Edwards Gardens

I remember going to Edwards Gardens a few times as a child with my parents.  Much hasn't changed since then, as far as I can recall.  There are still beautiful garden features like annuals, roses and wildflowers surrounded by rockery here, but for the most part much is as lovely as I remembered.

Edwards Gardens and Toronto Botanical Gardens are both located  on one of several tributaries in the Don River (Wilket Creek) where you can overlook spectacular views of large centenarian willow trees, stair rises, waterfalls and bridge arches.  

The summer is when the gardens come to life, and although rarely preferring summer over fall, this is the only time when everything is in bloom.  Much of the structures on the estate originally entitled to Alexander Milne (a Scottish weaver) who  settled there after 1812 still remain.  Alexander remained only for twenty years and left the property neglected.

Thankfully the land was bought by Rupert E. Edwards in 1944 where he had created a beautiful garden and  restored the wool and sawmills still there today.  Rupert sold the property to the City of Toronto in 1955 and it then became a public park.  

Today, Edwards Gardens and Toronto Botanical Gardens are enjoyed the world over, as well as a city treasure for its hiking and cycling trails, gift shops, floral shows, as well as a photographic goldmine.  With its trimmed lawns, flower beds, rivers and creek, and exotic trees it's a perfect backdrop for a wedding and wedding parties.  

My son and his fiance were scoping out a few venues for their wedding and I can see endless possibilities for perfect photographs here.  Edwards Gardens has won an Award of Excellence for the Regional Citation category from the Canadian Society of Landscaping Architects.  I guess that explains why. 

If you do decide to have a wedding ceremony or have formal wedding pictures taken at a city park, you do need to have a permit.  I didn't know this.  If you need more information, click here.

Ontario Place

It's been so many years since I visited Ontario Place, but I decided to check it out on the long weekend because I was given free tickets to the Cinesphere for the viewing of "Under the Sea'.  We brought the bikes out because the weather was just gorgeous.

The Ontario Place calendar is loaded with events and I really hope it takes off this year because it has sooo much to offer, especially for young families!

For starters, if you are an avid bicycler like me you are always on the lookout for new bike trails to discover - Ontario Place has just opened a new trail called 'Trillium Park, William G Davis' .  It has full boat access either by water or by land, and for those who choose to walk-in their transport - there are plenty of canoe lift-offs.




We loved the film at the Cinesphere and you know movies just don't look as good as they do here!  Every moment seems up-close and personal.  The chairs are relatively comfy but would have liked it if they laid back just a little.  A note for the cyclists though: we had trouble locating racks or proper bike security here yet.  I hope that changes since there are plenty of two-wheelers around.


I should mention that the Ontario Place's Trillium Park incorporates a lot of Indigenous culture.   There was a lot of consultation with First Nations that went into it.  The Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation were involved in the consultation process, so I've heard.

It took around three years to build the park.  The trail, itself, used to be a parking lot.   All the trees, plants and shrubs total about 1,200 trees and 28,000 shrubs and perennials.  They're all indigenous.

The rocks and boulders that surround the park were transplanted from the Muskoka area.

Total cost was around $30-million, but the end result is a bicycle, dog, and jogger friendly,.

We saw lots of people splayed out on the grass during the late afternoon. The green space was less overrun than other similar spots in the city.  We stopped to have our lunch of egg salad sandwiches while overlooking the lake in two perfectly set Adirondack chairs.












I'll be back again and again and I certainly hope Ontarians will rediscover it too.