See how gardens in The Beach grow
We’ve been known to be a bit nosy. Maybe you have been, too?
A peek into someone’s back yard is a like poking your head into their open front door to check out the house. Our backyards are personal space where we relax and entertain. We don’t design them for the world to see, like we do our front yards.
And that is a large part of the appeal of public tours inside private gardens.
One great opportunity for Torontonians to visit private backyards is coming up in a few weeks when the Toronto Botanical Garden hosts its annual walking tour of homeowners’ works of horticultural art. This year we’re sponsoring the June 8 and 9 event — titled Mark’s Choice Through the Garden Gate — with tickets available online and at a handful of retailers across the GTA.
It’s the 32nd annual tour, Canada’s largest tour of private gardens with 21 on this year’s itinerary, with hop-on-and-off shuttle buses for visitors. We’re excited about this year’s tour being based in Toronto’s eastend Beach neighbourhood, one of the city’s most charming with its cosy houses and dense tree canopies.
A few of the highlights: Feature garden No. 1. A passionate gardener lives here, and there isn’t a bare spot in this hidden jewel of a garden at the top of a hilly ravine.
The front is a serene palette of green-on-green plantings around a reflecting pool that mirrors the hues and textures of surrounding flowering shrubs and trees. Here you will see more than 250 Japanese maples, plus hellebores, Hakone forest grass, rhododendrons, tree peonies and more.
“My garden is my passion and it feeds my soul,” says the owner of this magnificent garden. “It is my art, my canvas. I plant and nature takes over.” It’s also no surprise that she talks to her plants, hugs them and treats them like her children. Feature garden No. 2. If you are looking for ways to transform your garden into a sanctuary, this garden can help. Fifteen years ago, the yard was an expanse of mown lawn, front and back. Today a beautiful garden replaces the grass, and reflects the homeowner’s journey both personally and as a gardener. “This garden has changed over time and is always changing,” says the homeowner. “In fact, it reflects the changes in me. This is a very meditative place.”
The front garden is dominated by the shade of mature trees. Every available space is occupied by perennials, shrubs and annuals and features creative uses of plants, seating, statuary, water features, light and mirrors. It is an extension of the gardener’s personality: fresh, vibrant and full of life.
According to Paul Zammit, director of horticulture at Toronto Botanical Garden who helps to select each featured garden, this one is an everchanging tapestry of colour and texture throughout the seasons. Feature garden No. 3. This forest garden is literally built within a forest of towering maple, and red and white oak trees. A spectacular large corner property, this is a study in how to plant a series of small gardens that honour the environment and suit the land on which they sit.
“I sometimes feel like I’m in a Disney movie, in a beautiful setting with birds flying by, dogs racing around, cats wandering through and a neighbour playing the piano in a house nearby,” says Cathy McCartney, the Toronto master gardener who tends it.
This garden features an interesting combination of native and non-native plants. Your tour of this one starts with a sunny pollinator bed next to the driveway where raised beds for both vegetables and flowers have been planted to attract butterflies and bees. This very private yard presents a beautiful view from the kitchen window of roses, clematis and verbenas in bloom in early June.
Bring a notebook, phone/ camera (avoid taking pictures of the actual houses, out of respect for the owners) and while in the area, take time to stroll the famous boardwalk along the neighbourhood’s scenic stretch of Lake Ontario. Then you will understand why this is such a desirable place to live. A few other upcoming garden tours to consider:
Aurora Garden Club, June 23. This annual tour of beautiful local gardens includes the owners of the private paradises to answer all of your questions. This is a self-guided tour, rain or shine. gardenaurora.ca
Guelph Horticultural Society Garden Tour, July 7. Explore eight unique gardens in the Guelph area. guelphhort.org
Whitby in Bloom Garden Tour, July 20. Enjoy a free tour of gorgeous properties. In lieu of admission, please bring a non-perishable food donation for local food banks. brooklinhorticulturalsociety.com/ events.html
Mark and Ben Cullen are expert gardeners and contributors for the Star. Follow Mark on Twitter: @MarkCullen4