The Sharpe Schoolhouse Garden, Caledon Ontario

I hope everyone had a great weekend. This week, my garden blog posts are united by a school theme. 

I begin the week, with a historic schoolhouse home and garden on Old School Road in Caledon, Ontario. Old School Road was so named because, in days gone by when children walked to school, there was a school built ever two or three miles along the road to make the distance from home to school manageable.

The heritage building has a family connection for Mr. Sharpe, its current owner. Mr. Sharpe's father attended the school for eight years and his mother later taught there. The schoolhouse is, in fact, where his parents met. The year Mr. Sharpe started grade one, the school closed, so he himself missed attending it by just a few years.

When the school came up for auction, his father bought and renovated it, turning it into a private residence. Great care was taken in the renovation process to maintain period details and keep the edition at the back of the schoolhouse in keeping with the original structure. 

At the front of the property a Union Jack flag, which is the flag appropriate to the school's founding date of 1879, flies high above a circular bed of clipped yew and euonymus.

The school bell can still be rung using a firm pull on the rope in the front vestibule.

The charming front door knocker.

 The Sharpe's have also planted a lovely garden on the property. With out further ado, let's head down the flagstone path that encircles the house to see the beautifully designed garden.

As you turn to the right of the schoolhouse, you pass under a birch tree and follow along a path through the herb garden. 

A little further along the path is a large deck.

A decorative urn filled with coleus on the deck.

 Japanese anemone

 A bridge and pond a few steps further down the path. 

(Left) The vivid orange of Mountain Ash berries. (Right) A set of stone steps lead down to a flagstone patio.

The sheltered patio at the back of the vine covered home.