Small Gardens With Big Impact - Toronto Islands and Cabbagetown

There were two places we visited in Toronto that really demonstrated how a small space can have just a big of impact as a large estate garden.

Just offshore of Toronto is a small chain of islands that are the largest urban car-free community in North America. We took the ferry and spent the afternoon exploring Ward's and Algonquin islands. There were several yards open to us to tour and meet the gardeners.

The first word that rushes into your brain is "charm". It's like every amazing cottage photo you've ever seen plunked down onto the same real estate. Being there in early June meant we got to see the plants at their lushest - all contributing to the intimacy and magic of the moment.

What I really appreciated about the island community was the lack of, and in some cases, refusal, of conformity. No two places were alike and in many cases the plants were very different. The gardeners weren't afraid of color and jammed plants into every corner possible.

I took a side route and came upon this lovely seating area tucked into a leafy bower. I love how it is both private and public. Peaking through the foliage at those adirondack chairs really tempted me to creep in and sit a spell - but I resisted. Barely.

A similar vibe can be found in Cabbagetown on the east side of downtown Toronto. It is a neighborhood that got it's name from the poor Irish Immigrants who grew cabbages in their front yard. Rankles me that even back in the 1840's people were mocked for growing food in the city. Of course the joke is on those snobs because now it boasts one of the largest continuous areas of Victorian-style houses in North America.  

It is also home to quite a gardening community. We were able to visit gardens that were featured on a recent garden tour.  All of the gardens we visited were quite small - but I found I got more ideas from these small gardens than the other large properties we visited. I think part of the reason is that these spaces are LIVED in. They aren't just showcase views but part of the homeowner's lifestyle.

You really get to appreciate the individual elements of the garden. A colorful rug, a little bonsai on a table. A clay pot laying on it's side with plants spilling out into the flower bed.

Most of these gardens also had some great art incorporated into them. I love this chicken wire globe spray painted an electric purple. So much more fun than an ordinary gazing ball.

I also enjoyed this art wall of planters and objects. It made me pause and consider each one.

The planter built to look like a painting on an easel was awesome too. You can bet this will be showing up in my yard soon.

A metal bird wading through grasses made me smile.

All of these gardens really reminded me that beauty lies in smaller things. A small garden gives you the ability to consider and appreciate each element much more. No sweeping vistas or planting beds to distract you from the examination of a particular plant or object. Not only that, but it is these smaller spaces that are ultimately more inviting. I really wanted to stay in each yard and enjoy it. I even had a hard time remembering to take photos at both locations because I became so relaxed.

Me?  Relaxed in a garden?  An inspiration for my own patch of ground.

Gardening with Brush Strokes - the Marion Jarvie Garden in Toronto

Marion Jarvie is a noted gardener, instructor at the Toronto Botanical Garden, and long time member of the Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society. Her yard was one that we visited as part of the Garden Blogger Fling 2015.

As soon as I walked onto Marion's 1/2 acre lot where she has gardened for 40 years, I could see that this was something different. I'm not even sure that the term "garden"  - with it's images of happy puttering - even applies here. I felt like I was stepping into a painting.

And it wasn't just that it was beautiful, which it is, or even the  most beautiful garden I've ever been to, which it isn't, it was the precision and thought of the plant materials that made it different. It is like a painting by the old masters, where the artist spent a year on getting a hand depicted correctly.

Walking through Marion's garden I could actually see the brush strokes. Extraordinary when you consider that her plant collection is very heavy on interesting specimens.  Other gardens where the gardener is focused on individual plants lack the flow and color schemes that Marion has been able to pull off.

So what's her secret? Ruthlessness! When she considers a plant placement she looks at it from all sides to make sure that it fits in and compliments other plantings. If it doesn't it is planted elsewhere. If new acquisitions cause a plant to look odd or not at it's best, it's yanked out and moved.

Some might consider this type of gardening as too rigid, overly planned, even "precious". At this juncture in my life, I totally relate to what she's doing and appreciate her effort. Since moving to Texas I've worked for two start-ups - and the CEOs of these companies do just what Marion does. They have an end goal and if you can't fit in, complement the rest of the team, make the business better and faster - you're out. After spending the bulk of my career in banking where dead wood rules, I find this approach invigorating. It's fun to run with the big dogs and Marion's garden is definitely ahead of the pack.

And, oh, the plants!  The shear volume of what she's got packed in is really overwhelming.  I walked by the same spot three times and saw something new with each passing.  I nearly missed seeing one of my favorite wildflowers - Shooting Star (Dodecatheon meadia).

But not just plants made my day.  Her pond was full of pollywogs (amphibian tadpoles).  This black damselfly makes a dramatic study in contrasts as it rests on the chartreuse leaf of a Japanese Maple. 

I also really liked her liberal use of Clematis - both the full flower and nodding bonnets of the species varieties.This trio of the tree trunk, allium, and clematis against a chartreuse background gives you a sense of what I mean by a paint stroke.  Can't you just feel your brush dabbing into a mound of mixed purple and then applying it with a single stroke? Really marvelous and an inspiration.  Going through the garden upon my return I sharpen my eye and look for slackers. 

In Defense of Natives

High Park in Toronto is about 400 acres and features some important, rare habitat for native plants.

It was originally purchased by a man named John Howard, who deeded it to the city in 1873 on the condition that it remain a park. The city maintains it and preserves about a third of it in it's original -and rare - black oak savannah.

They do this through prescribed burns - which is remarkable for a property in the middle of the city.

The park staff who gave us a tour as part of the Toronto Garden Blogger's Fling showed us several sites that they are working on to beat back the invasive species that threaten to swallow this property and highlighted some amazing, now rare, ecosystems.

One of them is the blue lupine.  They knew that had a few patches of lupines, but it was only when they started the  burns that the flower sprang back and is now spreading again.  To me this highlights the role of legumes in the natural environment.  They are the marines of the plant world.  It's their job to establish a base, fix nitrogen from the sky into the soil, and make the area more habitable for other plants like grasses.

Like the bluebonnets of Texas, specialized insects evolved around this plant.  The Karner Blue Butterfly (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is endangered in both Canada and the United States and is listed as extirpated by the Canadian federal Species at Risk Act (SARA). This means the species no longer exists in the wild in Canada, but can be found elsewhere. With the decline of the lupine, the host plant for the butterfly larvae, so goes the population of the butterfly.  There is a movement afoot to try to reintroduce the butterfly into the park now that these lupines are making a small comeback.

We were also reminded of another butterfly that is struggling for habitat - the Monarch.  The oak savannah supports milkweed, the majority of the plants are Asclepias tuberose as seen here. Interesting side note, one of the invasive species that they are trying to control is called "Dog Strangling Vine".  According to the Rare Plants of the Endangered High Park Black Oak Savannah Guidebook, it is also a type of milkweed.  Unfortunately for the Monarch, while they may lay eggs on it, their larvae don't survive.  The proliferation of this weed is cited as another reason that the Monarch is in decline.

I was very inspired by my visit here and it serves as another reminder that innocuous (to us) activities like gardening can have a devastating impact on the natural environment.  It's not just the chemicals we use, but our choice in plants that escape our control.  The Toronto parks people pointed us to a stand of Norway Maple that has taken over part of the park.  It's used as an ornamental - often  planted as a street tree - and spreads easily by seed.  I'm reminded of the dreaded Ligustrum that plagues Central Texas in the same way.

I like to consider myself a good soldier in the war for natives.  The best that any of us can do is try to live where we are.  Stay educated and diligent, try to be stewards not conquerers.  Find ways to use natives and not just fall for a pretty face that will turn into an ugly problem later.  And when you see a problem, jump in and take care of it.  Whether it be killing ivy, bamboo, bastard cabbage, ligustrum, or even maple trees, it's worth the fight and something each of us can do.  Plus, I'm telling you, pulling weeds and clearing brush is very meditative and satisfying.  So what's good for the soul can also be good for the natural environment.  A win-win!