The rich sounds of the cello could be heard from the Lower Garden right up to the Upper Field. No question, the music added to the special atmosphere.

Reviewing 2019

Today, on the last day of the year, I’m looking back at what happened in the garden in 2019. Without question, the single biggest event was the Open Garden Day in July. Over 300 people attended and we raised almost $10,000 for the Massawippi Foundation, helping that organization to continue its support for community activities and…

An old hand-coloured postcard shows Glen Villa Inn.

The Job is Done!

The foundation wall of the old Glen Villa Inn is once again standing tall. Rebuilding the wall has been quite a process. In its prime the wall was the base of a grand structure.     Unfortunately, like so many summer resort hotels built of wood, it didn’t last.     A colour postcard of the hotel sent…

An old hand-coloured postcard shows Glen Villa Inn.

We Are (Re)Building a Wall

Don’t worry, it’s not a border wall we are building, only the foundation wall of the old Glen Villa Inn.     The grand old resort hotel was built in 1902 and burned down in 1909. In the summer it attracted guests from around North America, particularly southerners who came north to escape the heat and…

This photo shows how the pine tree towered above the trees around it.

Pining Away

I’m not pining away, but the pine tree is. Or was. This week we tackled a big job that I’ve been wanting to do for a few years, which was to remove an enormous old pine tree near the bank of Lake Massawippi. The photo below from 2014 shows the beginning of the end of this…

Oh, my. Luscious.

Kiftsgate Court: A Garden Review

Kiftsgate Court is one of those English gardens included on many garden tours, in part because it is so conveniently located, just down the road from Hidcote, the iconic garden created by the Anglo-American Lawrence Johnston. The gardens at Kiftsgate were created over the last hundred years by three generations of women — grandmother, mother and daughter —…

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Autumn Splendour

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, and today I’m giving thanks for the splendours of autumn.  All week the colours have been spectacular!     This  view along the driveway at Glen Villa gives some idea of how brilliant the colour is.     On the stone wall of the house, Engelman ivy is a symphony of…