Nature

By Nancy Silcox
Photography • Jesse Brenneman
When Brian and Jeanette
Berenz looked to build
their dream home,
there was one key
criterion for the property it would sit on.
“It had to be a country property that
would give us the space and landscape to
develop the kind of gardens we’ve always
wanted,” says Jeanette, a retired teacher.
Not that the couple hadn’t gardened at
their previous homes. But this time, they
wanted the opportunity to indulge fully in
their passion for all things green.
They found just what they were looking
for in North Dumfries Township, abutting
the Grand River Conservation Authority.
Prior to residential development, the
land had supported a farm, with much
of the acreage in pasture. The Berenz’s
1.2-hectare property also sloped down 152
metres to the river.
“As soon as we saw it, we knew we
had found what we were looking for,”
says Brian, who is co-owner and sales
manager of Annadale Finishing Systems in
Cambridge.
“We knew that it would be a tremendous
amount of work developing the expanse of
gardens we wanted,” Jeanette says. “But it
would be the labour of love we’d been so
long looking for.”
But first things first — a house that
would maximize the view of the gardensin-waiting.
“I have an eye for design and incorporated
large picture windows across the back of
the home to give maximum view of the
property,” says Jeanette.
In 1997, the Berenzes’ house was
complete and the couple took up
‘We had certain things
on our wish list,’ says Brian
Berenz. ‘A natural pond,
a minimum of grass
cutting and plant species,
which attracted wildlife’
66 GRAND MARCH I APRIL 2016 MARCH I APRIL 2016 GRAND 67