New Gardens at RBG

These Royal Botanical Gardens pictures were taken  before the garden was closed for extensive renovations.   The magic of this garden is its sunken setting.  Like Butchart, one comes to the garden at the elevated entrance so surveys the whole garden.  Then one enters down into its magical paths where flowers, benches, and collections of plants draw one's attention.  RBG's strength was its spring time plantings.  It treated the garden as a canvas to be painted using tulips. I'm going to check it out today.  I'll see a completely new 'garden' in this special setting - a  new look, new design,  new plantings, new building, new everything.  Stay tuned. The RBG arboretum is nearby and has an extensive collection of spring flowering trees.  I hope you have a chance to visit by the weekend.  While our spring is glorious, it seems to be quite short.

Seahorse in Blossoms

What makes a great public garden 'great' is the scale and complexity of plantings, structures, paths and other garden elements in the landscape.  Winterthur has expansive naturalistic gardens that are considered the best in North America.  At the house are more structured formal gardens, designed by Marion Coffin.  The drifts of Azaleas and Rhododendrons frame the house in spring so that the formal and informal merge into a showcase display. At this time of year, the azaleas are reflected in the pond so that the seahorse is surrounded by pink waves.

Private Open to the Public

I made a special trip to Toronto yesterday to see the well-known garden of Marion Jarvie.  She describes herself as a 'Plantswoman'.  When you walk through the garden of thousands of plants you experience a connoisseur of plants.  She travels to England and Europe regularly for visits to hybridizers and growers and to make plant selections. Marion has Open Days throughout the garden season, and this past weekend was her first opening. Her garden a private garden open to the public by permission.  This is one of those surprise gardens for those who aren't avid gardeners.  I will be including this garden in 'Great Public Gardens in Your Own Backyard.' It is a presentation that covers public and private gardens open to the public within 150 km of the GTA. This garden is a special one though - it is richly planted with only the most interesting and often rare plants.  It is a botanical garden experience of distinction. Her website is marionjarvie.ca  and she offers workshops and presentations.  Plants are for sale during the open garden days, and I was able to purchase a few bulbs of the red flower you see below - a corydalis.  The little purple flowering plant below the corydalis is hepatica, and the final border plants are early crocus.

Painting with Tulips

Spring Tulips

Royal Botanical Gardens Rock Garden These pictures are from 2013 and are taken in the RBG rock garden. The rock garden was closed in spring 2014 for the big renovation. I looked in before Christmas and there was still a lot of heavy work in progress.  The opening is planned for this spring, but doesn't have a date yet. One can look at the RBG Site and see a map with the major features highlighted. The RBG rock garden has always showcased Tulips. Tulips are one of the great spring flowers for us - their colours range from soft and delicate to fiery and intense.  The shiny petals seem to make the colours stand out even more.  They are a perfect flower for the landscape painter.  The RBG mastery of colour combinations is enchanting.  But the result is so fleeting. In only a short time and the canvas changes and the artist starts anew.

Royal Botanical Gardens - A Rock Garden Splendour

The Royal Botanical Gardens Rock Garden display in the spring is wonderful.  Tulips grace the gardens in contrasting and complimentary colours.  Their scent is in the air along with the sound of water babbling in the stream.  The gardens are located in Burlington Ontario - here are a few selections from the visit last week.