Garden Design

Friend of the GPOD Cherry Ong took a trip recently from her home on the west coast of Canada to Toronto and sent in some shots from gardens she was able to visit. Today she’s taking us along to see the Toronto Botanical Garden.

stone garden path cutting through garden bedsThis is the Terraced Garden, which is described on the website as “a buffer zone between the parking lot and the gardens. Its underlying structure is built of waste from the original construction site and includes recycled materials such as bottles and bricks for aesthetic purposes.”

garden bench engulfed in green shrubsAnother scene from the Terraced Garden

sculpture of a womans head and hairA sculpture called Windy Day by the artist David White

sculpture in the gardenThis sculpture is titled Balancing Act by Dominic Benhura

shrub with bright yellow flowersYellow peony ‘Bartzella’ (Paeonia ‘Bartzella’, Zones 3–9)

large yellow flowerThis classic peony hybrid between a herbaceous and tree peony is blessed with great vigor and strong stems in addition to beautiful blooms.

large climbing shrub in bloomA climbing hydrangea (Hydrangea anomala, Zones 4–8) makes a dramatic statement in the floral hall courtyard. Climbing hydrangeas take a while to grow and start blooming heavily, but once they do the show is pretty stunning.

garden shed with a green roofThe shed in the Demonstration Courtyard, an interactive outdoor classroom with demonstration areas for courses and workshops, was made from straw bales in 2008.

garden bed full of leafy greensA raised bed in the Demonstration Courtyard

raised rock garden bedA rock garden trough is a perfect way to create a mini garden in a small space.

garden with lots of evergreen plantsThis view is from the top of the Spiral Mound, looking down at the Beryl Ivey Knot Garden. The Spiral Mound has a spiral pathway that leads up to a viewing platform with great views of the garden.

white and yellow peonies amongst many green plantsSingle peonies (Paeonia hybrid, Zones 3–8) have just one row of petals around the central mass of stamens. The single forms tend to stand up better without staking than the very full, heavy, double-flowered varieties.

Have a garden you’d like to share?

Have photos to share? We’d love to see your garden, a particular collection of plants you love, or a wonderful garden you had the chance to visit!

To submit, send 5-10 photos to [email protected] along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the photos. We’d love to hear where you are located, how long you’ve been gardening, successes you are proud of, failures you learned from, hopes for the future, favorite plants, or funny stories from your garden.

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