Susan Evans and Ted Harrison left their busy careers in Vancouver 20 years ago to live a rural lifestyle. They found the perfect location on the wooded southern tip of Salt Spring Island.

Hosting visitors at their bed and breakfast kept them going for a number of years. Nowadays, the nature of their workload has changed and the beds no longer require clean sheets every day. Some things do get changed from time to time - plants that is.

A visit to their 10-acre property features two acres of north-south facing garden that is inspiring any time of the year. Once the large wooden gate at the roadside is opened, the visitor is intrigued.

When Ted is not off on some extended cycling trip, he's building rock walls and terraces or creating new pathways. Susan manages a large fenced produce garden that provides more than two people can eat in a season. There's always plenty to share.

Together they manage 10.5 acres (4.3ha) of naturally grown farmland that supports beef and vegetables, a woodland garden filled with botanical wonders and a small nursery that annually raises lots of money for a market gardening project in Malawi (Seeds for Malawi).

Designing a natural-looking garden is Susan's passion. No formal groupings or border plantings, nothing pruned into unnatural shapes and no straight lines interfere with a visual field.

Gardeners on the island are welcome to come to Susan and Ted's source of plant material knowing it's been grown with love and care, both of which now travel all the way to those in need in Malawi.