Rod and his family live along the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. He calls his garden 'Claycove' named after the cove that is at the very foot of his sloping property. This cove opens out onto the Atlantic Ocean and with this comes many days of fog in the summer. This fog can be a curse or a friend. Too much brings dampness and the problems that go with that but just enough brings the flowers into an intense color that many dahlia growers from warmer, dryer climates would enjoy.

The following photographs were taken of Rod's garden in the year 2002.