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Garden tour presents Schomberg and King’s gems

June 25, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Mark Pavilons
Eight gardens were the centre of attraction Sunday, during the annual garden tour presented by the Schomberg Horticultural Society.
The downtown core of the village was a hive of activity for visitors.
At 208 Main Street, it was “a garden in the rough, that has a mind of its own.” This is a charming and eclectic collection of antique bottles, jars and gardening utensils among varied plants and trees like honey suckle, native birch, vegetables and herbs. An artesian well provides plenty of fresh water for birds. It is a focal point in this garden oasis hidden from the main road.
The main feature of 448 Main Street, is the waterfall, which provides solace for the garden owner. Grabbing attention are the assortment of peonies, poppies, delphinium and fritillaria. Blood rood, hostas, ostrich ferns and Solomon’s seal do well in the shady part of the garden. Interesting feature in the front garden is the dappled willow. The assortment of rocks along the driveway are stunning.
At almost 90 years old, the owner of the garden at 460 Main Street, can tell you everything one needs to know about gardening. And she still does it all herself! Her pride and joy are her collection of peonies and clematis, which are enjoying the support of numerous trellises in the back yard of the large in-town garden.
Monk’s hood, delphinium and day lilies are abundant in this ever expanding backyard paradise. A stately pagoda dogwood in the corner of the property is the pride and joy of this garden enthusiast.
A recently established garden awaited visitors at 478 Main Street. The owner used his background in design when he established the garden beds and picked the plant material. The anchor tree in the front garden is a stately Japanese maple, along with viburnum, red beech and choke cherry. The gardens are boasting a variety of hostas, lime spirea and ligularia. The backyard is still under construction, it will be interesting to see how this garden evolves.
On the 2nd Line of Tecumseth, north of Highway 9 was a six-acre country property – a labour of love. There are several established sitting areas, a vegetable garden with tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, etc., and a white garden at the entrance. Feature flowers are holly hocks, poppies, Solomon’s seal and an extensive collection of roses. While the gardens are surrounded by a forest, the main staple trees are a mulberry tree, a crimson maple, a larch and a quince. Many of the arbors, benches and adornments were made by the property owners themselves.
On Queen Street in Lloydtown was a hidden gem with plenty of curb appeal, with its stunning rock gardens in the front of the house. The tiered terraced front flower beds boast Missouri primrose, lavatera, liatris and hostas, just to name few. The garden owner opted to put in a vegetable garden in lieu of a fire pit. The small pond takes centre stage in the back yard. A crab apple, climbing Japanese hydrangea, magnolia and boomerang lilac complement the vast gardens.
Centennial Garden, at Highway 27 and Main Street, Schomberg, is a teaching garden, maintained by the members of the Schomberg Horticultural Society and is planted with colourful annuals every year. A collection of peonies were donated and planted by the members of the Horticultural Society in 1967. The garden includes the “Welcome to Schomberg” sign – its materials and logo were donated and designed by local businesses. Its unveiling took place with a town party on Oct. 18, 1997.
On Concession 7, east of Highway 27, was a rare glimpse of a stunning country estate – one of King Township’s finest properties. Carefully selected artwork is placed seemingly at random in the vast gardens which are hugging the house. A meandering dry river bed allows the rain water to funnel into Kelly Lake. Gardenias in the deck gardens are complemented by pastel coloured annuals. In the turnaround and gardens around the house are astilbe, sweet woodruff, an assortment of coral bells, purple iris, day lilies, Jacob’s ladder, dark pink peonies and buttercup. Ascending the stairs up to “Heaven” one finds a rock garden and beyond that an artistically planted vegetable and herb garden. Anchor trees are various evergreens, red beech, viburnum, crab apple and Korean lilac.

         

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