SpindleTree Gardens

Tamworth, Ontario

Will you come with me on a journey to SpindleTree Gardens? They’re in Tamworth, Ontario which is not anywhere near an airport… and they’re for sale so if you don’t go see them now, it’s unlikely you ever will and they’re really worth seeing!

SpindleTree Gardens are 40 minutes outside Kingston, Ontario where my sister and her family live. In 1989, the owners, Susan and Tom, started developing their very own botanical garden. You can imagine them dreaming up the next garden during the cold winter months… or flopping into chairs after a long summer day of work to share their challenges and victories. Together, they built 20 acres of cultivated gardens on their 65 acre property. More recently, Tom passed away and Susan has put the property on the market ($899,000 Canadian which is about $677,000 US as I write) and nature is starting to show some victories in the battle of Mother Nature vs. Gardener- because really, isn’t that what we’re trying to do as gardeners– impose our will over nature? We all know the eventual outcome but in the shortrun, it’s so satisfying to fight back the honeysuckle and grow roses and herbs.

Throughout the gardens, I kept thinking of Elton John’s lyrics, “Who lived here? It must have been a gardener who cared a lot.” Their love for this undertaking is obvious.

See each photo to take the whole tour which is filled with dreams you can appreciate and ideas you can borrow. And do NOT miss the swimming pool in the last photos. Let me know if you buy the property!

The orangery (or orangerie, pronounced o-RAHN-jur-ee in your best French accent) is truly incredible with curving south-facing walls of windows to capture the sun… and brick floors to store the solar energy. Orangeries were places for the wealthy to raise tropical fruits in cold winter climates.

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