text by Martha Uniacke Breen photography by Donna Griffith

Transcription

1 text by Martha Uniacke Breen photography by Donna Griffith Thalia, Mount Hood and Dutch Master daffodils line a flagstone path. opposite: A cluster of Ice Follies daffodils. 44 canadiangardening.com april 2011

2 where the wild things are A suburban Toronto plot recalls the rambling, naturalized gardens of the English countryside

3 While strolling through the expanse of John Bankes suburban Toronto garden, don t be surprised if you stumble across a wolf or two. No need to fear, though these aren t real wolves, but a trio of stone carvings by native Canadian artists Mary Ann Barkhouse and Michael Belmore. John s garden takes up a double lot, and has the rambling feel of an English country estate. An anglophile (who also owns property across the pond, which includes a manor and mill that once belonged to a peer of the realm), John came to landscape designer Penny Arthurs and gardener Jim McMillen of Landscapes in Bloom about 10 years ago to recreate the spirit of sprawling, informal English gardens. The character of John s earlier garden, designed by Janet Rosenberg, was quite different, shadier and more formal. But when an enormous and ancient European purple beech that dominated one side developed a toxic fungus and had to be taken down, suddenly there was a huge hole in the canopy and with it, a golden opportunity. John called in McMillen, and together they added trees, flowering shrubs, hundreds of bulbs particularly above left: A spring show rhododendrons and magnolias in front of a blooming Norway maple. top right: Barrett Browning daffodil. bottom right: A delicate summer snowflake (Leucojum cv.). opposite: A sleeping wolf lies in a patch of vinca, Mount Hood and Thalia daffodils, snake s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) and berry bladder fern (Cystopteris bulbifera). 46 canadiangardening.com april 2011

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5 Jim McMillen s tips for naturalized garden care While the garden is not exactly effortless, maintenance is reduced by working in harmony with nature and the garden s own inclination Allow leaf litter to lie on beds through the winter to protect and replenish the soil Only lightly cultivate soil when needed to help maintain its natural structure Allow plants to self-seed and multiply naturally Leave plant foliage in place over winter, not only for interest, but also to add another layer of protection to plants The delicate pink blooms of star magnolia (Magnolia stellata Rosea ) are one of the first signs of spring. opposite: An informal mix of flowers, trees and shrubs adds rich texture and lots of pretty colour to the garden.

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7 garden stats Owner: John Bankes Designers: Jim McMillen of Landscapes in Bloom and landscape designer Penny Arthurs Size: 61 x 92 metres, including the house Zone: 6, though there are some warmer micro climates Orientation: Sunniest exposure is afternoon sun from the west Conditions: Nice garden loam, occasionally amended with compost; leaf litter left on beds to make them self-sustaining Garden focus: Englishstyle informal country garden Age of garden: 20 years altogether; in this form, about five years M a i n t e n a n c e : Much of the plant material has grown by self-seeding and naturalizing freely, and other than the occasional top-up of compost and supplemental watering from time to time, the garden needs little else 50 canadiangardening.com

8 One of three carved stone wolves by First Nations artists Mary Anne Barkhouse and Michael Belmore watches over the plot. Have you spotted the other two? opposite, clockwise from left: A gentle snake s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris) stands over berry bladder fern and vinca; a sunny yellow Bukhara iris (Iris bucharica); PJM rhododendron; Astilbe chinensis var. taquetii Superba, just starting to unfurl. daffodils, John s favourite, conjuring memories of English hillsides in spring, awash in yellow filling in herbaceous borders throughout the property. Dappled with sun throughout the growing season, the garden puts on a show all year-round from the first appearance of winter aconites and snowdrops poking through the snow to the golden larches and fiery Japanese maples in all their autumn glory. Even in winter, says McMillen, there s plenty to see, since most of the garden is left in place to dry naturally: grasses, hydrangeas, columbines and other perennials with striking form and structure, creating a delicate, wintry composition against a backdrop of blue-green evergreens and snow. Decorative urns standing around the grounds are changed each season to add a formal element among the drifts of colour. While Jim and his team visit the garden weekly to attend to quotidian chores like deadheading, tidying up the borders, dividing and pruning as needed, it s designed to require less care than one would expect for a garden this size. He emphasizes that the secret is to, in effect, give it what it needs and then get out of its way. Much of the plant material has grown by self-seeding and naturalizing freely, and other than the occasional top-up of compost and supplemental watering in dry months, the garden needs little else. That to me is the most spiritual aspect of a garden, says McMillen, when it just starts to take off on its own. There s a sense of the garden as being its own self separate from the gardener. cg facebook.com/canadiangardening 51