Gardens + Design

A “West Coast” Toronto garden

4 Comments
You might be forgiven for thinking this is a West Coast rainforest garden… but it’s an urban garden in Toronto’s east end

Toronto is a city of ravines and lost rivers; Glen Davis Crescent is home to both. Its lost river, Tomlin’s Creek, still runs through a culvert underneath the road in the vee of Glen Davis Ravine.

Homes built beside ravines in Toronto typically look down into them. Not here. The north side, particularly, covered with geriatric forest – remnants of the original forest cover – soars above the houses. Two of the steeply sloped properties on this pretty, dead-end street opened their garden gates to visitors this June 2011 for the Beach Garden Tour. This lush garden is one of them.

Take a seat. You can feel the peace here among the ferns and mature oak trees, about 10 minutes’ drive from downtown.
Your view from the bench. The paving is permeable, brick and pea gravel, edged in beach stone.
I usually try to avoid people in garden shots. Here, they help convey the scale and tree girth. Can you spot the bench?
Close to the house, an undulating border edged in stone is filled with perennials. As an aside, I once had chairs exactly like these (except they were orange!) and I can say they were ridiculously comfortable. Till the squirrels ate them.
A tapestry of colourful foliage. Beautiful, if a bit one-sy.
A classical vignette at the garden gate – mulched in oak leaves.

Helen

Helen Battersby is a gardener, a writer, a garden speaker, and a power-walker, not always in that order!

4 comments

  1. Helen is this my dream atmosphere .. woods, lush fern and other green plantings .. just to get lost in away from everything else .. it is perfection !
    Thank you for dropping by my blog girl : )
    And .. "warmiflied" seems to be a perfect comprimise too ! LOL
    Joy

  2. Helen
    Your Glen Davis Ravine pictures are stunning and beautiful.
    A feast for my eyes!!
    I hope the condo development along the Glen Davis Ravine can be stopped. Many of our Toronto ravines are neglected and need better protection.
    Thank you for visiting one of my blogs and leaving a comment.
    Gisela.

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