Garden Visits: Spindletree Gardens

August 24, 2009 · Filed under garden visits · Tagged boxwood, euonymous, garden ornaments, garden visits, hedge, hydrangea "Limelight", outdoor urns, path, perennials, statuary, yew

One Word-AMAZING!!!!!!

Wow, Susan Meisner and Tom Brown have made an magnificent garden, the culmination of their lifes work. I am sure that it has to be one of the largest, private gardens to be developed in the last few years.

Tom, a retired architect from Toronto, led us on the garden tour. There is 80 acres, of which 5 is gardened, and they started their garden in 1996.  They both have a huge work ethic, they must have, the progress they have made in the past 13 years is immense. Tom says that he moved 400 tons of stone by himself, building all the stones walls and paths. The garden is called Spindletree, due to the number of Euonymous europaeus, that were on the property when they bought it.

When we visited, there was a few garden features that were not on the garden map.  A  300 foot  locust allee has been planted, with the Victorian Well Cover as the focal point at one end. On the other end, Tom and Susan are planning on a huge glasshouse. A cedar maze had just been planted, and was due for its first haircut. And there are  more plans for the future, including a fern grotto.

 I hope that I don’t bore you with so many pictures, but I was blown away by their garden.  It has a European sensibility, which is rare in Canada, formal gardens are unusual in the country.  The combination of formal, very structured garden near the house, moving into an English park like setting was magnificent. They have developed 5 acres of amazing garden, divided into a series of gardenrooms, all with their own theme.

Tom took us on an hour and a half tour, full of interesting stories and helpful tips.  From the tan pea gravel imported from Montana, to the wooden croquet hoops, built to look like landmarks in England, there was so much to see.

  

You start of the tour near the house,

 

Lovely statuary!  This is Kwan Yin, the compassionate goddess of the garden.

 

 

 

Clipped Yew Pillars

 The Yew pillars give you wonderful structure for the winter, and insert a sense of rhythm in the garden.

 

Architectural Salvage

 

The Greenhouse

 The Greenhouse has beautiful Gothic church windows and a stained glass clerestory. Sorry I didn’t get pictures of the inside, my camera battery ran out. You can just see the stained glass at the top of the picture.

The Croquet Pavilion

 The croquet pavilion started out life as a chicken coop. Talk about making a silk purse out of a sows ear!

A Croquet Hoop

 Tom designed and built these all himself.

 

The Colonnade

Inside the Colonnade, is a circular rose garden. It has over 70 pink and white roses.

The chevrons of blue lymegrass are filled with Limelight hydrangea. On the other side of the hill is the parking lot.  Good way to hide it!

  

Here is one of the stone walls that Tom built himself.  All the evergreens on the property, including this hedge are wrapped for the winter. This is to protect them against attack by the murdering hordes-the deer.

I wished that I had asked what variety of echinacea this was.

Korean Blue Spruce

This is Toms favourite tree. The needles are soft, but feel like plastic.

Victorian Well Cover

He was given this 150 year old Victorian Well Cover.  Of course, it was not in this condition then, Tom and Susan restored it.

The Bridge

The gorgeous iron bridge reflecting in the Upper Pond.

 

The view across the Upper Pond from Spindle Tree Lane to the Rondel. You can just make out the ring of iris above the stonework. When these flower blue, the colour is echoed by the nepeta below.

The Waterfall

 

From the bridge, looking over the Lower Pond to Lion’s Court.

Bacchus

Bacchus, the Roman god of festivity, overlooks the bridge.

The Rondel

The  Rondel is centred by a waterlily pond and has a bronze statue in the middle.  Clipped boxwood surround it and a line of maples are being shaped into a stilt hedge. The boxwood are surrounded by daffodils, that give way to day lilies. Behind them are the row of iris that you can see from Spindle Tree Lane.

 

The view towards Lion’s Court from the bottom of the Walled Kitchen Garden.

The Walled Garden

Pea gravel and brick paths surround a  formal layout with all the beds edged with low boxwood hedges.

The Obelisk

In the centre, giving height to the area, stands a black metal obelisk.

 

A view through the Walled Kitchen Garden to Lion’s Court.

 

The Rill

 

The Pergola

 

Lion's Court

 The reflecting pool with lion head fountains.

When we finished the tour, we visited the Green Teapot Cafe for a English cream tea.  We each had three scones, with butter, jam and cream, and a green teapot(really) for our tea.  It was very reasonably priced and certainly delicious.  Susan is a very good hostess, and makes you feel right at home. 

I certainly want to revisit this garden, I would like to see it at different times of year.  Apparently, you can buy a seasons pass ( like the English Gardens) and you can visit it as many times as you wish, during the season.  I wished that I lived closer, I would be visiting monthly, curious to see how the garden progresses.  It is a coup to get in the the design of the garden near the beginning, most times you only see it at the end, and have no idea how it was accomplished.   And I definitely need another cream tea, or maybe a panini?  Or maybe both!

The address for SpindletreeGardens is 6248 County Road 4, Tamworth, Ontario  K0K 3G0  the phone number is 613-379-5898.  You can get directions on their website at spindletree.ca or e-mail Susan at susan@spindletree.ca

They are open spring through fall, Wednesdays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and the admission charge is $12.00.

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