Fall Colors at Edward's Gardens in Toronto

The month of August was a hard one for us. My husband has been taking a new diabetes drug (new to Canada) to better control his blood sugar levels. The drug has many benefits in comparison with insulin the old stand by drug for diabetes, with side effects in only .1% of the patients. Unfortunately for my husband Harold, he seems to have fallen within that insignificant percentile and has been experiencing every bad side effect on the drug's list, including nausea and vomiting. Crushing exhaustion has also been plaguing his days and I find him nodding off at the drop of a hat. He lost 10lbs in a month and looks pale and gaunt. (All this from the drug that is supposed to be "helping" him with diabetes!)

It was then with great relief that the last days of the month and the first days of September we had a bit of a reprieve from daily stresses. Two welcome weeks of vacation!  With great excitement, we embarked on a few days for a vacation trip to eastern Ontario/Ottawa. The health issues came right along with our other luggage, but it was still wonderful to be away.

Amongst other things, we went on a boat cruise of the Thousand Islands

We took in the Museum of Civilization and the National Gallery in Ottawa. This is a detail from a sculpture on display at the Museum of Civilization.

After our days of travel, we returned home to Toronto. Harold had plans to be off on his own adventure for the final few days of our vacation. Guilty to be leaving me behind at home, he let me choose some things I wanted to do with our final vacation day together. 

I decided I wanted to do something fun and for me taking pictures of flowers is fun. We have never been to Edwards Garden in Toronto and I thought that it was about time we paid the civic garden a visit.

Adjacent to the Toronto Botanical Gardens, Edwards Gardens is a former estate garden that was purchased by the city of Toronto in 1955. It is now a public garden known for its roses, wildflowers and rockery.

It is always wonderful to discover new perennial that would make a great addition to my own garden. I was not familiar with this one at all but thought that it was really pretty, as a foil for all the pink sedums in the fall flower beds. 

Perhaps you know its name? I think it might be Caryopteris or as it is commonly called Bluebeard or Blue Spirea.

At Edwards Gardens, tall grasses made a really nice backdrop for the flower beds planted with a variety of perennials including sedum and asters.

The ruffled leaves of burgundy Heuchera (lower right) nicely compliment the pale pink color of the adjacent sedum.

Dark burgundy leaves, warm pink and a blue toned pink flowers create an odd but interesting mix of colors, don't you think?

Up close the tiny sedum buds are like fireworks

The Obedient plant (Physostegia virginiana) we saw there can be a great addition to the fall garden. They are easy to grow in moist soils in sun or part shade. Be careful to choose on of the newer varieties like "Miss Manners" as older varieties of obedient plant can be invasive.

Here different shades of pink sedum were mixed to great effect.

Annuals really come into their own in the last days of summer. I haven't used many annuals in my garden and these beds where enough to make me reconsider. I love the distinctive leaves of these annuals. Who needs flowers when you have such dramatic foliage?

Our morning at the garden was quite and restful. Harold soaked in the sun, while I went round and got picture taking out of my system. He did stir off his garden bench to take some bee pictures. He loves taking bee pictures. Me, I've been stung too many times. I'll stick with flowers. Except for run-ins with thorns, flowers don't bite!

Great Fall Color in a Country Garden in Eramosa Township

Heuchera blossoms in the foreground with Japanese Blood Grass in the background

The expansive roadside flower beds brimming with fall color leave no doubt that this small stone farmhouse in Eramosa township is a gardener's home. 

Tall clumps of Feather Reed Grass stand like sentinels on either side of the home's driveway. Summer flowers which include Annabelle Hydrangea and orange colored daylilies are succeeded in fall by Brown-eyed Susan, Echinacea, Sedum and large clumps of tall grass. In the winter months, evergreens take over the job of providing interest in the garden. 

River rock curves its way across the bottom of the roadside banks of perennials. Large scale boulders were brought in to add permanent, all-season structure to the flower beds. 

The old stone farm house dates from around the 1850's.

River rock was also used to frame the large oval shaped garden at the end of the driveway. A curved set of stone steps lead up into the bed of flowers. Here again sweeping clumps of tall grasses, Sedum and Brown-eyed Susan add dramatic fall color.

At the front of the house, a cluster of different varieties of Phlox, Echinacea (above), Globe Thistle (below) and the last of the pink Holllyhocks (below) were all in bloom, when we visited the garden.

In the back garden, the sea of Periwinkle must look amazing when the purple flowers emerge in spring. Even green, this mass planting is quite striking.

Also in the back garden, this Japanese Blood Grass looks amazing with sedum as a backdrop.

There are two seating areas in the back garden, a circular stone patio just off the back door and this little nook above, with its park bench and small pond (half hidden on the right).

A rustic birdhouse in the back garden

A Chipmunk with a battle-scared face pays a fall visit to the garden

For wild animals and birds, summer can be a fairly quiet time for activity in the garden. Come fall however, birds rediscover the feeders, squirrels and chipmunks scamper about the garden looking for that seed or nut, which will get them through the coming winter.

The Deep Burgundy Colors of Early Fall

 One day in late August, a rain shower had kept us indoors for most of the afternoon. After being house bound until 4 o'clock, we headed out in the cool of the early evening to walk with the dogs.  We were passing by a neighbor's garden, when we noticed this blood red hollyhock weighed down with raindrops. It was so pretty that we had to stop and take some pictures.

On the left, the pinwheel shape of the unopened flower and on the right, a view into the dark depths of rich burgundy reveal a delicate cream center. 

The flower revealed, shining and translucent in the late day light.

Dragons Blood Sedum (above) burgundy accents the outer edge of the leaves.

Our early evening walk got me noticing other wonderful burgundies in other plants which come into their own in the late summer and early fall. 

Humber Nursery, Toronto

Here the burgundy stems hoist pale pink flower heads skyward on this Sedum Matrona. 

Planter Humber Nursery, Toronto

Red Fountain Grass shoots like fireworks out of this fall container. I love the way the burgundy colored fountain grass mixes with the crinkled edge of a purple ornamental cabbage and the rivers of yellow leaves in this container planting.

And some of the most stunning burgundies in fall are reserved for dahlias flowers.

I could not resist this heuchera, when I saw it on a recent visit to Humber Nursery. The variety is called "Purple Petticoats".

I end with the burnt burgundy of a maple leaf shot through with an electric jolt of bright red.

A Heritage Home's Garden in Georgetown, Ontario

Isn't this a pretty annual? It is Lavatera that the homeowner grew from seed.

Located in the heart of Georgetown, this heritage house has been lovingly restored. At the front of the house, hanging baskets and decorative urns are filled with colorful annuals. Morning glory vines trail up the front steps and climb up the side of the front porch. 

A pretty vignette on the front porch

At the back of the house there is a sunken patio area with plenty of space for casual dinners and entertaining. A short flight of stone steps and an arbor covered in morning glories (above) leads to the main garden which runs along the side of the house. 

A view of the garden at the side of the house.

Bee Balm, Rudbeckia, a blue variety of Rose of Sharon and Black-eyed Susan bloom at the back gate.

Three different Rose of Sharon bushes add mid-summer color including this blue one, a single white and this lovely, soft pink one below.

The homeowner has a fondness for decorative metal containers which she fills with flowers and hangs on the house's soft grey siding. 

Above, the geranium basket sits overtop of a variegated euonymus bush that has been clipped into a whimsical heart shape. Below, a decorative key purchased for $2.50 hangs from a wire basket with a mix of colorful annuals. 

Sedum fills a pair of terra cotta shoes

I loved the way this sedum filled a crevice in an old stump.

Some of the many playful objects and vignettes that dot the garden.

Every year this Hibiscus makes the trip outdoors to spend the warm summer months in the garden. Now approximately twenty years old, this five foot topiary continues to produce exquisite peach colored blossoms each summer.

A small Chinese figure looks out from a decorative planter filled with sedum.