Ten Years at Tower Hill

The tenth anniversary of embarking on our Tower Hill gardening journey passed in late June without much fanfare, so now that the season is behind us, it is a good time to sit back and reflect; not just on the past year but the past decade.

Town Council designated the property as a Cultural Heritage asset in 2011 and the following spring consented to allowing a group of volunteers to actively work to enhance the “garden” in Tower Hill Park and Garden

The Garden is a much loved place and since acquiring it from the Ministry of Natural Resources in 1985, the Parks and Recreation Staff had faithfully kept the grass green and mowed, the pond pumped out and cleaned regularly and had planted flowers every spring along with other garden beds and planters in Town.

But there was so much more that we wanted to do. “Back in the Day” the Ontario Forestry Branch/Department of Lands and Forests/Ministry of Natural Resources had dedicated at least one full time gardener to maintaining the Garden and there was an abundance of flowers.

But those times are gone and most gardeners have now adopted a more naturalistic style of gardening; enhancing the natural cycle of the flowering of trees, shrubs and perennials with annual flowers instead of depending on them solely from last to first frost. We think there is beauty through all the seasons.

The agreement I reached with the director of Public Works was simply that the activities of these new volunteers would not create more work or expense for the Town.

So after talking about it with pretty much anyone in Town I thought might be remotely interested (and dividing and setting aside perennials from my own garden for a couple of years), I gathered together a group of potential volunteers on Saturday, June 23rd and the Tower Hill Gardeners came into existence. If we had known what that day would bring, we might have taken better photos!

We got straight to work, weeding and trimming and planting every perennial we could get our hands on.

After planting what we had, we focused on the weeding and trimming. We removed all the weeds and grass in the pathway surrounding the base of the Tower … a task never performed previously nor accomplished since!

We began the never ending process of reclaiming the flagstone walkways from the lawn.

Drum roll ….

et Voila !! The flagstones throughout the Garden had be collected and laid by the men of the Ontario Forestry Branch in the early 1930’s. Their Manager, Peter McEwen thought they should be building a garden around the Tower instead of sitting around waiting for a forest fire to fight.

We cleaned up and restocked the rubble wall lining the path up to the Tower.

And we started to talk about how to raise funds to buy plants to fill all the empty beds we had cleaned up.

That led to our participation in Parry Sound’s Doors Open event in September when we planted a Bur Oak Tree gifted to us by the Ontario Horticultural Association in celebration of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

Our attempt to raise funds with a plant sale was a resounding failure … so we planted all the donated plants in the Garden instead.

Although a garden is a thing of beauty, it is more like a puppy than an oil painting. It can’t be just hung on the wall. A puppy must be fed, groomed, socialized and taken for walks.

So for the past decade … week in and week out from early May through late October, we have been very happily working in the Garden … we have fed it (planting trees, shrubs, perennials and artwork we have acquired through various means of fundraising), groomed it (pruning, deadheading, weeding endlessly and watering when necessary) and socialized and taken it for walks (hosting events and workshops and endlessly promoting the Garden via our website and social media).

We work one morning each week and often one afternoon or evening, depending on the season, weather and Gardeners’ schedules.

No matter the weather …

… there are always smiling faces.

Spring …

Summer …

Fall …

and Winter.

Working or playing, being a Tower Hill Gardener is about community. Through the years some of the faces have changed, but the smiles are never-ending.

We have partnered with other community organizations to host events. We have an especially close relationship with our neighbour, The Museum on Tower Hill. Their gardens are our gardens and we have co-hosted events like the Winter Solstice on Tower Hill, Doors Open Parry Sound and March Break nature activities.

We also have a close relationship with the Parry Sound & District Horticultural Society and partnered with them for our first big event, Garden Days on Tower Hill in 2015.. They hosted the Strawberry Social under the big tent loaned to us by the Rotary Club, held their Summer Flower Show and conducted a flower arranging workshop.

We had vendors and artists and workshops on topics such as making organic fertilizer for your vegetable garden, gardening for wildlife and sharpening your garden tools.

We had Artists Around the Sound painting “en plain air” and all sorts of artisans selling their wares.

The Friends of the Library sold donated books and we sold plants, t-shirts and mugs to fund our plant buying habit. Our brand new t-shirts were bright and white!

A huge success, we held the event again the following year. This time we showcased two special projects we had undertaken. The Lilac Walk … a collection of lilacs planted around the base of the Tower and along the path to the Sundial highlighted by the Slater Lilacs was made possible through a special project grant from the Ontario Horticultural Association and the Gregory Family. Lynne Gregory’s father propagated and registered the Slater Lilacs and she and her husband David donated four large specimens whose permanent home is now in our Garden.

We also unveiled our newly installed Wildlife Habitat Garden featuring native plants to support birds and pollinators which was made possible by the TD Friends of the Environment Fund. A few of our Tower Hill Gardeners are also certified Master Gardeners and they were on hand to give a tour and answer questions about gardening with native plants.

And of course none of this would be possible without the support and co-operation of the Town of Parry Sound, who install the signs, mow the grass and pick up the hundreds of gallons of trash left behind by the ever increasing number of visitors every week, not just when we are hosting an event.

Did I mention cleaning the pond? It’s all hands on deck and a coordinated, downright dirty job when we do it a few times every season. Sam is not afraid to stick her hands in the fish cave!

The Horticultural Society always includes us when they hold their annual Garden Tour in Town. In 2017 we had a very special opportunity to dedicate benches that had been sponsored in honour of people with a connection to Tower Hill and the promotion of horticulture in the area.

Charlie MacDonald was the first Towerman and “Tower Hill Gardener”. He planted many of the trees that now blanket Tower Hill.

Much of his family gathered to honour him that day, led in a procession by his great grandson Morley piping in full regalia. Morley is the family member who selected the location for the bench and has provided us with many of the old photos of our Garden.

They all took turns sitting on “his” bench having a good time together and reminiscing.

Eric Simpson was the District Forester in the 1950’s and was thus the overseer of the activities (garden and forest fire detection) at Tower Hill.

He was honoured by his son, Eric Simpson and his wife Dona, who visit the garden frequently, remembering Eric’s childhood years playing there.

Madeleine Hobson was honoured with the dedication of the third bench. A long time resident of Parry Sound, she was dedicated to gardening and horticulture, serving as a Director of the Ontario Horticultural Association at a provincial, district and local level for many, many years. Her son James and long time friend Irva Stewart were present to cut the ribbon, sit on “her” bench and remember her contribution.

There is a long tradition of people having wedding photos taken at Tower Hill (me included!) and young couples are enthusiastic about holding the ceremonies in the Garden too. We are proud that they feel our Garden is a fitting location for such a joyous occasion.

It’s fun to put on our clean t-shirts and welcome visitors to the Garden but most weeks, you will find us just doing what gardeners do. We are on our hands and knees, getting dirty and having a good time together in a pretty awesome place.

We have been at it for a decade, have no plans to stop any time soon and have been working on a very special project over the past couple of years. We are developing a Children’s Garden in a previously ignored area where children can explore and connect with nature. It will consist of a Butterfly Garden gathering place for reading and storytelling and paths in Periwinkle Woods for free play and learning about our unique forest ecosystem.

Made possible with partners like the Town of Parry Sound and the Retired Teachers of Ontario, not to mention the many, many hours of work by the Gardeners, we hope this will make the Garden more fun for children of all ages.

Drop by sometime and we will show you around!