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 the conservation of biologically significant land.
Catherine Walker and Gary Ross volunteered to help on the Open Day and their music added a special touch to the day.
Getting ready for the Open Day meant completing sections of Timelines, the 3 km trail that leads past art installations in Glen Villa’s fields and forests. By the Open Day, everything that could be done had been completed. The façade of the Greek temple was standing tall.
Construction details are visible, making this façade resemble a billboard.
The Perspective sign at the end of La Grande Allée was in place.
Perspective points from one tiny chair in the foreground to a big chair in the distance.
The sign painted by my friend John Hay that gave La Grande Allée its name was installed.
An old post for a street lamp now holds the name of this part of Timelines.
The sign to announce La Seigneurie made by local blacksmith Justine Southam was erected ….
The sign hangs above old wrought-iron gates.
… and the Seigneurie field was planted for the first time.
Three crops planted in long rows suggested the planting patterns used in Quebec during the French rule.
Mythos and Logos options were offered to anyone walking the trail…
A short detour from the main trail offers walkers an option — and a place to sit down.
… and the sign naming Orin’s Sugarcamp was suspended above it.
A sign over the trail announces the name of this section of Timelines.
The second major project we undertook this year was rebuilding the foundation wall of the old Glen Villa hotel. The results are spectacular, far stronger visually than I’d anticipated.
We took this picture yesterday, as snow was falling.
The addition of ‘walls’ separating one room from another in the China Terrace started the renewal of this section of the garden.
The new ‘walls’ add definition to the space even when they are partially covered with leaves.
An old tree trunk was chainsawed to become an alligator or crocodile, depending on your choice of words, and an enormous old pine tree was taken down.
Jacques says he loves to be this high off the ground. Not me!
Without question, 2019 was a busy year and 2020 looks like more of the same. I’m the directing force behind every project at Glen Villa but Jacques Gosselin and Ken Kelso are the ones who make things happen. They are multi-talented men who tackle every challenge I set them with enthusiasm and I can’t imagine accomplishing anything without them. So let me end this year with a big thank you to the two of them.
Let me add another big thank you to you, my readers, for sticking with me and for offering the feedback that makes me want to continue writing.
Happy New Year!
