No need to choose between your garden voyeur fix and your favourite dad in 2011. For the first time in I don’t know how long, Through the Garden Gate, Toronto’s biggest garden tour, does not fall on Father’s Day.

Every year highlights a different part of Toronto, and Swansea Village is this year’s destination – it’s just west of High Park, of which some of the gardens you’ll tour have enviable views. Shuttle buses will ferry you from cluster to cluster, and Master Gardeners stationed in every garden can answer your plant and gardening questions.

If you’re serious about gardens, the two-day pass (only $10 more than the ticket for a single day) is always worthwhile. That way, you can take your time looking around – and perhaps even revisit your favourites. Trust me, five hours pass quickly with 22 (not 24, apparently) gardens to see.

So mark your calendar for the weekend of June 11 & 12, from 11 am to 4 pm. But do get your tickets early (call the Toronto Botanical Garden at 416-397-1357 or click this link to buy tickets online), as numbers are limited. I expect that the demand this year will be greater without Father’s Day as a potential conflict.

The Toronto Botanical Garden does good things for Toronto and its citizens all year round – notably for less-fortunate city kids who might otherwise suffer nature deficit. Even the TBG’s programs for adults offer excellent value for not too many bucks. Through the Garden Gate raises a big chunk of the money needed to do all that. And it takes you into some wonderful gardens in the process.