Old Oakville is blessed with beautiful gardens accessible to all, public and private. The gardens at Erchless are the most prominent.
Maintained impeccably by the Town’s Parks and Open Space gardeners, its south-facing slope reliably produces the earliest blooms we see, snowdrops and crocuses, when winter begins to recede.
Earlier this winter, winter receded in January for a time. And snowdrops burst into bloom!
We also enjoy the perennial garden at St. Jude’s. That garden’s display delights from spring to fall, lenten roses through irises, Shasta daisies, roses, black-eyed susans and much more, to the final display of asters.
St. Andrew’s gardens are more subdued but impeccably maintained. The cloister and memorial gardens at Knox are a refreshing green oasis leading from Lakeshore to Robinson. All are cared for by dedicated and knowledgeable volunteers.
Turning east from the Knox cloister at Robinson, there is another wonderful garden, an ever-changing, carefully tended array of perennials running the length of the Jean and Howard Caine apartments.
For those who don’t know, it’s a 59-unit apartment building established by the March of Dimes. There are 24 accessible units where on-site support is provided to individuals with physical disabilities. The balance is split between their caregivers and tenants who pay market rent. It’s a vibrant community.
People in the know detour from strolls along Lakeshore through the Knox cloister to pass by the garden to enjoy what is in bloom. Last summer, we stopped a person working in the garden to ask about it - and met Ian Bowbyes.
Ian is a licensed electrician. He owns a contracting business that, among much else, provides electrical maintenance services for the building. He is also a resident in one of the market-rent units.
The garden had been created and tended for many years by Heather McKinnon. She had just passed away when Ian arrived, and rather than see the maintenance of the perennial garden she had created turned over to a service, Ian, for whom gardening is a passion, took over.
He carefully nurtured what he had inherited, moving and dividing flowers and shrubs to take advantage of varying bloom cycles. He also judiciously added new plants with the help of other volunteers.
Our Parks and Open Spaces gardeners provide welcome guidance and advice. The result is that the garden, always beautiful, now has a definite predictable rhythm of bloom through the season of warmth.
Most perennials bloom gloriously for about two weeks. That means strollers in the know meet an ever-changing array of flowers all season long.
For residents, particularly those with mobility constraints, the small patio between plantings is a lovely place to enjoy the day and the flowers, vibrant in the morning sun before the heat of the day and later when the building’s shadow provides shade. They take advantage of it often, and many conversations result as strollers stop, admire and comment.
It reminds us gardens need not be grand to add to the beauty of our part of the world.