The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Artists, Gardeners And Musicians Create Exquisite Ambience garden art | by Al Price A l l across the North Shore, canvasses are being stretched a n d paint a p p l i e d , either carefully controlled or w i t h w i l d a b a n d o n . Clay is r e m o v e d , p o n d e r e d , a n d a d d e d back a g a i n as muscle g r o u p s e m e r g e on the w i r e armature. Jig s a w s cut carefully a r o u n d finely drafted shapes, a n d short, intense bursts of light e m a n a t e from the garage as the last piece of metal is w e l d e d in place. Elsewhere, the first e m e r g i n g shoots of c h i c k w e e d are yarded from the g r o u n d , m u c h as the first robins t u g on extremely reluctant w o r m s . Hydrangeas are t r i m m e d a n d sculpted, a n d m u s h r o o m m a n u r e is carefully scratched into the soil, g i v i n g the Rip V a n W i n k l e s of the plant w o r l d a tasty a n d e n e r g i z i n g treat as they y a w n a n d stretch from w i n t e r h i b e r n a t i o n . Both artists a n d gardeners are in a bit of a frenzy. They w a n t to look their best for each other, a n d they d o n ' t have m u c h time. They are preparing for the North V a n c o u v e r Arts Council's s e c o n d a n n u a l Art in the G a r d e n Tour, w h i c h takes place this year M a y 26 and 2 7 , f r o m n o o n to 5 p m each day. M a n y p e o p l e use s o m e of their spare time to tour art galleries, a n d public gardens are a l w a y s p o p u l a r attractions. But private gardens are usually off limits to all but f a m ily a n d friends. U s i n g a g a r d e n as an art gallery for public display w o u l d s e l d o m cross a gardener's m i n d . But last year, Linda Feil c h a n g e d all that. Feil, executive director of the North V a n c o u v e r C o m m u n i t y Arts C o u n c i l , had the idea of m a t c h i n g artists w i t h gardeners in the spring, w h e n both are truly b l o o m i n g after a w i n t e r of c o n t e m p l a t i o n . She t h o u g h t gardens w o u l d be an excellent v e n u e to s h o w c a s e w o r k s of art, as w e l l as a p p e a l to gardeners w a n t i n g to take a peek at e a c h other's h a n d i w o r k . Thus w a s born the first A r t in the G a r d e n Tour. To c o m p l e m e n t the c o m b i n a t i o n , an hour of live music w a s perf o r m e d at each g a r d e n during the t w o days. Despite a nasty bit of rain on both days, the event w a s a resounding success m e a s ured by the 1,500 p e o p l e w h o toured the gardens a n d v i e w e d a n d b o u g h t the artwork over the t w o days. Even more p e o p l e are a n t i c i p a t e d this year. A d m i s s i o n is by d o n a t i o n , w i t h participants e n c o u r a g e d to d o n a t e either a l u m p sum at o n e of the gardens or a small a m o u n t at each place they visit. Brochures, including a description of each artist a n d garden, a n d a m a p of their l o c a tions, w i l l be available in A p r i l at Mandeville Gardens at Park Royal S o u t h , North Shore libraries a n d Recreation Centres. Jacquie M o r g a n , program coordinator for the Arts Council, explains that last year there w e r e 22 artists set up in 16 gardens from W e s t Vancouver to Deep Cove, w i t h artwork running the g a m u t from painting and sculpture to prints and f o u n d metal objects. Some