Opening the gates to secret gardens
Annual tours of homeowners’ private creations showcase horticultural passion for perennials and ponds
You spy a sweet little spirea at the nursery and try to picture it at home. Will it bloom? Will it even survive?
“Seeing a fully grown plant in a garden setting will help you visualize the true scale, shape and size of any perennial, tree or shrub,” advises Jennifer Connell, a Brampton artist and aficionado of Southern Ontario’s annual private garden tours that are now underway.
Gardening is a “consuming passion” that she blogs about all year round. Her fiveyear-old website, Three Dogs in a Garden, was named for her shelties, one of which died recently in a tragic mishap.
The garden devotee has dug up bucketsful of tips, tricks and how-to’s during visits to hundreds of private and public gardens.
“You can do your own version of anything you see,” says the horticultural tourist of her weekend treks. It also helps to learn about plants where the homeowner can offer advice, Connell adds. “Gardeners are the most generous of people.”
Cabbagetown resident Helen Coltrinari is among homeowners expecting 700 visitors eager to view her garden’s pots, solar lighting and ornamental wall inspired by a restaurant in France.
There are so many “spectacular gardens” in the neighbourhood, homeowners must wait to get on the tour, says Coltrinari, organizer of the nine-year-old event that’s a fundraiser for the Cabbagetown Preservation Association.
So get out the walking shoes — it’s garden tour time. (Note that most tours are selfguided and not all gardens are wheelchair accessible.)
The earthly delights of eight historic homes in Niagara-on-the-Lake are on display for just one day. Sculptured beds, statuaries, pergolas and perennials will stimulate the senses as master gardeners share how-to’s. What: Shaw Guild Garden Tour When: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Niagara-on-the-Lake Cost: $25 More info: 1-800-511-7429, shawfest.com
Don’t miss the boat on the biennial tour of Toronto Islands where residents have really earned botanical bragging rights after hauling topsoil, plants and manure from the city on their bicycles. What: Toronto Island Garden Tour When: Saturday and Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Take the ferry to Ward’s Island. Cost: $10 adults, $8 seniors, $2 children; tickets at the gazebo on island side of Ward’s Island ferry dock More info: dpeace0968@rogers.com or annekotyk@yahoo.ca, torontoisland.org Helen Coltrinari, an organizer of the Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces tour in Cabbagetown, is expecting around 700 visitors to view her garden.
Forget terra firma, reach for the sky on the Hugh Garner Co-op’s green roof, an out-of-the-way garden in a neighbourhood known for creativity in small spaces. More down-to-earth is one homeowner’s artificially-turfed back yard that doubles as a putting green. What: Hidden Gardens and Private Spaces When: Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Where: Cabbagetown in the Gerrard and Parliament Sts. area. Cost: $15 More info: 416-921-0857, cabbagetownpa.ca
Why tiptoe through the tulips when you can pedal past the petals? A bicycle tour of 19 Lawrence Park homes accompanied by a master gardener and picnic lunch is Toronto Botanical Garden’s new offering this year. You can also drive, shuttle bus or hoof it around one of Canada’s biggest private garden tours. What: Through the Garden Gate When: June 13 and 14, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Lawrence Park, southwest of Lawrence and Bayview Aves. Cost: one-day pass for self-guided tour, $45, students, $25; two-day pass, $60. Bicycle tour, $115 per person, $50 for bike rental More info: torontobotanicalgarden.ca
The rare monkey puzzle tree didn’t make it. But the harsh winter didn’t dull the needle palm and other unusual plant life in seven quirky spaces tended by Leaside’s greenest thumbs. A same-day bonus is the garden society’s flower show at the public library, 165 McRae Dr. What: Magical Gardens of Leaside When: June 20, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Bayview and Eglinton Aves. neighbourhood Cost: $10 More info: 416-481-8919, leasidegardensociety.org
Mississauga’s Cloverleaf Garden Club suggests allowing all six hours to see 10 gardens on its 50th annual tour. One is an original, where the homeowner first put down roots 50 years ago. A noontime celebration will be held at tourheadquarters, St. Francis of Assisi Church. What: Cloverleaf Garden Tour When: June 20, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Clarkson and Sheridan Homelands in southwest Mississauga Cost: $15, free for kids 12 and under More info: patricia@lbtechservices.com, gardenontario.org/site.php/ clover
Row upon row of lavender flowers and live music drifting over the fields: it’s purple poetry in motion. And worth a day trip to Prince Edward County, east of Toronto. Family fun, lavender products, crafts, local edibles and pick-your-own posies complete the experience. What: Lavender Festival When: July 4 and 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Prince Edward County Lavender, 732 Closson Rd., Hillier Cost: $7, free for children under 12 More info: 613-399-1855, peclavender.com
See how the other half digs — and enjoy a boxed lunch that comes with your ticket to Uxbridge’s tour. To top it off, you’re raising funds for Community Care Durham. What: Gardens of Uxbridge When: July 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Where: Uxbridge Township Cost: $25 More info: 905-852-7445, cpaisley@communitycaredurham.on.ca, ccdgardensofuxbridge.org
Pick your Aurora paradise: orchid-filled oasis, cottage with meandering paths, lushly planted ponds? Seven grow-it-yourselfers will show off their private utopias while local artists put their talents to work on-site. What: Aurora Garden Tour When: July 12, 12 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Where: Aurora Cost: $15 More info: 905-713-6660, gardenaurora.com
An A-to-Z smorgasbord for the senses includes a country acreage and Zen garden among 11 featured properties in Whitby. There’s also a teaching garden, edibles and ornamentals, a memorial to wounded warriors and community project growing produce for food banks. What: Whitby in Bloom Garden Tour When: July 18, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Whitby and Brooklin Cost: Free but food donation appreciated.
Register online or sign in on the tour. More info: 905-430-4310, whitby.ca
The Greater Toronto Water Garden Society will wet your appetite for aquatics — this year in Brampton. Carpooling is recommended to take in the ponds, waterfalls, fountains and fish. What: Water Garden Tour When: July 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Where: Brampton area Cost: $12; buy tickets in advance or at 29 Leagrove St. in Brampton the morning of the tour More info: 416-750-1890, watergardentour@onwatergarden.com, watergarden.com