Jacqui Laporte and John Empson in Auburn, Ont., make a habit of opening their garden to strangers. Dubbed “Escape from Chaos,” it’s one of the 25 properties that form Discover the Gardens of Huron Perth, this year, part of a growing trend nationally of putting garden routes on a regional map and promoting the route as a tourist destination. Some gardens are public, others … [Read more...] about Take a garden route to tour a region
Canada's garden route
The best of Canada Garden Route tour
Garden Making’s coast-to-coast tour of the Canada Garden Route began in mid-May on British Columbia’s Vancouver Island and ended a month and a half later in St. John’s, Newfoundland. And what an exciting, whirlwind trip it was! People ask me, “What was the best part of the trip?” And honestly, there were so many “bests” I thought the only way to answer the question was to jot … [Read more...] about The best of Canada Garden Route tour
Restoration and rejuvenation at Royal Botanical Gardens
Plants have a habit of growing. And growing and growing and growing. That’s what has been happening at Ontario’s oldest botanical garden. The tiny dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) planted on the grounds of the Royal Botanical Gardens in 1952 (the first in Canada) now towers overhead. In the rock garden, ground-covering plants and shrubs spread their gnarled branches … [Read more...] about Restoration and rejuvenation at Royal Botanical Gardens
Vancouver’s VanDusen: An ever-changing garden
You never know what you might encounter at Vancouver's VanDusen Botanical Garden. From the strikingly beautiful rammed earth wall that hugs the "living building" at the entrance, to the breathtaking laburnum walk in spring, the display of roses in summer and the brilliant fall foliage of the Japanese maples that surround Heron Lake, this city garden entices exploration, no … [Read more...] about Vancouver’s VanDusen: An ever-changing garden
My working day at Butchart Gardens
If not for the pluck of Jenny Butchart, one of Canada’s most popular gardens would have remained an exhausted limestone quarry. Although Victoria’s Butchart Gardens has expanded beyond its founder’s vision, Jenny Butchart laid the ground work of this Edwardian era estate, transforming the quarry that fed her husband’s booming cement business from stone dust to blossoms and from … [Read more...] about My working day at Butchart Gardens
