Tropical Gardening in Canada

Photos by Hamlin Grange

One of the most beautiful gardens I’ve ever seen grows behind a very modern house not far from Toronto’s downtown.

A lush, hidden garden in a world of its own.

A place where tall trees loom into the sky, water flows peacefully, plants thrive and a discovery waits around every corner.

The garden is the ‘labour of love’ of Mary and Bob and their family. (Mary is on the right, below.)

While there’s no doubt that Mary provides the driving passion behind the garden (and loves nothing better than working in it) Bob and daughter Adrianne also play central roles.

“Bob built the arbor and pergola and has been so supportive of my passion,” Mary says.

“My Adrianne has been a big part of the creation. She is an incredible artist and we love when her time permits for us to work together on the garden.”

Mary describes the garden as “a canvas on which we have the privilege of unleashing our creativity”.

And what a work of art.

Japanese maples of different kinds – more than two hundred of them – weave through the garden, as do Japanese forest grass, hosta and other interesting plants.

Their foliage and colour contribute to the texture of the garden from spring to fall.

Hundreds of tropical plants thrive in the pool area, seeming completely at home.

Water features add to the feeling of peace here.

There are ponds.

Waterfalls.

And a water wall.

It is surprising to find a garden of this size and kind so close to downtown Toronto. Equally surprising: this garden is less than 6 years old.

The family was fortunate to have very large trees and more than an acre of land, but they had to start the garden from scratch.

Under the shade of the trees, and in many sunny spaces, the garden changed and evolved over those years.

You can see it many times and still find something new to admire every time.

New plants, new trees, new structures.

Which may explain why friends beg to tour the garden every time they visit.

And gardening magazines love producing features about it.

Mary talks about her family’s creation with a gardener’s passion. There’s wonder and delight in her voice and on her face when she stops to look at a new development.

A late-season rose.

A passion-flower, giving one of its first blooms near the end of summer.

The fragrance of a gardenia.

“I love this garden!” Mary says. “It comes from our family’s heart.”

Dedicated to the artist in all of us.

Right away, you can tell that two avid gardeners live here.

These gloves don’t stay idle for long.

Gail and Sam have lived in their home in a city east of Toronto for 25 years.

Theirs is a mature, complex garden that is tended conscientiously every day. It has trees, vines, ponds, statuary, gazebos, and plants that grow in the ground and in a multitude of containers.

Of course, a gardener’s work is never done. If you’re a gardener, you’ll relate to this moment:

The camera comes out and Gail spies a weed — way, way at the back of the garden.

“Wait!” she says. “Let me remove that weed!” As she pulls one, she finds one more. And one more.

A Canadian who was born and raised in Jamaica, Gail has fond memories of the island.

This garden helps her to keep connected to it.

“We come out here and we’re in Jamaica!” says Gail.

The garden is also a tribute to her mother, who died several years ago.

Gail is a passionate gardener. Luckily, her husband Sam, of Italian-Canadian background, also loves gardening — and Jamaica.

To see them in the garden is to see a team that works well together.

He does the building and hardscaping (paths, gazebos, trellises, stone walls, ponds, decking, etc.) while she chooses and takes care of the plants.

To no-one’s surprise, there’s a banana tree, rescued when the friend who had it was having trouble caring for it.

It’s among umpteen tropical plants growing in containers spread throughout the garden.

Most of them would be quite at home in a Jamaican garden.

There’s even an old copper gallon-jug which was originally used to measure rum at the Appleton estate in Jamaica. It belonged to her father, and, thrilled with the historical significance of the jug, Gail was very pleased when her dad gave it to her for her garden in Canada.

Gail’s an active volunteer in Canada’s Jamaican-Canadian community. She was a member of the Toronto committee celebrating Jamaica’s 50th anniversary in 2012 with a variety of cultural events, including concerts, author readings, an art show and other activities. That project is over, but when Gail wants to feel a connection to Jamaica, all she has to do is to step into her garden.