Summer Days, Summer Days!

These are the lovely hollyhocks that appear in our garden each year. But a recent windstorm knocked many of them over.

I just love the beauty of a summer's day. Yesterday I had the chance to visit another gardeners' garden and see the beauty that they have created at their home. The sun was shining, good friends were in attendance all to share in one couple's creation of their personal sanctuary.

We each garden for our own reasons. For some, vegetable gardening is the way they sustain their family during the summer and winter months. Or perhaps they just want to try and reduce their carbon footprint, know where their food comes from and enjoy straight from the vine fresh produce when it is at its absolute best.

Some garden for the flowers. They love the beauty of colourful blooms and they are entranced by the wildlife and biodiversity that those blooms attract. I'm a bit of both those gardeners. I have six raised beds in which I grow a variety of fresh vegetables. There is nothing better than fresh picked beans, lightly steamed and drizzled with a little butter or extra virgin olive oil. The rest of my garden is a mix of perennials, trees and shrubs with a few containers of annuals. I too delight in the wildlife that visits my garden from the groups of starlings, a few robins and mourning doves that like to frolic in the water of our several water features to those crazy squirrels that dig up my bulbs and my beans (had to replant them several times before they actually germinated). But oh those squirrels make me laugh as they chase each other up and down the trees and along the fence tops. And then there are the couple of little chipmunks who scurry about always with their cheeks full of peanuts courtesy of our neighbour next door.

No matter what kind of a gardener you are the important thing is to love what you are doing - getting exercise, fresh air and enjoying all that nature has to offer. And to take time, not just to work in your garden, but to sit down ever once in a while and truly enjoy all that you have created. Summer is fleeting, so enjoy it while it is here!

Garden Tour Mania

"The first object of a seat is invitation. Its position should be such that it should attract, whether because it offers rest at the end of a long walk, or because it is so placed that its surroundings may give rise to pleasant contemplation."

G.A. Jellicoe, "Garden Decoration and Ornament" (1934)

Well, its been two weeks since the garden tour and we have had a few moments to rest, relax and actually enjoy our garden. A few friends have been over for dinner as summer finally has blown in our way with some warm, dry weather.

Some would ask what in heavens name would possess someone to agree to be on a garden tour. First there is all that weeding and preparing and then having people walking (or some would say tramping through your private sanctuary). Welll, you see my husband, the hole digger and structure builder happens to be a procrastinator. He talks a lot about the things he is going to do or build but he seems to take his time in actually bringing his ideas to fruition. But give him a deadline (like saying, "honey guess what I've agreed to be on the garden tour), and suddenly you can see those projects actually taking shape and being accomplished.

Take for example the greenhouse he started last year. The cold weather came and the greenhouse had to be tarped over, so now the final windows are being installed and the gingerbread is on the top but he still has to fill in a couple of spaces and side the outside. He also talked about moving the fence to enlarge the garden and create a new seating area - mission accomplished as you can see in the photos above. Creating a waterfall into the big pond was also a motive for moving the fence and we collected so rocks but that project might acutally have to be put on the list for next year unless we get a long and warm Indian summer.

As for people visiting our garden, we love sharing our private sanctuary with others. I think it is the fact that when others enter the space they tell us how calming it is, how wonderful it is to hear the sound of water from the three water features as you wander around the garden. So as long as there are garden tours and we have projects to accomplish, we'll continue to participate and share our love of gardening with others of like mind.

The Start of the Summer Garden Tours

"A garden is preeminently a place to indulge individual taste ... let me say that the best general rule that I can devise for garden-making is: Put all the beauty and delight-someness you can into your garden, get all the beauty and delight you can out of your garden, ..."

John Sedding, English garden writer of last century

It's hard to believe that its aleady June and the start of the summer garden tours. Yesterday we had the pleasure of a sneak peek of the upcoming "Through the Garden Gate, Beyond the Bridle Path" garden tour taking place on June 20-21, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. in Toronto. This is the Toronto Botanical Gardens 22nd garden tour. It was a lovely day as we toured four of the fourteen gardens selected ranging from a Japanese garden, sleek modern gardens, a sculpture garden showcasing a stunning Chihuly glass sculpture among many others. The garden tour is a fundraiser for the Toronto Botanical Gardens and is made possible through the efforts of over 100 volunteers. We toured an interesting sculpture garden that covered three town lots with a fabulous Chihuly glass sculpture; a modern garden complete with lap pool and fantastic outdoor kitchen and entertaining area; a large formal garden complete with stunning outdoor gazebo with fireplace, tennis courts and large pool and looked so established we could hardly believe it was only two years old; and finally a smaller more intimate garden with a beautiful pool and dining area, tennis court and a more informal garden area. All in all a great day and just think, on Father's Day weekend we can go back and see the other ten gardens. Why not purchase a couple of tickets ($40.00 per person for the public and $35.00 for TBG members) - a great Father's Day gift for your resident gardener!

Tips When Going on a Garden Tour

1. Be respectful, you are visiting someone's home and garden. Don't pick the flowers and don't walk in the flower beds. It is also polite to ask if photos are permitted.

2. Gardens come in many different sizes and styles. You might not always like one style but remember that this is someone's private sanctuary and appreciate it for what it is.

3. You might be overwhelmed by the grandeur of some gardens but remember to look carefully at the different elements that make up each garden space, be it a sculptural element or an interesting plant combination - it's these small things you can take back to your own garden.

4. And don't hesitate to ask questions, most gardeners and designers love to speak about their gardens.

5. Finally, remember to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy the day and as Paul Zammitt says "Don't forget to stop and get some ice cream!"

To purchase tickets online for this fabulous garden tour go to www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca

A large container at one of the gardens on yesterday's tour.

And now I'd better get busy tidying my own beds as our garden is one of nine featured on the Bracebridge garden tour on July 25th.

Happy Touring