Great Gardens to Visit: A Guide to Ontario's Outstanding Private Gardens

Beryl Hamilton is a freelance writer in Thunder Bay who specializes in
home gardening.

Meeting the growing desire among gardening aficionados to see what other
gardeners are doing, Patricia Singer has published a guide to viewing
splendid gardens across Ontario. The object of the book is to list and
describe private gardens (which can be viewed by appointment) in
different geographical growing zones.

Great Gardens to Visit features more than 300 gardens, starting with
Region 1 (the Chatham area) and continuing through the province to
Region 26 (the Thunder Bay area). Each garden is accompanied by a colour
picture and an inviting description, along with information about the
owner. Most of the book’s 100 photographs depict the gardens, although
some illustrate the typical flora to be found in a particular area. A
map of Ontario helpfully shows a breakdown of the 26 provincial regions,
and a contents section outlines the specific characteristics of each
region.

This is a handy guidebook to some of Ontario’s most stunning gardens.
It suggests the range of garden possibilities within the province and
furnishes invaluable contact information that makes it possible to get
in touch with “great garden” owners. For those looking to venture
out in person, the setup of the book makes it easy to plan tours of each
40-kilometre region. The guide’s listing of one or two tea rooms and
restaurants in each area can certainly facilitate travel plans. For
armchair gardeners, the vivid photographs and eclectic range of gardens
will provide very pleasant reading.