Having visited a very interesting nursery (Fiddlehead Nursery in Kimberly, Ontario, which specializes in rare perennial vegetables) we were driving back on a rural road, when we saw a sign for a nature reserve with a water falls. We stopped to look at it and were pleased to discover that an unadvertised premium came with the water falls: an abandoned garden.
I do not know how long it has been abandoned, but some of the plants have had time to run amuck. The most spectacular was Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) which covered a few acres and was a sight to see. You can just imagine the heady perfume such a lot of blooms produce. I had not realized Dame's Rocket could be so invasive.
It is a beautiful place, very peaceful, with, among tall grass and ferns, the garden plants that have been able to survive in complete neglect. There were some late blooming tulips which looked very good among ferns.
There were long drifts of day lilies and phlox that were not yet in bloom, but the drifts of irises and the flowering shrubs were at their best.
One is tempted to speculate about what did not survive. There must have been some lilies and some hostas when the garden was tended, but there are no trace of any of them now.
The most unexpeted plants are probably the tree peonies. There are at least ten of these, all white or purple, that are fighting for their place in the sun through the grass. I was especially surprised that no one had dug them up.
As expected, the real thugs have established a good foothold.
But some plants you would think would be thugs barely survive. This is the case of Euphorbia polychroma and Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum).
The few aquilegias were the double pink and the double blue often called "Granny's Bonnets", which grow on road shoulders around here. You would not think such delicate and attractive flowers could hold its own.
At first we thought the house must have burned down, but we did not find any trace of it. We concluded that the garden had been made from the start in the country, far from any house (perhaps by the family who gave the land for this reserve).
The pump that must have been used to water the garden was still in perfect working order.
What about the falls? My photos of the water falls were not very good but you can see it through this link.
I do not know how long it has been abandoned, but some of the plants have had time to run amuck. The most spectacular was Dame's Rocket (Hesperis matronalis) which covered a few acres and was a sight to see. You can just imagine the heady perfume such a lot of blooms produce. I had not realized Dame's Rocket could be so invasive.
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| Like William Kent, Dame's Rocket leaped the fence, and saw that all nature was a garden |
It is a beautiful place, very peaceful, with, among tall grass and ferns, the garden plants that have been able to survive in complete neglect. There were some late blooming tulips which looked very good among ferns.
There were long drifts of day lilies and phlox that were not yet in bloom, but the drifts of irises and the flowering shrubs were at their best.
One is tempted to speculate about what did not survive. There must have been some lilies and some hostas when the garden was tended, but there are no trace of any of them now.
The most unexpeted plants are probably the tree peonies. There are at least ten of these, all white or purple, that are fighting for their place in the sun through the grass. I was especially surprised that no one had dug them up.
As expected, the real thugs have established a good foothold.
 |
But some plants you would think would be thugs barely survive. This is the case of Euphorbia polychroma and Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum umbellatum).
The few aquilegias were the double pink and the double blue often called "Granny's Bonnets", which grow on road shoulders around here. You would not think such delicate and attractive flowers could hold its own.
At first we thought the house must have burned down, but we did not find any trace of it. We concluded that the garden had been made from the start in the country, far from any house (perhaps by the family who gave the land for this reserve).
The pump that must have been used to water the garden was still in perfect working order.
What about the falls? My photos of the water falls were not very good but you can see it through this link.
What delightful find even though it was originally a man made garden. Mother nature sure has has been kind to a few of the hardy, though it is remarkable to see the tree peonies.
ReplyDeleteI find very interesting to see what has survived neglect and try to guess what did not.
DeleteI know Webwood Falls very well! And I know a little of the history of the garden, house and barn too. The owner was still living there 5 or 6 years ago, when he donated it to the Bruce Trail Conservancy. Sadly he had become unable to maintain either the house or garden. The buildings were demolished just last year following the owner's wishes, but we have decided to let the garden simply age and disappear gracefully.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the information Stew. It is nice to know what happened. The garden looks beautiful even abandoned!
DeleteA real life secret garden. I can imagine the scent from that sweet rocket as I grow it on our allotment and I'm picking a few sprigs for the house at the moment.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Hesperis matronalis blooms for you at the same time as it blooms here. I would have thought it had finished blooming for you a long time ago. Some plants keep the same time table wherever they are grown!
DeleteSweet rocket is a much undervalued plant Alain. It looks terrific!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Not only is it beautiful but the perfume is so nice.
DeleteMany just consider it a weed.
À l'université St Paul, j'essaie de créer une grande étendue d'hesperis matronalis. Cette année, j'ai vu un progrès certain.
ReplyDeleteEn plus d'avoir une belle fleur, elle a aussi un beau nom en français - julienne des jardins
DeleteBeautiful! Dame's Rocket is a thug here. I usually have a few patches that I allow to begin to flower, and then I pull the entire plant and use the blooms for an arrangement. Oh, and I see you mentioned other thugs, too. Yes, we have those as well. Too bad so many of the thugs are so pretty.
ReplyDeleteI always let some grow, it is a very attractive plant.
DeleteHow mysterious and gratifying to stumble upon this unexpected garden. Such a funny mix of wild and domesticated plants - especially the tree peonies.
ReplyDeleteI thought this mix of domesticated plants in a natural setting was what gave much of it charm to this garden.
DeleteHello Alain, that's such a mystery, I wonder if there are any records of the original garden, who tended it, how large was it, what were the plans and plants and finally, why was it abandoned. It looks beautiful but I feel a tinge of sadness that it doesn't have any one to look after it, perhaps it's all the better for it?
ReplyDeleteHi Sunil,
DeleteA friend of mine happened to know about the garden. See the second comment above.
Hi Alain, my Hesperis, seem to get everywhere and set plenty of seed so I am not surprised at the beautiful drifts you have pictured. I bet the scent was something else.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the scent was overpowering. It was a beautiful sight.
DeleteThere are quite a few abandoned gardens in the region where I live; it's been a financially depressed area for so many years that the council actually pays to have houses demolished when they've become completely ruinous. Just down the road from me there's an old country garden that has become a wilderness of shrubs and trees, and the main stars are now the clematis montanas that grow rampant through the trees to quite impressive heights.
ReplyDelete