you are looking for plants that can take the heat. You’ll find some spectacular specimens for your containers.

When I took my ailing succulent picture frame in for treatment, my grandson, Jake, came with me and as well as getting free popsicles (Alfred’s treat) he got to enjoying looking around the nursery and was quite astonished by the shape and colour and exotic “weirdness” of some of the plants. Exactly.

Thanks, Alfred, for all your years of growing great plants and giving gardeners here a chance to try new and exciting things. For more info go to WIG’s website

swhysall@hotmail.com