Over the hump - our garden tour went well

Getting ready for a group garden tour is bit a like preparing for the opening night of a play. You want everything to be perfect, or at least as close to perfect as possible - as neat and trimmed and weed-free as you can get. With a big garden that's always growing and changing week by week, that's a tall order. But the garden looked great, and I think our guests, the Royal Botanical Gardens Auxiliary members, enjoyed themselves.

We used to host a lot of tours - one busy summer we had seven bus tours, which added a good deal of stress - so when I decided to simplify things, I dropped two things: the vegetable garden and big group tours.

Now, as far as the garden is concerned, I think I can relax for the rest of the summer. Sure, there are projects to do, but the urgency of a due date is gone. So far the season has been cool and moist, and I haven't had to fret about watering. I love it!

That's me on the right, in the coral blouse and straw hat

David Rees, who's working for us this summer, and who did the lion's share of making the garden tour-ready, took these pictures yesterday. You can see more of his photography on Flickr.

When David interviewed for the job here, I knew I was going to hire him as soon as he told me he was into photography, because that's my hobby too. I know that taking pictures doesn't have much to do with gardening, but he has turned out to be simply excellent at landscape maintenance. I count myself lucky to have his help this summer.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener

Sharing the garden: this made my day

I received a wonderful thank you from Diane Wells, who organized a tour of my garden for her horticultural society. Diane's note made my day. Here's what she wrote:

Thank you so very much for giving the North Toronto Horticultural Society a tour of your beautiful country garden. Everyone enjoyed it very much, we were all in awe of the joyful beauty of the landscape you have created. And it looks so lovingly cared for, too.

The wildflower meadow is just stunning, those coneflowers (Echinacea pallida or pale coneflower, right) are the nicest I have ever seen. I got some great ideas from your woodland garden. The four square garden is very special in its "formal informality", as you suggested, and the sundial carved in stone by your husband is truly an amazing work of art. The rock garden is fantastic, too.

I love that you have planted all those trees around your property, and that you put comfy chairs under the big old weeping willow. I was overjoyed to sit under the weeping willow and just take in all the beauty around me.

I think you are an excellent garden designer. I like what you have done on the hillside around your house, your container garden, and the lovely use of grasses in the landscape.

Thank you so very, very much for sharing your gorgeous garden with us. You made us feel very welcome. I feel very lucky to have visited your lovely garden, and I am glad that it belongs to a lovely person like you.

© Yvonne Cunnington, Country Gardener