Greetings from Marilyn Monroe at Garden Gate tour this year
Oh my, Marilyn Monroe. Who wouldn’t like to meet her?
Well, folks, you can. Sort of. She’s taking part in this year’s Garden Gate tour, staged by the Toronto Botanical Garden.
But don’t get too excited. The sex goddess is present in plant form only. Marilyn Monroe happens to be the moniker given to a pretty hosta that’s gracing one of the tour gardens — and somehow it seems apt. Although I’m not normally a fan of hostas (oh, the slugs), this eyecatching variety certainly exudes some of the come-hither charm of its name- sake. A brilliant lime green, edged with frilly, flirty leaves, it positively glows in shady areas.
“And when the wind blows, the leaves are supposed to sashay like Marilyn’s skirts,” says Frederika Jubb, chuckling. “That’s why this hosta was named after her.” Jubb, a self-confessed “hosta addict,” has crammed 60 varieties of the plant into her triangular corner lot, but is particularly fond of the dazzling diva.
You can meet both plant and owner at 74 Leonard Cres. in Lawrence Park next weekend. And if you’ve never heard of Lawrence Park, join the club. This neighbourhood is, I discovered, an exclusive enclave located between Bayview Ave. and Yonge St., north of Blythwood Rd. where some of the richest people in Canada live. Yet, like all havens of the elite, it’s so quiet and tucked away, drivers roaring by on Bayview have no inkling of its existence.
Which is precisely what makes this garden tour such a treat. Lawrence Park was one of Toronto’s first planned “garden communities” back in 1907. Thus, it has winding, walkable streets, tons of trees and every house looks different. The architecture is, in fact, as worth seeing as the landscaping.
Nineteen private gardens are open to the public and they’re all agreeably different, too. Although Lawrence Parkers clearly can afford upscale garden designers and brawny guys with pickups to do the digging, some residents genuinely enjoy growing things themselves. And it shows. There are some inspired plantings and design ideas, mixed in with the swanky swimming pools and outdoor kitchens.
Planning for this event, the TBG’s biggest fundraiser begins a whole year ahead and it’s surely no cakewalk. Master gardener volunteers scout the area on foot for possible gardens to feature — and the pair who went knocking on doors this time, Barbara Evans and Petra Donnelly, admit that it takes courage.
“You drink a bottle of wine, put on your badge, and go,” says Evans with a laugh. “And once they hear that we’re from the Toronto Botanical Garden, most of the homeowners say yes.”
Well, good for them. Because opening your garden to hordes of rubberneckers surely takes bravery too. Sonia’s latest book, a novel called Deer Eyes, has won a Silver Medal for fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Awards. More at soniaday.com.