Rainy Day Excursion

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“What? You haven’t been to Lowland Gardens yet? You are missing out!”

Moving and settling in takes time, claiming the garden space in one’s new backyard is a lengthy process and with Covid lockdown falling right in the middle of spring gardening season we kept putting our visit to Lowland Gardens off. The sign at the entrance reminded us that “one person per household only” was allowed to enter the greenhouses every time we travelled past to Masstown Market. Where is the fun in that? Only one of us exploring the offers? Besides, I am not a gardener and know precious little about horticulture in general. Colin has a degree in horticulture and entomology, so he is the man… but together we make a pretty good team when it comes to deciding which plants might enrich our new backyard.

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We have had some rainy episodes last week, some were thundershowers but we also experienced some heavy downpours at times. My friends and our family in Western Canada were envious, we are still getting used to the lush landscape here and the regular rainy days. It’s the complete opposite to when we lived in Calgary and Saskatchewan.

Wednesday night the setting sun had an orange tinge to it and it reflected bright red in the water, a sure sign that the smoke from the western provinces had migrated across the country. The rain on Thursday settled the smoke and washed everything clean again. Rain always intensifies the colours and brightens any garden. It was a great day to stop into Lowland Gardens, finally. It was not busy, in fact, we were the only people browsing season’s end specials of perennials and annuals for some time. I was in explore mode and discovered the goats and rabbits right away.

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They are located near the great playground among a fantastic garden with wonderful plantings.

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While Colin was busy selecting some perennials and grasses I was more interested in exploring the fabulous textures…

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…soon shifting my focus to colour.

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Names like Hurricane fern and Prince Tut grass lead the way. There were black petunias, deep red begonias, day lilies in all shades and tints, ornamental cabbages, richly textured succulents and fragrant herbs to explore.

We snatched an idea for a herb garden, picked up some basil, golden oregano, Cuban oregano or Vicks plant which is classed a succulent, what a surprise! It caught my attention with its thick hairy leaves which, when pressed gently, release oils penetrating the air with a scent of Vick’s Vaporub. I don’t think I will cook with it but rubbing it on your skin will keep insects away. I am all for that, especially in early spring when the blackflies are the bane of my existence.

We found some great additions to the garden and didn’t spend the world. Shopping late in the season is not always a bad thing. It was a great way to spend a rainy afternoon. Great Village is always a good place to visit, with its interesting history, several well appointed antique stores, a little cafe in the old church and the garden centre it holds great appeal for tourists and locals alike.

Thanks for tagging along to the garden centre today. I will make a point to share one of my antiquing excursions to Great Village in the future.

Have a wonderful Sunday. Warm wishes, Anna