A Garden in the Most Unlikely of Places

The steep, rocky slope and the splendid view of the pine forest beyond were one of the many things that first attracted John and Peggy Lewzey to their property near Everton, Ontario.

"Our previous house had a very open yard, so the privacy of the enclosed wooded garden was very appealing. The property was covered in snow when we saw it, but the bones of the house and garden spoke to us. We thought that the existing concrete steps would, at some point, be replaced with natural stone," Peggy tells me.

A stone staircase at the side of the house takes you down to a narrow plateau where you get the first glimpse of the waterfall and oval pond at the bottom of the ravine.

The lovely Annabelle hydrangea on one side of the stone staircase.

The striking contrast of bright green on grey stone.

 

Looking back to the first set of steps.

Looking forward to the steps down to pond.

The first view of the pond.

Bright purple Campanula set against the grey limestone.

Imagine the effort involved in moving these huge boulders into place. They must weigh a ton!

"The stone steps, paths and patio were added in 2010," says Peggy," We have a friend whom we consider an artist with stone. The dolomitized limestone was sourced by him from a quarry near Glen Williams. The stone suits the craggy landscape around Everton and Rockwood very well. The project took 2 months to complete and was accomplished by one man with a small bobcat machine."

Left: Hardy succulents Right: A carpet of Creeping Thyme cascades over the rocks.

"Japanese Maples are a favourite shrub/small tree in our garden, especially those with fiery fall foliage", says Peggy.

“Rob the Rock” was a delight to work with," says Peggy, "He would muse thoughtfully and decide which particular rock would be just the right one for a certain location. We had a rough idea of how things would look when they were finished, but it was very much a work in progress that would be adapted by Rob or ourselves as we went along. The flagstone was laid down by the bridge, working up past the dry stone wall that supports the patio, many meandering steps, a connecting pathway to more steps and the side garden. Then some stepping stones finally takes you to the driveway at the front of the house...37 steps in all! Not for the faint hearted, but good exercise." 

From the stone steps there is now a good view of the pond. John and Peggy give some credit for the pond to the original owners of their property:

"The location was originally quite boggy and fed with a spring, so it was a natural area to visualize a pond. It was dug out with a backhoe, which got stuck in the mud more than once. The finished depth in the middle is now about 9ft."

"The pond is lined (the spring keeps the level constant). Any overflow finds it’s way via a creek to the Eramosa River."

"The pond is stocked with rainbow and speckled trout that overwinter there. The spring, which runs into the pond, keeps an open area in the ice which enables the water to stay well oxygenated," John tells me.

"We had regular visits from great blue herons when the pond was newly stocked with small fish and now that they are full grown we see mink hunting in the area. When newly stocked several years ago we started with 50 fish, but nature takes it’s toll, and we now have about 15. Our oldest resident lived to be 9 years old."

"The 12 ft. limestone rock face is naturally occurring, we have a pump underneath which cycles the water to the top, making a gentle and natural looking waterfall," says John.

"Cedar bark was tied around the pipe carrying the water to the top of the rock face so that the workings of the waterfall are camouflaged for a more natural look."

I asked Peggy about her favourite plants. 

"Favourite plants? We all have lots of those!," she replies,"For shade, Maidenhair Ferns, which look so delicate and lacy, but are actually quite tough in our garden. Japanese Painted Ferns. which are tough and are quite happy to be divided and spread around the garden... I love ferns!"

The list of favourites does not end there...

Japanese Forest Grass

Hosta (left) and ferns growing amongst the rocks (right)

"Japanese Forest Grasses of all varieties which so elegantly drape over rocks and the edges of raised beds," Peggy continues her list. 

"We have a lot of hostas in the garden, another good shade plant...all sizes from the huge 'Sum and Substance' to the tiny 'Blue Mouse Ears'."

"For spring colour in the shade garden, Bleeding Heart is a favourite, pink or white flowering, both green or chartreuse foliage." 

"Some favourite spring flowering, sun-loving shrubs are lilac. We have a common lilac that flowers spectacularly next to our driveway, but had to remove a French hybrid because it just didn’t do well. Also we have a White Star Magnolia that flowers beautifully without fail."

Lamb's Ears, Stachys byzantina

"Sometimes it isn’t just a favourite plant but rather a favourite combination of plants that pleases the eye. A favourite grouping is Ladies Mantle, chartreuse Forest Grass, the bright blue of trailing Waterfalls Campanula and the soft grey of Lambs Ears. I could go on and on," Peggy says.

"The boardwalks enable direct access across some boggy garden areas to the acres of forested conservation area and a regional scout-camp with many trails, limestone cliffs and geological pot-holes. the Eramosa River runs through it all. We have made good use of the trails over the years for dog walking and exploring with our grandchildren. We are encouraging the spread of wild ferns in these damp areas, including Ostrich, Sensitive and Hay Scented ferns," Peggy tells me.

Looking back up the slope, it is easy to think that you'd have to be part Mountain goat to garden here, but Peggy takes it all in stride.

"The steep slope is a challenge to garden on, especially as we are not as nimble as we once were!,"she laughs."Recently we have been getting some gardening help on the steeper areas.Our aim with our plantings was to cover the hill with low maintenance plants which we keep well mulched."

"There was some existing English Ivy groundcover from the previous owners, difficult to eradicate but it gets a severe haircut every year to keep it from smothering out other plants. There are many evergreens planted, along with Buddleia and Sedum 'Autumn Joy' for autumn colour."

"The slope is south facing so can become dry; in periods of prolonged drought we have an old pump that takes water from the pond for occasional watering."

The property may have its challenges, but it is hard to imagine a more spectacular setting for a garden!

A Storybook Shade Garden

Regular readers might wonder how I select the gardens that appear on this blog. A tempting assumption would be that I like everything I show, but strictly speaking, that's not the case. It's a little less personal than that.

For every eight gardens I visit, I feel lucky to walk away with one that I feel readers might really enjoy. It's not that the other seven gardens weren't nice, they usually are, but somehow they lack that extra bit of magic that makes them special.

This brings me to today's garden. Storybook characters aren't my cup of tea, but my own personal tastes aren't relevant in this case. This garden is quite unique. It speaks to the personality and imagination of the woman that created it. You know a little something about her by the time you wonder the pathways and stop at all the little vignettes. And I think that's great.

Storybook figures may not be your thing either or just maybe you think that Snow White and her seven diminutive friends are absolutely adorable, either way, take a moment to look past them to the garden as a whole.  The plantings are quite nicely done. I don't know about you, but I have never seen a wisteria vine used in such an interesting and novel way.

Just look at this little guy with his round belly, laughing smile and eyes wide open in wonder. It is impossible to think that a gardener who'd chosen such a jolly figure as a garden ornament could be mean-spirited or unkind.

In fact, when I spoke with Eva Martini on the phone to learn a little more about her garden, she was lovely and warm. She was happy to answer all of my questions and seemed genuinely touched that her garden might be featured.

Being solid concrete the figures are heavy. It took no less than two men to load the largest statue, that of the of a storybook princess, into Eva's car.

Eva's fantasy garden began with Dopey. A local nursery was planning a move and the owner was looking to clear his inventory of concrete figures. He had Snow White and all seven of the dwarfs.

For Eva, the classic story had been a childhood favourite. She might have liked to have all eight characters, but being frugal, she bought just one.

Eva brought Dopey home, hand painted the concrete and settled him into her garden. But poor Dopey seemed a little lonely without his buddies. So Eva went back to the nursery. Eventually, over the course of several months, she bought all seven of the dwarfs and the fair Snow White.

The sign reads, "No wabbits allowed!"

The garden itself is a little over twenty years old. Eva laid out the paths and did most of the work herself as a surprise for her husband who was away in Italy for a time nursing his ailing mother.

Wisteria can be a very aggressive vine, but Eva keeps it in check by pruning it hard three times a year. To train the wisteria up and then across, she's used sturdy metal poles that she purchased at the Home Depot (wisteria has been known to snap pieces of wood in two).

One of the nicest things about wisteria are the long, dangling flowers each spring. Getting a wisteria to bloom can however be a challenge.  The vine must be pruned at the right time of year and you really need to know exactly what you're doing. 

Eva has succeeded in getting her wisteria to flower most springs, but the weather has been so unpredictable in the last couple of years she's had trouble coaxing her vines to produce the fragrant flowers.

The garden's color palette is largely a quiet mix of greens, but Eva's used variegation and different shades of the same color to great effect.

At the very back of the yard, there is a vegetable patch and cutting garden. Eva grows asparagus, kale, tomatoes and many other vegetables. One of her favourite crops is chicory which Eva picks, mixes with a bit of water, and blends into a juice. Eva tells me that she loves chicory's bitter taste.

Another prized crop is a rare banana-shaped tomato that Eva grows every year from seed she saves herself. This heirloom tomato comes originally from Poland and seeds are next to impossible to find. Eva says the yellow tomatoes are deliciously sweet and meaty.

As well as vegetables, there are bearded iris, some roses and tall, purply-blue Larkspur in this part of the backyard. The larkspur reseeds itself every year.

One the final leg of our tour, we'll pay Snow White a visit. As you can see in the picture below, Eva has created a fantasy setting worthy of her beloved storybook heroine.

Elizabeth Gilbert writes in Big Magic, her new book about creativity, "Do whatever brings you to life...Follow your own fascinations, obsessions and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart."

I think that's exactly what Eva Martini has managed to do so superbly in creating her storybook shade garden.

Eva sent me this picture of her tomatoes. Look at the size of them!

Ten Ideas to Steal for your Garden Next Spring

Located on a quiet, tree-lined road near Campbellville, Ontario is a large country garden that has been twelve years in the making. The prospect of landscaping such a sizeable property might have intimidated many homeowners, but Mary-Anne Poole tackled the project bit by bit as time and money permitted. 

Under the tall evergreens at the front of the house, she planted shade-loving hostas in a series of island beds. Along the arc of the driveway, Mary-Anne created a part-shade garden using a mix of plants including Heuchera, Tiarella and Japanese Ferns.

In the sunny backyard, she designed a deep flowerbed that has grown in size over the years. It now runs the entire length of one side of the yard and across the back of the property. One of the nicest features of the wide, sunny border is a waterfall and pond framed by a rustic arbour.

Here are 10 great ideas from Mary-Anne's garden that can scaled-down to be suit any sized property:

1. Hint to a hidden destination. From mystery springs curiosity. When an outdoor space is revealed at a single glance, you remove the element of surprise and the delight at discovery that inevitably follows. A degree of mystery draws visitors to explore a garden with the hidden promise of what lies ahead.

In case you are wondering, the purple flowers seen in the previous picture are Lupins.

2. Create an interesting border to accentuate the pleasing curves of your flowerbeds. To edge her garden, Mary-Anne laid down a ribbon of landscape cloth and covered it with beach pebbles and a line of grey boulders.

The blue flowers in the previous image are Campanula.

Succulents and Cactus mingle together here. 

Good drainage is key to getting these plants to overwinter.

3. Plant a conversation piece! Capture the interest of garden visitors with an unexpected or unusual plant. Most people are curious about the cactus in Mary-Anne's garden but, surprisingly enough, some varieties of cactus can overwinter here in Southern Ontario. 

Mary-Anne's collection of succulents and cacti are quite exposed to the harshness 

of the elements in an island bed in the centre of the lawn.

Succulents & cactus mixed together.

Ostrich Ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris

4. Go Native! When you choose a plant native to your area, you increase the chances it will be successful in your garden.

The Ostrich Ferns that are incorporated into the plantings around Mary-Anne's pond are native to Southern Ontario. Not only is this fern beautiful in dappled shade, but it is also well adapted to the growing conditions of her garden.

Ostrich Ferns, Matteuccia struthiopteris, by the pond.

5. Don't forget to consider the appeal of pleasant sounds. A great garden appeals to all the senses. One of the first things you notice about Mary-Anne's garden is the abundance of bird song. Birdhouses sit on top of tall posts, and feeders hang in almost every tree.

6. Don't leave visitors standing on the lawn admiring your garden from a polite distance. Invite them in to experience your garden more intimately by incorporating a pathway. If your yard isn't this large, use a short series of stepping stones tucked into one of the corners of the garden.

7. When it comes to adding color in shade or part-shade, think beyond flowers. If you have full shade, look for hostas that have interesting variegation or leaf color. In the partly shaded flowerbed along the driveway, Mary-Anne has incorporated a mix of Heuchera and Tiarella to make the garden colorful.

The plants with the dark burgundy foliage are Heuchera. The Foam Flowers or Tiarella have green leaves with dark veining. In spring, Tiarella have the bonus of lovely, soft white flowers.

8. Play up texture with contrast. Here the chartreuse flowers of Lady's Mantle, Alchemilla seems all the more delicate with a backdrop of small grey rocks and pebbles.

Wisteria vines provide the leafy canopy that covers the rustic structure.

9. Accentuate a focal point or key feature by framing it with an arbor. Here, rough timber and driftwood have been used to create the arbor that leads visitors to a pond in the centre of the backyard garden. 

10. Install a pond! A garden should be a place to reconnect with nature and nothing attracts birds, frogs and other creatures to your garden like a pond!

I hope you have found a few ideas that will inspire your plans for next spring!

More Information and Links:

I originally wrote about Mary-Anne Poole's garden for the Niagara Escarpment Views Magazine. You can read the full  2016 spring issue online. The article on Mary-Anne's garden, along with additional pictures, is also available in pdf form here.