The Garden Club of Niagara recently hosted a tour through some of its members lush and diverse gardens
Old Town, Niagara-on-the-Lake, is located at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, and its buildings make you feel like you are taking a walk back in time. It is one of the most historically significant places in Canada, playing a large role in the development of Upper Canada.
The Garden Club of Niagara toured several gardens of their members living in Old Town.
Barbara Bedell has lived here all her life. Her great grandparents, grandmother and her parents lived in this house which was built in 1820, where she grew up. The previous resident had been Colonel Mcdougall, who fought in the war of 1812. The gardens had previously been an orchard, until her mother started a garden in 1945. Barbara and her husband took it over in 1975, and have continued to maintain it.
Nancy May has owned her home for 20 years, and had Midge Ellis Keeple design her garden. Keeple wrote a book Tottering in My Garden: A Gardener’s Memoir. Keeple has also been featured in Canadian Gardener magazines with her garden designs.
Erika and Rudolf Hofer bought their house 10 years ago. The house on the property had been built in the 1950s. Probably 100 years ago the land had been used for a market garden, the rich soil being a clue. A market garden in the olden days was a relatively small area of land where a diverse range of fruits, vegetables, and sometimes flowers were grown, specifically to be sold as cash crops, rather than consumed by the farmer’s own family. Rudolf, a landscape architect by profession, designed and built their garden when they bought the house.
What a joy it has been for the Garden Club members to share their lush and diverse gardens this summer. After the tour the members dined and toured in this historic area.
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