Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Flowers Garden, Oakville Ontario



This week I am celebrating the first anniversary of my garden blog. I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all those kind people who allowed me to photograph and share their private gardens. 

Today, I would like to show you another garden we photographed on last year's Water Garden Tour.
The Flowers family of Oakville, Ontario had not one, but two ponds in their small suburban garden. The first, a more formal pond, had a square shape framed by paving stones and was filled with white water lilies, when we visited (shown above). 

The second water feature, a more casual design, was constructed at the bottom of an old, unused swimming pool. At one end of the old pool, the Flower's created a cascading waterfall, which tumbled down several feet to a small pond, which they installed at the bottom of the former pool. Opposite the waterfall, a short flight of stone steps was built to lead visitors down to pond level.


The second pond in the backyard is fed by a cascading waterfall. 

If last summer's Greater Toronto Water Garden Tour was any indication, there seems to be a bit of a trend to turn under used, high maintenance backyard swimming pools into garden ponds. 

The pond at the bottom of the old swimming pool.

The plantings at the edge of the pond included a ferny astilbe that was about to flower.



The garden had a number of inspirational ideas. Above, a light weight bamboo screen was used to disguise a standard back yard fence.

A set of wooden chimes added to the Japanese theme and was a nice reminder to layer sound into a garden's array of sensory pleasures.


Here is another rather fun idea. Standard copper pipe was used to construct the arbor which framed the entrance to the back garden.



A daylily from the front garden.

A canopy of mature trees somewhat limited the plantings in the back garden to shade loving perennials like hosta and ferns. The front yard, on the other hand, enjoyed all the advantages of full sun and was planted with a wide range of flowering plants.

There are so many different varieties of clematis available these days, aren't there? I thought this one was quite striking.

A birdbath vignette from the front garden.

We weren't the only visitors to the garden that day.


Isn't this lovely? I don't know why you don't see white echinacea in gardens. 

I also think white phlox is underused in preference to more popular pink varieties. 

Again, my thanks to the Flowers of Oakville and to all the other gardeners who were generous enough to allow me to share their private gardens through this blog.

15 comments:

  1. I like Phlox and hope to get some white, I believe 'David' is the variety. It certainly adds the punch in the garden.
    That copper arbor is really nice, something to think about making.....?

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  2. Jennifer this garden is just stunning, especially that clematis!

    Eileen

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  3. Hi Jennifer and congratulations on your first successful year of blogging! I must admit, yours is one of my most favourites to visit. Your skill with the camera and your amazing photos always keep me coming back for more! Thanks for sharing all these beautiful gardens.

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  4. I think that duck sculpture is the first I've seen that captures the actual grace of the bird. Such as a Mallard and not a Muscovy duck.

    Yum, I love that daylily.

    I have a lot of Phlox 'David' here. It's a wonderful phlox. The only time it ever mildews is during a cool, dry spring, which is unusual here in NC.

    Thanks for sharing your gorgeous photos.

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  5. Hi Jennifer! Congrats on your anniversary! I love your blog. Your photos of the water gardens are lovely. I don't have one but am fascinated with one and if I ever find the right spot (and time!) I would love to have one with the cascading waterfall like you show above. The bamboo screen is a great idea too! I have an ugly chain link fence in my yard and this might be the solution...

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  6. I've seen copper used once or twice in gardens and it's such a great idea. The copper wears to such a lovely colour. I agree on the white echinacea but I'm a bit of a white fanatic.

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  7. Lovely water garden! I love the idea of turning the swimming pool into a pond.

    Thanks!

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  8. The garden owners must enjoy seeing how you captured their gardens and what you chose to show. It's surprising to see your own garden (or any creative work) through someone else's eyes.

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  9. I never heard of turning a swimming pool into a pond. Great idea! Love the copper arbors. I'm wanting some new arbors - I may use this idea! Thanks!

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  10. A truly magnificent garden! Thank you so very much for sharing this delightful tour with us...it's the kind of garden I would have found exceedingly difficult to leave at the end of the day!

    Tomorrow, my blog is 4 months old :)

    Hope you're having a GREAT week!!!

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  11. How beautiful, I particularly love your shots of the echinaceas and the water lily. That copper piping arbour is a wonderful idea, I am going to file it away for future use!

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  12. I stayed in my classroom till 7:45 tonight and came home capable of only one function: must look at pretty pictures. So I went straight to your blog! That garden is incredible. Want! Want! Want! Gorgeous photos, as usual. Thanks for the mini-vacation. I needed it!!!

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  13. Congrats on your blog anniversary ..So enjoy your lovely photos....

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  14. This is my parents' garden. It's so lovely to see all the nice comments; they have worked really hard on it.

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    Replies
    1. Your parents have a lovely garden and I was happy to have an opportunity to see and photograph it.

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