Be inspired by the stunning gardens featured in our August 2024 tour – from vibrant displays of colour and rare plant varieties to unique stonework, historical accents, and whimsical, wildlife-friendly designs. Join us next Tuesday evening, August 13, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., rain or shine, to explore four gorgeous landscapes. Find a map of the four locations, here.
A reminder that gardenKitchener Garden Tours are open to active members only. If you need to purchase a 2024 membership, you can do so online here, or in-person at Garden A (289 Village Road) on August 13th. In-person memberships will be cash-only.
A summary of the tour by organizer, Bruce MacNeil:
Join us for the August Garden Tour in Forest Hills. The homes in this area were predominately built by Dutchmen Homes in the 1960s. They were built as the City continued to expand to the South.
All four gardens we will be touring are on Village Road. This is another of the routes that my dog and I walk almost daily. These gardens are quite close to one another – in fact, two of them have a gate between the gardens so that the owners can easily socialize, and the remaining gardens are on the other side of the street. This means that you can easily get to all four gardens on foot.
Three front yards of all residences are designed to be free of grass, the fourth is in the process of gradually becoming grassless and yet they are very different from one another. I love how the colours change throughout the seasons.
Here are the four gardens that you will be touring:
Garden A: 289 Village Road
Memberships available here! (Cash Only)
Kristina’s garden is a non stop profusion of colour from early Spring to Fall. It is also the most unique garden of the four as the grass has been covered with stone and the perennials are spread around the yard. The colour starts with the Yuccas and phlox in Spring and is rapidly followed by Roses and Irises and eventually by the largest Dinner Plate Hibiscus plants that I have seen, as well as some Gladiolus. I’m hoping the Hibiscus are in bloom during our tour.
Garden B: 273 Village Road
Elizabeth and Matt are relative newcomers to the area when compared to many others on the street but they have been working hard at beautifying their property. Elizabeth says that the plan is to eventually replace the lawn with plantings. It seems that there is always a new addition. I think the front garden started out with a lovely and unique Apple Tree. It apparently is a grafted tree that has 4 species of apples on the same tree. I noticed a new plant the other day that I haven’t seen before, a really delicate pink coloured Gaura. The back garden is in transition too and it features a large Catalpa tree (with the largest leaves I have seen on this tree), another Apple tree, a vegetable garden and some perennials.
Garden C: 274 Village Road
Wendy and Darcy are long time residents on the street. They use a lot of stone on the property but more impressive are the native plants that are used throughout the garden. The median gardens are new, as is the Red Oak that the City recently planted. In addition to the wonderful plants found throughout the garden such as baneberry, jack-in-the-pulpits and Butterfly Weed, there are a couple of Conestoga Wagon Wheels, a windmill, and grape vine wreaths used as accents around the garden.
Garden D: 280 Village Rd
Katherine’s garden is a wonderful mix of native and non-native plants. She says that she plants things that will pretty well take care of themselves. She did say that she uses the ‘Chelsea chop’, something I’ve never heard of, to control the heights of some of the native plants that can get quite tall such as Joe Pye Weed and Milkweed. The ‘chop’ involves cutting back the plants in May by roughly 1/3 which effectively reduces their heights in the Fall. Katherine is partial to fairy doors and you will see some scattered around the garden. You may also see some butterflies and perhaps a Hummingbird in the garden as they’re attracted by her plants and Wendy’s next door.