A Late Summer Visit to Lost Horizons Nursery

Any serious plant collector in the Greater Toronto area should be able to give you driving directions, but if you aren't watching carefully for the sign, Lost Horizons Nursery is fairly easy to miss. The nursery, which specializes in rare and unusual plants, sits back from the road and is largely hidden by dense brush. As you head out of the little town of Acton, travelling west on Highway 7, the only hint of this plant lover's paradise is the sign on your left and a glimpse of the nursery owner's home peeking out from amongst the trees.

Should you be lucky enough to visit, take a stroll through the display garden before you go shopping. To find it, wander through the rows of plants, past the hoop greenhouses and over a little wooden bridge. There you'll find yourself in a garden that feels intimate and private in comparison with the more public side of the nursery.

This isn't a "garden" in the traditional sense of the word. For the suburban homeowner, familiar with flowerbeds bordering an expanse of lawn, strolling around the property will feel more like a walk in the woods. On the surface, this planting style feels very casual and informal in comparison to the typical home garden, but make no mistake– what feels quite natural and woodsy is actually carefully edited. The selection of materials and planting combinations have all been well considered.

You may not want to replicate this relaxed style of garden, but there are lots of ideas that might inspire your own plantings at home.

As I walked down this gravel path, it was impossible to miss the solitary, rather striking peduncle of white oriental lilies, but what really captured my imagination was something much more subtle and sophisticated–the interesting mix of foliage textures and colors. The view would fall flat if it wasn't for the deep red of the Japanese maple and Barberry (on the middle left). 

Experienced gardeners know that flowers are fleeting and foliage is around for the long haul. You quickly learn to try to vary the foliage color, shape and texture. I, for one, have always relied heavily on perennials with variegation and colorful foliage to counter the dominance of the color green. This little corner of the display garden was a nice reminder that larger, more structural plants like shrubs and trees continue that interplay of colors and texture above basic ground level.  

While the cream and green of this variegated Knotweed are very attractive, I caution you that this is an aggressive perennial that can spread quickly if left unchecked. Better to try something like the Acer seen in an upcoming photo.

Why have shrubs and trees always tended to slip down my list of priorities? 

They're expensive! My budget feels like it stretches further when I buy perennials, but that's a bit shortsighted. In fact, the one thing I regret most, ten-plus years into making my garden, is not investing more in trees and shrubs back at the beginning. So I'll pass on the wisdom gleaned from my oversight.

Isn't this a lovely view? In the distance, you see a clay pot sitting in front of a wooden bench. Sometimes simple is the best way to go.

I'm not sure of the name of this specific hosta, but there are quite a number of new introductions that have a nice ruffled edge. 

While I love color, I have to say that all this green feels so serene. In parts of the garden where the palette is more restrained, texture becomes the star.

Shape is another design element that is often overlooked. Here the rounded leaves of Solomon Seal contrast so beautifully with the tall, delicate fronds of the fern behind it.

A butterfly on Swamp Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata.

Here the tall yellow spires of a Ligularia make the perfect backdrop for the pale lavender trumpets of a number of different hostas. In the lower-left corner, there is a Sedum about to bloom.  On the right, the big, silvery-green leaves of a Brunnera stand out next to the fine, lime-green foliage of the hosta just behind it (on the middle right). 

All the foliage has a different shape, color and texture. Together they make a pretty picture.

Read more about Brunnera here.

Ligularia 'The Rocket' has toothed leaves and dark, erect stems bearing yellow flowers. This plant needs moist, rich soil to be happy. Clumps may be divided every three to four years in the spring. Slugs can be an issue. Full sun to part-shade. Height: 120-180 (47-70 inches), Spread: 80-90 cm (31-15 inches). USDA zones: 4-9. (If you are looking for a smaller plant consider 'Bottle Rocket' or 'Little Rocket'.  

I love the way the Ligularia flower finds a color echo in the foliage of a Japanese Maple.

Carnival Hedge Maple, Acer campestre 'Carnival'

Carnival Hedge Maple, Acer campestre 'Carnival' is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a nice rounded shape. In the spring the leaves emerge with a blush of pink. As the summer progresses, the leaves mature to be green with cream variegation. This is a slow-growing cultivar. Height: 10 ft., Spread: 10 ft. Hardy to USDA zones 5.

 

Yellow Wax Bells, Kirengeshoma palmata is a great foliage plant for moist, part-shade. It has pendulous butter-yellow flowers and medium green foliage that is shaped like a maple leaf. Height: 90-120 cm (35-47 inches), Spread: 75-90 cm (29-35 inches). USDA zones: 5-8.

You may be too far away to ever visit Lost Horizons Nursery, but I would encourage you to visit local public or private gardens on organized tours this spring. There is no greater inspiration than seeing a garden firsthand.

Four Contemporary Gardens

I don't often show contemporary gardens. They seem to be harder to find for some unknown reason. Today I have gathered together four nicely designed modern gardens; two are fairly large and two were created with average-sized suburban lots.

It may surprise you that this first example is a front yard. Evergreens and a tall wooden fence enclose the front garden and provide privacy from the street. 

One of the things that make this outdoor space so interesting is the use of traditional plants and materials in new and unexpected ways. For instance, the brick pattern inset into the front walkway is as traditional as it gets. With the selection of such a classic pattern, you might expect the walkway to sweep in a grand curve toward the front of the house. Instead the walkway is a clean, straight line making the classic herringbone pattern feel very fresh and modern. 

The plantings are just as quirky and original– who would expect to see a ruffled pink rhododendron used in the design of a contemporary garden?

The basic layout is a rectangular courtyard with a central "lawn" that isn't your typical turf. Instead, the rectangle of grass is wild and unmown. Framed with grey stone pavers, the wavy grass feels like a turbulent green pond.

The fence that encloses the courtyard is wooden, but the boards are run on the horizontal rather than the standard vertical. This horizontal striping adds a dramatic energy to the space.

At the foot of the fence, there is a raised bed that skirts the perimeter of the courtyard. The material used is not wood, as one might expect. Long pieces of rusted metal are employed instead giving the garden a touch of the industrial.

The container plantings are just as bold– no geraniums and petunias here! In place of standard annuals are bright chartreuse Coleus, ornamental cabbages and a large, split-leaf Philodendron, Monstera deliciosa. 

Even the container itself is not a typical plant pot. It has a round bowl-like shape and is overscale in its dimensions. 

Tucked into a corner is a dining table that was made from a giant slab of solid rock.

The water feature is a recessed pool with an urn on a pedestal at its centre.

This large urn is filled with a number of plants including a dramatic Foxtail Asparagus Fern, Asparagus densiflorus 'Myers' (this fern is not winter hardy–it needs to spend its winters indoors as a houseplant) and a Rex Begonia. Creeping Jenny spills over the rim.

The second garden I want to show you is newly created. Again, straight lines not curves give the design its modern edge. At the back of the house, there is a generous patio of large grey pavers (the outer edge of which is seen on the right). The low, dark columns house night lights. Cascading from a reservoir just in front of the Japanese-inspired shed is a waterfall that empties into a recessed stream that runs much of the length of the yard. 

The plants here aren't grouped in the standard way. Instead they are planted in blocks and long lines. In the foreground, you can see a row of Fotherengilla in bloom.

Dwarf Fothergilla is a low shrub that provides 3 seasons of interest: white bottle-brush blooms in spring, green leaves in summer and orange leaves in fall. And it's also fragrant. Height: 2-6' depending on the cultivar. Spread: 4'-6'. USDA Zones: 5-8.

The long water feature flows like a stream, but has no natural curves. Long wooden planks hide the pond liner and creates a narrow deck on either side of the stream. Metal grating creates a series of bridges along the length of the water feature.

Planted behind the stream is another row of Fothergilla. There is also Japanese Forest Grass (the patch of yellow) and tall Cleome (an annual that will bloom most of the summer). Just in front of the stream is a long row of Catmint, Nepetea (which will have blue flowers for an extended period of time).

Catmint, Nepeta racemosa 'Walker's Low'

The next home and garden is set into a steep hillside. At the front of the house, the plantings are terraced. Begonias give this shady area an injection of bright color.

A pathway leads visitors around the side of the house to a large patio area. With an abundance of mature trees on either side of the property line, the backyard is also quite shady. 

Astilbe, Lady's Mantle and Goat's Beard are a few of the plants that spill over the edge of a low, stone retaining wall.

Goat's Beard, Aruncus dioicus has feathery white plumes mid-summer. This plant has green ferny foliage, which is quite attractive in its own right.  Full sun or part shade.  Height: 120-180 cm ( 47-70 inches), Spread: 90-150 cm (35-59 inches.) USDA Zones: 2-9.

Below: Purple Columbine and Bleeding Heart (pink flowers) bloom in front of the long wall that run the length of the yard. The middle section of the property is more open making it possible to have a large expanse of green lawn. 

The upper terrace has a naturalistic planting of trees, shrubs and shade loving perennials.

In contrast with my first two examples, the plantings in this garden are quite natural. Though this garden is in the heart of the city, it feels like a quiet and secluded woodland.

The final property is the smallest, but it is a modest garden with plenty of style. 

The back gate is simple, but really nicely done. The long slats on the left of the gate make a sort of window with louvered shutters. The main part of the gate uses wooden fence boards that are once again run on the horizontal rather than the vertical. 

A minimalist walkway, that is a mix of grey pavers and pea gravel, makes the path into the garden feel calm and serene. 

This suburban lot slopes up from the back of the house. A short stroll across the lawn takes you to a simple pergola and seating area. The design of the pergola is spare with clean lines and no ornamental flourishes. 

One of my favourite elements is the low privacy screen which has been constructed of narrow wooden boards run on the horizontal. Unlike the first garden with the horizontal fencing, the boards here are run in wide bans on either side of the vertical supports giving the low wall three dimensional stripes. 

Plantings: 1. Japanese Maple 2. Feather Reed Grass 3. Astilbe 4. Boxwood hedge 5. Japanese Maple 6. Blue Fescue Grass 7. Japanese Blood Grass

The plantings may be spare, but are a sophisticated mix of colors and textures. As we have seen with a couple of the other modern gardens, traditional plants have been used here in novel ways. For instance, a box hedge (see 4) is as traditional as it comes, but at the front of the pergola, it makes a neat evergreen line that nicely echoes the wide bans of the decking just above it.

The plantings are pretty low maintenance; just a quick tidy up and the addition of some compost would get this garden started in the spring. A good layer of mulch would keep the area fairly weed-free.

These contemporary gardens may not be to everyone's taste, but even if this garden isn't your cup of tea, I think you can take away a lesson in good design that could be put to use in any garden: 

Always challenge yourself to think outside the box. Try to approach everyday building materials and plants in fresh, new ways. Any garden stands to benefit tremendously from the spark of a little creativity.