Depart the Canadian Canoe Museum (where we have permission to leave cars for the day) at 8:30 am.
Our first stop will be the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens to visit the peonies. The OVBG is a diverse garden complex known for its seasonal display of peonies with waterfalls and walking paths.
Next, we drive to the Parkwood Estate, a 55-room mansion built in 1917 - 1919 by R. S. McLaughlin, founder of General Motors Canada. At 11 am we have a 90-minute tour of the historic gardens with our group being divided roughly into groups of 10. The gardens were designed in the 1920s reminiscent of the great gardens of England. The design is Arts and Crafts lawns, pavilions, statues and walkways. A 2-acre 'arte moderne' formal garden was created in 1935. 26 groundskeepers maintain the gardens.
Lunch at 1 pm will be at Bistro 67, Durham College, a farm-to-table teaching facility with its own gardens. Lunch is included in the cost of the trip.
After lunch we will be visiting 2 private gardens. The first one, only 10 minutes from the College, is a city property with a garden train and many garden rooms and was established just 7 years ago. Our 2nd garden contains a peony garden, a pond, unusual trees, a bridge and creek and has many seating areas, a verandah and gazebo.
From there, we head back to Peterborough and should arrive about 5 pm. As we will not be visiting any garden centres, bins will not be required this trip.
The total cost of the trip including tours and lunch is $90.
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NOTE that as of April 29, 2023 at 4pm, this trip is now SOLD OUT. If you wish to be placed on the waiting list, please do fill out this form but DO NOT SEND ANY MONEY AT THIS TIME.
