How long does it take for a lush green lawn to recover after it is walked on by hundreds of curious visitors eagerly exploring every aspect of a pristine, well-kept garden during a single day?
That question won't be uppermost in the minds of a select number of homeowners throughout Manitoba when they open their gates next weekend for the start of garden tour season. Nor will concerns about the well-being of grass blades eclipse the countless questions asked by visitors who flock to gardens this summer looking for design inspiration and solutions to challenges in their backyards.
If you've ever peered surreptitiously over the edge of a fence or through an opening in trees or bushes to snatch a glimpse of someone's garden or asked a complete stranger if you could come in and poke around, you are not alone. That is the modus operandi of many garden tour organizers. How else, beside learning about must-see gardens through word of mouth, would they be able to assemble enough interesting gardens for annual tours?
When we purchase a garden tour passport and scan the brief, flowery descriptions, we sometimes recognize a garden we've visited on tours from previous years. Should we skip it? Never. Nature and the creative minds behind the most creative gardens continually evolve a garden's appearance.
Without giving away too much, let's take a peek at some of what's in store for tour-goers this year.
Urban Retreats Garden Tour kicks off the garden tour season each June on the weekend of Father's Day, which also happens to fall during Garden Days, Canada's coast-to-coast celebration of gardens, June 19 to 21. Shirley Godkin, an organizer of the Urban Retreats Garden Tour, has registered the tour as a Garden Days activity.
One of the gardens on the June 20th tour is situated in an older neighbourhood with dense shade. Owner Chase Curtis has renovated the front yard of his leafy property, incorporating contemporary features, such as a walkway consisting of large square slabs of concrete separated by crushed black granite for a floating effect. Smoky black accents with a hint of an Asian theme combine with glimmers of dappled light. His creative use of space will illustrate to visitors some of the possibilities for a private retreat in an urban front yard.
More details are available at gardendays.ca including a description of the tea which will be held at Trinity United Church.
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra's annual garden soirée falls this year on Wednesday, June 24. Guests will be entertained throughout the evening by WSO musicians in three distinctive gardens. A day tour featuring 12 gardens follows on Saturday, June 27.
For the first time, says Dorothy Dobbie, a longtime supporter of the WSO tour, one of the gardens will be featured on the soirée and the day tour. Tim Evans' spacious riverside property will enchant visitors the moment they enter. Classic garden elements including sculpture and statuary as well as a Victory Orangery greenhouse nestled beneath the canopy of mature trees will transport visitors to another world during their brief but blissful visit to this well-appointed garden. Tickets are available by calling the WSO Box Office.
On July 4th, Nature Manitoba hosts its popular Natural Garden Tour featuring eight gardens in Whyte Ridge, a south Winnipeg neighbourhood. Butterfly enthusiast Kellie Liebzeit's large, picturesque garden includes a fabulous collection of perennials, many of which will inspire visitors to venture from the ordinary. Visit naturemanitoba.ca for tour details.
Is there a garden in Manitoba that could be described as the most beautiful? It could be argued Birtle is home to one of the most exceptional gardens in our province, that of Val Thomson, whose ceaseless imagination has created a much-written about garden which spans five acres. This year, in addition to an existing sunken rose garden, Mediterranean garden, herb garden and Japanese garden, Thomson will unveil a stunning new addition, an allee lined with mancana ash trees and narrow flowerbeds in a Provence-themed colour scheme of blue, white and yellow blooms.
Shonda Ashcroft, one of the organizers of the Gallery in the garden tour July 11th, says Thomson's garden along with Pat Farquhar's amazing potager at Spruce Garden Farm are among seven unique gardens on the tour. Close to 30 artists including watercolourist Terry Liles are participating with art displays.
Visit theclassicgarden.ca for more details.
On July 18th the Manitoba Master Gardener Association will showcase nine gardens in south Winnipeg, some in suburbia and a few with more expansive properties located on the city's outskirts. Gardening workshops and Master Gardeners will be available to expand on the special features in each garden.
One dreamy riverside garden on the tour will entice visitors with its unique French country-themed outdoor dining room.
Tempted to revamp your front yard? Ursula Smythe's garden is a study in textures, including a wide variety of ornamental grasses, flowering perennials and a carpet of lush groundcover plants. Ticket locations are available at mgmanitoba.com
Also on July 18th, the Carman Garden Club hosts its Garden Celebration Tour. Organizer Val Wiebe says this year's garden tour will include participation by talented local artists and musicians. Registration is at the Carman Dufferin Museum starting at 12:30 p.m. Following the tour, which runs from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., visitors are invited back to the museum for light refreshments.
The Carman Garden Club has 18 junior gardeners who are given seeds to plant each spring. Tour-goers will have the opportunity to visit one of the gardens maintained by a junior gardener. Wiebe has served as one of the judges and says the gardens, planted mostly with vegetables and flowering annuals, must be kept neat and tidy and weed free. Junior gardeners are required to maintain records and take photos.
Last year one of the most well-attended tours of the season was hosted by Springfield Habitat for Humanity. The sold-out tour of six gardens culminated in a luncheon in an outdoor tent at Pineridge Hollow. Organizer Val Arklie says despite numerous requests, there are no plans to offer the Springfield in Bloom tour this year.
What drove ticket sales? In part, the lovely gardens, but like so many of the garden tours taking place in Manitoba each year, these events represent significant fundraisers. Arklie says, for example, the proceeds from the Springfield tour went toward the cost of building materials for a new home being constructed this summer for a young family with two children.
While it's hard to compete with such a noble cause, every garden tour affords the opportunity to share advice and to take full advantage of the opportunity for a close-up view of someone else's private outdoor space.
Tour etiquette requires we restrain ourselves from asking for just a small cutting even if we will have no peace until the same glorious plant grows in our garden. Remember, too, to not take too many liberties such as monopolizing the homeowner in an in-depth conversation on how to go about emulating their entire garden design. Such are the temptations that can drive any one of us to embarrass ourselves when we come upon an enviable garden.
The show must go on, rain or shine. Shirley Godkin recalls one year when a light, misting rain fell throughout the day of the Urban Retreats tour. "The gardens were so lush and peaceful," recalls Godkin. "It was like being in a dream world, almost surreal, with beads of water droplets on leaves and colours so rich and vibrant."
Just out of curiosity, though, how long does it take to revive a matted lawn after a day's worth of visitors have strolled through? Tim Evans isn't worried. His garden has been visited in past years by as many as 500 tour-goers in the space of six hours.
When the last visitor is gone on June 27, Evans plans to relax in his Victory Orangery greenhouse cum sunroom with a good book and a glass of wine. After a few days, with a little TLC, the lawn will be just fine.
colleenizacharias@gmail.com
Notices:
Garden Days activities around Manitoba June 19 to 21
Coffee and Cake with Steinbach and Area Garden Club in the Mennonite Heritage Village Garden, Steinbach -- 10 a.m., June 19
Official opening of the Water Wise Garden at Assiniboine Park -- 10 a.m., June 19
Fruit and Berry Festival, Shelmerdine Garden Centre -- June 19, 21
Free garden tool sharpening, Shelmerdine Garden Centre -- June 20, 21
Jensen's Garden Centre - Discounts on plants and giftware June 19 - 21
Shops of St. Andrews (Lower Fort Garry Garden Centre) -- 25 per cent discount on trees June 19 - 21
International Peace Garden -- Exhibit launch, June 20th and Father's Day Buffet, June 21st
St. Norbert Farmers' Market -- Herb Hints at 10 am, All About Tomatoes at 11 am, June 20
Visit gardendays.ca for full details.
