In what I hope becomes a long-lived annual tradition, I visited friends for a few days this month in Gananoque, a small, utterly gorgeous town on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in Ontario. The timing is not inconsequential. Not only is “the Gan” practically vibrating in July with good times–outdoor concerts, boat races, bistro patios brimming with patrons sipping locally crafted beer–it’s also when the Gananoque Garden Tour takes place. During my visit, I get to explore gardens, compare notes and share opinions while eating, drinking, and partying with my besties. Honestly, it’s a good thing I take photos during these yearly escapades. Otherwise, every memory wouldn’t be much more than a laughter-spangled blur.

This year, the garden of my closest friend and her husband were invited to present their garden on the tour. I was staying at their home during this momentous event and had arrived a few days earlier to help out with getting their garden ready. What an experience! This was gardening at its most hilarious, loving, time-sensitive, and satisfying. See the results below.

But first, some great ideas from other gardens on this year’s 2023 Gananoque Garden Tour.

A mini meadow makes a small garden feel large

Situated on a small, corner lot, this garden (shown in the photos above and immediately below) was transformed into a real multi-tasker by the innovative owners. The back garden (above) was divided into thirds with a furnished patio at one end (seen in the far left photo) and a soon-to-be-installed hot tub (not shown) at the other end. Dividing the two spaces was a bed filled with bulbs, perennials, creeping ground covers and lush ornamental grasses. With so much to see and lots of feathery leaves that blurred the borders, the whole effect seemed larger than it actually was.

Make the most of a bare spot

I love this easy and elegant solution (above) to an undesired bare spot. A large bunch of twisting branches are neatly arranged inside what I think is a wrought iron umbrella stand. A temporary fix that’s sculptural, elegant and eye-catching.

My friend’s garden is beautiful–as you’ll see in the photos below. The photo above is also of her garden but I’m showing this to you here because I think we also did a great job of making the most of a bare spot. Anyone who’s ever been a time-crunched garden tour participant will probably recognize this necessity-meets-serendipity solution, neatly pulled together with a good dollop of humour.

With the start of the tour rapidly approaching, the far corner of my friend’s garden needed a temporary fix and fast. The small area had been recently cleared of weed-trees and brush and so far only planted with a sole variegated willow (centre of the photo). So we did what any self-respecting veterans of lifestyle publishing (all my Gananoque-based friends and myself included) would do. We ‘shopped’ the garden and the house and staged a look.

Out came the colourful vintage chaise lounge stored in the basement. A side table materialized from I can’t remember where. An indoor/outdoor rug was rescued from the garage. In this fantasy coming to life, we envisioned a sunny spot to rest while gazing languidly at a sculptural veggie plot. Cue the tomato plants, still in their nursery pots, plopped into a collection of white planters. A huge slice from the trunk of a tree felled long ago was propped up to serve as a rustic backdrop as well as hide some of the naked earth and fencing beyond. Dark mulch was spread about to give the appearance of a garden bed where no garden bed existed. Voila! A bare spot became a talking point.

Make your paths multi-task

This is a view of my friend’s garden from the sidewalk. She and her husband have a gorgeous home on a large corner lot bounded at the front and one side by town sidewalks. When they bought the house the garden had seen better days. They’ve both done an amazing job of reclaiming the garden, restoring its former beauty while loosening up its formality and adding greater flexibility and openness.

Part of that openness included choosing not to fence in their garden along the sidewalks. Instead, they decided to use shrubs, trees and climbers to create privacy much to the shared delight of friends, neighbours and passers-by.

There are several “rooms” in their garden which make for indulging in different spots for different activities–enjoying a morning coffee in one spot, an evening glass of wine in another, and chatting around a fire pit in yet another area. The gravel pathways act as invitations to explore.

Pavers link the sidewalk to a sweet-pea covered archway and the gravelled pathway beyond. White and turquoise vintage garden chairs, glimpsed above left, add a spot of eye-catching colour in a shady area. Here, the gravel pathways multi-task as neat walkways, enticements to explore further and highlighting flower beds.

Once past the arch, seen above left, the pathway meanders past island beds. A large bed, shown below, flanks a low stone wall and a terraced lawn.

One of the many outstanding features of the garden is a pair of very tall, very large trees, seen in the upper right of the photo above. The nearer tree is a maple. Astonishingly for Ontario, the tree set farther back is a Gingko which is at least 80 years old.

Here’s another view of the low stone wall with upper lawn and flower bed. You can just see the sidewalk entrance archway at the centre top of the photo.

The part of the garden shown above runs down the far side of the property and includes a small garage, seen in the upper right of the photo. This whole part of the garden, shaded by a canopy of leafy branches from trees large and small was once choked with overgrown shrubs and periwinkle run wild. Now hostas, ferns, and heucheras thrive. Gravel pathways add contrast and definition to this naturally darker area as well as provide easy access to the beds.

Every shrub can have its day

And speaking of plants gone wild, the garden also has two enormous juniper shrubs that simply overpowered the garden. With patience and a good set of clippers, my friend has slowly transformed them from behemoths to bonsai-like.

Helping my friend and her husband get their garden prepped for the tour was a true labour of love and such a lot of fun. But as every gardener knows, a garden is never truly finished. They’re a work in progress. I suspect there’ll be many more exciting changes to their garden in seasons to come.

I can’t wait for next July.