Storybook garden on Algonquin Island: Toronto Garden Bloggers Fling
Tell me this doesn’t look like a Thomas Kinkade painting, but in the best sense — light gleaming in the window of a picturesque cottage — without the kitsch. With rain clouds darkening the sky, this was the last island garden I visited (see my Toronto Islands post for an overview) during the Toronto Garden Bloggers Fling.
Foliage, not flowers, dominates the scene, but there’s plenty of color: wine reds, golden yellows, emerald greens.
A small, curvy deck offers a welcoming invitation with two mustard-yellow Adirondacks and floral pillows.
I love the color.
I caught Margaret (Homegrown – Adventures in my Garden) and Joanne (Down2Earth) on a bench nearby, enjoying the garden.
Looking across the front garden — no lawn, just low shrubs and perennials accented with Japanese maples, all under the shade of a large tree — you catch a glimpse of an umbrella-shaded dining table.
Moseying around back, I stopped to admire a white clematis in the narrow side garden. It looks especially pretty against the teal blue of the neighboring house.
As you enter the back garden you see a small pond, with plenty of seating nearby to enjoy it.
Low-maintenance shrubs and dwarf Japanese maples surround the pond, offering lovely foliage color and texture.
Azalea, sweet woodruff, and Japanese forest grass make a pretty combo along one side of the pond.
The rest of the back garden is centered around a small lawn, backed by what looks like a guest house. Rich red and golden leaves create a colorful canopy.
Heading back to the front garden, I came upon the dining set I’d spied across the front garden earlier. Set on a rustic stone patio and surrounded by verdant foliage, it has the feel of a secret hideaway.
Lush ferns…
…and fun garden art add to the ambience.
What a beautiful garden — and a perfect way to end a tour of the Toronto Islands.
Coming up next: A contemporary garden in Forest Hill, one of Toronto’s tony neighborhoods. For a look back at Jeannie Parker’s But-a-Dream garden on Algonquin Island, click here.
All material © 2006-2015 by Pam Penick for Digging. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
I love Anne’s garden — and you should see it in other seasons, too. Some of her plant combinations are just wow.
Well, I’d love to see it in other seasons. Please tell me she has a garden blog! 😉 —Pam
Beautiful! I’m jealous of the water availability.(toasty brown with envy here in Calif.) LOL
No shortage of water there, it seems. Cheryl, I hope you guys get some relief soon. —Pam
Thank you SO much for all the great photos of the Toronto gardens. I have thoroughly enjoyed the “trip”! Every one was lovelier than the last, and I have gleaned many great ideas from them. Plus, it is fun to see some of the more unusual plants I am growing, in some of those gardens. (For example — What looks like Axminster Gold Comfrey in one a few days ago, and was that Boehmeria in the 3rd to last photo today?) You had great material to work with, yes, but you present the gardens so well with your sharp eye for photography. Wish I had your skill with a camera!
You are very welcome, Marilyn! I’m so glad to hear you’re enjoying my virtual tours. I’m sorry to say I can offer very little in the way of plant IDs for these gardens, as Toronto is way out of my plant-knowledge zone. 🙂 —Pam
This was a lovely garden in every way. I got to visit with Anne in the back garden. She was so sweet and confessed to hiding in the back because she didn’t know all the names of the plants. We reassured her that it wasn’t important we were just here to enjoy. The colors were a wonderful complementing each other everywhere.
I didn’t get to meet Anne, but I sure did enjoy her garden! —Pam
So lush and green and human-scaled. I think it’s absolutely perfect.
It was a great way to end the island garden tour. —Pam
I am liking this garden best out of what you have shown. Love all the shrubs with perennials interspersed.
It really was beautiful, Lisa. —Pam
I’m bummed I missed this garden. It feels so serene. What a beautiful spot.
I’m sorry you missed it too, Casa, but glad I could give you a virtual tour. —Pam
It is too bad the garden’s creator hid out because she didn’t know all the plant names. Even if she doesn’t know what everything is called, she certainly knows how to use it all to advantage, not a misstep evident in any of your photos. Whatever you call the components, the garden itself is easy to label…”peaceful, serene, beautiful, welcoming, a place where color and form come to play in gentle light to delight the senses!”. Thanks for sharing!
Yes, well labeled, Deb. This was a truly lovely garden. —Pam
Very cool – especially to the eyes. That table would be perfect to feast with others at!
Even with animal crackers, right, David? —Pam