June 10, 2011 - Glebe Report

32 Glebe Report June 10, 2011 Glebe Report June 10, 2011 33
Over The Hedge garden tour
June 25-26
by Christine Lamothe-Moir
After our long Ottawa winter and cold spring, are you looking for some gardening
inspiration and ideas, or looking forward to the pleasure of an early
summer walk in a beautifully tended garden? If so, here is an event to mark
on your calendar. The Ottawa Botanical Garden Society (OBGS) is planning a
country garden tour with a “twist” for June 25-26, which will take you down
country roads and give you a peek “over the hedge” into twelve enchanting
and inspiring private gardens just west of Ottawa. This tour is part of the ambitious,
creative planning and fundraising activities of the OBGS with their
motto “Dare to Dream!” to create a national botanical garden on 34 acres of
non-mission land at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa.
The fabulous gardens on the tour are located in Kanata, Dunrobin, Kinburn,
Arnprior, Burnstown, Pakenham and Almonte. The Over the Hedge tour will
feature the natural woodland retreat of a well-known local potter, featuring
some 700 different species of plants and ferns native to Eastern and Northern
Ontario; an inviting garden built to express a couple’s life-long love of nature
and showcasing the late Juan Geuer’s metal and wood sculptures; a boldly
designed garden and infinity pool unifying the house with the peaceful surroundings
of the Kanata rockeries. You will also find unique examples of creative
landscaping incorporating riverside vistas and limestone outcroppings for
beautiful properties in Pakenham, Almonte, Arnprior and Dunrobin; and the
artistic reflections of the gardeners in magical and imaginative theme areas as
well as pools, fountains and rocky trails. One gardener has been developing her
“hosta” garden for 17 years with over 500 varieties of this stunning versatile
plant.
The self-guided tour runs over two days: Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June
26, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day (rain or shine). Your passport booklet
provides maps, garden highlights and information on local restaurants and tea
shops, designer boutiques, an octagonal gallery, destination nurseries and other
fascinating points of interest. The tour would make a lovely getaway weekend
by booking into one of the many charming and historic hotels and B&B’s in
the area.
The “twist” offers the option of visiting the gardens as part of a fun “car
rally” with no time or speed considerations. If you do not have partners, we
will make sure that you are part of a team. Instructions will be provided. There
will be a few special surprises for which unique prizes will be given.
Passport booklets are $35 per person which includes both the garden tour and
the optional “car rally”. They can be purchased in the three following ways:
• at the points of sale listed on our website; or
• directly online on our website with your credit card for $38 ($35 for the
booklet and $3.00 for mailing); or
• by cheque for $38 ($35 for the booklet and $3.00 for mailing) payable
to the Ottawa Botanical Garden Society and mailed to the OBGS with
your return mailing address, email address if you have one, telephone
number and an indication of whether you would like to participate in the
“car rally”.
You can get more information and purchase passport booklets at the following:
www.ottawagarden.ca or at overthehedge@ottawagarden.ca. By mail:
Ottawa Botanical Garden Society, P.O. Box 4726, Postal Station E, 108 Third
Avenue, Ottawa ON K1S 2L0.
Christine Lamother-Moir is a member and volunteer of the Ottawa Botanical
Garden Society (OBGS).
Le jardinage,
la meilleure thérapie
Marc Landreville
Le jardin, pour moi est devenu un
espace où je peux relaxer, me ré-éduquer
et retrouver une paix intérieure,
à l’extérieur. Cela n’a pas toujours
été le cas. Plusieurs années passées,
quand je vivais chez mes parents,
nous avions une très belle cour avec
un superbe gazon, des grands arbres
et un joli potager; mais cette cour
‘appartenait` à ma mère et mon père
y faisait l’entretien. Pas moyen de
se tailler une petite place à moi tout
seul. Quand mon épouse et moi sommes
emménagés ensemble en appartement,
encore moins d’espoir de
se créer un petit monde à l’extérieur.
Ce n’était que cinq ans plus tard, en
achetant une maison en banlieu, que
j’ai trouvé mon oasis, mon coin du
paradis, mon jardin.
Et quelle chance! L’arrière-cour
jouit d’au moins huit heures de soleil
par jour durant l’été : les plus gros
arbres se situent au nord et à l’est du
terrain. La cour avant aussi baigne
dans le grand soleil, interrompu pour
peu de temps par l’ombre du fier érable
devant la maison.
Au tout début, l’arrière-cour était
une toile vide, sauf pour quelques
buissons et une haie de cèdres. Mais
avec le temps, j’y ajoutai des cerisiers,
un lilas, une vigne trompette, des clématites,
des lobélias bleues et rouges,
des roses, des framboisiers, plusieurs
vivaces, un étang et tout récemment,
un pêcher. Les plantes et les fleurs
font une valse multicolore dans la
brise estivale : l’écarlate des lobélias
cardinalis et des hémérocalles (lillies),
l’orange des trompettes (campsis
radicans Indian Summer) et des
asclépiades (Butterfly Weed), les violets
des lilas et des lavandes, le bleu
du `Monkshood’ et du lobelia bleu,
le rose des campions et des échinacées
et le jaune des tournesols et des
gaillardes, tous sur une toile de vert
(gazon, vignes, hostas, etc.).
GARDENING
BEST
Le jardin, pour moi, n’est pas
seulement un endroit de tranquilité
et de beauté, mais il est aussi
thérapeutique et éducatif. Né avec
un caractère plutôt nerveux, je me
suis heureusement trouvé un passetemps
qui me permet de ralentir, de
penser à autre chose et surtout, de
créer. C’est à travers le jardinage que
j’ai apprivoisé une vertue, qui autrefois
m’échappait complètement : la
patience. L’on ne peut pas presser
Dame Nature. C’est en observant la
transformation et les interrelations
des plantes, le mouvement et le rôle
des insectes ainsi que les changements
de températures et les conditions
atmosphériques que j’ai appris
au sujet de l’impact que je peux
avoir sur l’environnement, mon jardin
et sur ma façon de penser. Le jardin
nous enseigne aussi à partager;
je reçois plusieurs visiteurs dans ma
cour: colibris et autres oiseaux, diverses
papillons, abeilles de toutes
tailles, guêpes, des libellules et des
crapeaux (parfois un lièvre et une
moufette et des écureuils). Rien ne
me fait plus plaisir que d’offrir des
fruits fraichement récoltés chez moi
à un(e) ami(e) ou à un membre de
ma famille. C’est aussi amusant de
s’échanger des plantes et même des
histoires de succès entre jardiniers
amateurs. Nous sommes toujours à
la recherche de cette plante insaisissable,
presqu’impossible à faire pousser
dans sa cour; dons mon cas, c’est
le coquelicot bleu de l’Himalaya.
Toujours pas de succès.
En somme, le jardinage me redonne
mille fois en bonheur ce que je
lui donne en labeur. C’est un passetemps
fortement recommandé pour
ceux qui, comme moi, recherche
cette paix intérieure à l’extérieur.
Marc Landreville qui travaille
depuis plusieurs années au magasin
UPS Store est grand amateur du jardinage.
RECREATION
Glebe touches in Prescott
Shakespeare alfresco
by John and MiCHÈLe
Harding
With summer in bloom, the famous
line from one of Shakespeare’s sonnets
comes to mind: “Shall I compare
thee to a summer’s day”
The amphitheatre overlooking the
marina in Prescott is a serene location
to enjoy beautiful summer weather.
From July through mid August, the
St. Lawrence Shakespeare Festival
(www.stlawrenceshakespeare.ca)
will be presenting Twelfth Night and
All’s Well That Ends Well. In addition
to Ian Farthing, the accomplished
artistic director, Rebecca Campbell,
formerly of the NAC, is the new general
manager; and Andrea Robertson,
Prix Rideau Award winner for Outstanding
Costume Design in last season’s
production of Macbeth, brings
her talent back to the St. Lawrence.
Alleyn Abel, a committed volunteer
is also a former Glebite. Alleyn’s
childhood home was on Broadway
at the Queen Elizabeth Driveway
and later on Clemow Avenue. The St.
Lawrence Shakespeare Festival and
the Town of Prescott are enriched
by the dedication of such individuals
and these cultural connections with
the Glebe.
The heritage element, as seen in
many historic buildings, also has a
current Glebe connection. Our little
1830s stone house, diagonally across
from the post office, was constructed
as a commercial building. It was a
tailor shop in the mid 1800s; then
became the surgery for two doctors
from 1900-1969. Following that
period, it was transformed into residential
use. For about 10 years up to
2010, it was neglected and empty.
After extensive rehabilitation, we
are pleased it is being considered
for historical recognition. The staff
at the Glebe UPS Store in The Fifth
Avenue Court has been enormously
helpful in assisting with photocopying
faded documents and sections
from historical reference books.
The Rideau Canal Waterway often
is associated with Fort Henry in
Kingston. However, there is a fort
closer to the Glebe and that is Fort
Wellington in Prescott. This Parks
Canada National Historic site is an
enjoyable visit for all ages. Staff is
dressed in period costumes, describe
life in the fort, and play games with
children. Over $2 million has been
allocated to enhancing this attraction,
including the display of a preserved
British gunboat hull from the
1812 era.
As you wander around town, you
can visit the Forwarders’ Museum,
near the clock tower and the Grenville
County Historical Society, in
the former railway station. You may
see us in our little garden at the corner
on Centre Street, across from the
post office. Stop for a chat. Some
marginal perennials from the previous
garden in the Glebe are thriving
in this slightly milder zone along
the St. Lawrence. These summer’s
day delights in Prescott are only
a 45-minute drive south from the
Glebe.
John and Michèle Harding, former
residents of the Glebe, encourage
summer visitors to come spend a day
enjoying the history and theatre to be
found in Prescott.
PHOTOS: JOHN HARDING
Our house revitalized with plants from the Glebe.