This past Sunday I invited some of the family to join Rob and I at our home for a Bar-B-Q and the annual garden tour that takes place every year here in our area.
We all piled into Rob’s Dad’s van and, starting a bit late in the day, we zoomed around town and into the hamlet of Poplar Hill to check out all the effort the local homeowners put into their gardens.
Here are Rob’s parents, Bob and Estella.
We also took a moment to check out one of the small parks in the downtown called McKinley Paul Park. The beautiful fountain was originally placed by the local IODE. The gardens of the park were designed by the students of Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. It’s a real gem of a park, especially on a hot summer day.
It’s always great to see what sort of creative things gardeners are up to. At one home the gentleman was making bird houses out of the stalks of his castor bean plants. They are kind of like bamboo when dried. I didn’t get a picture of that, but another fellow created rock bird houses that were really effective when grouped together.
I’ve got a couple of little tiny ponds at home. Actually they are more like puddles or watering holes that the local birds and chipmunks visit, so I was happy to see some really outstanding ponds on the tour. (Hint to hubby) The pond above was professionally installed but there was another beauty built by the homeowners of a quaint Ontario style cottage found in one of the original sections of our downtown.
We just had enough time at the end of the tour to race over to one of the local garden centers to each pick up a free perennial before returning to my garden to enjoy an outdoor tea complete with cinnamon buns, brandy cake and a cherry cake made from my own cherry tree. Ah, isn’t the summertime and its bounty wonderful!
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