A Walled Garden

Today, I want to share with you a twenty year labor of love that transformed the foundation of old barn into a beautiful walled garden.

A vegetable garden, two ponds and perennial beds filled with daylilies, phlox, hosta and clematis surround this century home and working farm.

We are going to head quickly through the perennial garden at the side of the house 

and focus on area around the walled garden and new barn. 

On the shady exterior of the farm's original barn the plantings include a mix of hosta, maroon colored Heuchera, Lady's Mantle and white flowering Giant Fleece Flower, 'Persicaria polymorha'.

Inside the crumbling foundation there is full sun. Clematis and other green vines cover the walls. Flowers like orange California Poppies, Lavender and Cosmos thrive in the well-drained, gravelly soil. 

Here is a basic layout of the walled garden:

Looking towards 'A' on the garden plan.

Looking towards 'B'.

Here we are looking at a wall coved in Virginia Creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia 

which is 'D' on the plan drawing.

A central pathway and vine covered arbor lead provide the main entrance
in and out of the walled garden.

It is amazing what a little creativity and a lot of hard work can do.

Third Time's the Charm (Part 2)

Musk Mallow, Malva moschata

Today, I will pick up where we left off in my previous blog post, and we will tour the two remaining garden rooms at Merlin's Hollow, while taking a look at how the garden transitions from spring into summer.

On the upper left, you can see the plan for The Fragrant Garden, which is the first room 

we will walk through.

Heading through the arbor, here is The Fragrant Garden as it looks in June.

Columbine were blooming throughout this part of the garden in the early part of the summer.

As you stroll around, a carpet of creeping thyme fills the air with fragrance.

On my last visit in July, the carpet of thyme was covered in small white flowers.

To the delight of bees and butterflies, lavender flowers also filled the air with their fresh perfume.

Now we will take a quick look at The Rock and Water Garden as it transitions from spring to summer. 

Here is the entrance to this area of the garden as it appears in May.

Spring Pea, 'Lathyrus vernus' in May

In June, there are more delicate Columbine flowers in this part of the garden.

Now here is the same arbor at the entrance to the garden in July. As you can see, a maroon-colored Clematis now covers much of the rustic, wooden arbor.

In July, the garden has filled in so much you can barely see the back door to the house!

Creamy-yellow foxglove, digitalis grandiflora

Musk Mallow, Malva moschata reaches to the top of the bungalow's low roof.

As in the other sections of the garden, there are more delightful, bell-shaped Clematis.

Here is a perennial that I am dying to add to my own garden: Queen of the Prairie or Meadowsweet (as it is sometimes called), Filipendula rubra. 

This variety has pink, cotton candy flowers in summer. Full sun/part shade. Height: 120-180 cm Spread: 90-120 cm. Queen of the Prairie likes moist or wet soil.

Here is the white blooming variety of Queen of the Prairie.

These are a summer blooming allium known as Nodding Onion or allium cernuum. 

I have never had this type of allium in my own garden, but apparently they are very adaptable, and will grow in sun or part shade in dry to medium-well drained soil.

David Tomlinson

So what is the secret to having a beautiful garden just like this one?

Merlin Hollow's big secret is now revealed.

It's not a pretty picture, but make no mistake, this stuff is gold. Rich, black gold!

All along the garden's back fence there are numerous piles of composted leaves and vegetation.

A white Hollyhock

Though it is a private garden, Merlin's Hollow is open to the public on a number of occasions each year. 

You can tour the garden located in Aurora, Ontario free of charge on the 2nd Saturday in May, the 2nd Saturday in June, the 1st Saturday in July and 2nd Sunday in July.

A Rose Covered Cottage, Waterdown Ontario

Known locally as the "Griffin Stone Cottage," this Regency styled stone cottage in Waterdown, Ontario was built sometime between 1840 and 1849. The property was originally owned by Ebenezer Griffin, often referred to as the "father" of the small town of Waterdown. Ebenezer and his brother Absalom established a small industrial empire along Grindstone Creek with the establishment of a flour mill, ashery, carding mill, sawmill, and general store.

If there was a recipe for a cottage garden, I think romantic flowers like roses, hollyhocks, delphinium and lavender would definitely be on the list of ingredients. Such a recipe would also call for a dash of colorful annuals to fill in window boxes and containers. Finally to add a bit of spice, a cottage garden recipe would suggest that you stir in of few whimsical touches such as a birdbath, a classical statue or a decorative stone bench.

In the town of Waterdown, Ontario, Sharon Roberts and her husband have mixed up a pretty courtyard garden at the front of their historic cottage. A wrought iron fence with posts toped with decorative acorns frames the small front yard beautifully. The courtyard is intersected with flagstone paths and filled with a combination of roses, annuals and perennials.

When we happened upon Griffin Cottage in late June, the climbing rose that covers the front of the small stone house was just finishing flowering. 

Tiny pink 'Fairy' roses were blooming all along the fence.

Delphinium 

Lavender was growing just inside the wrought iron gate.

A climbing hydrangea covers the side of the cottage on the left. The charming gate to the back garden can be seen in the photograph on the right.

Red begonias hang in baskets by the side door.

Nasturtiums

A small water feature hangs on the stone wall of the cottage near the back gate.

Pale yellow hollyhocks grace the side of the house.Today, I am going to link up to Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time. To see other great gardens please click the link.