Off a quiet country road close to Perth is a unique destination that has charmed visitors and gardeners for four decades. Combining a nursery for perennial plants, a natural retreat, and the home of a 28-year-old annual event known as Art in the Garden, Kiwi Gardens is the creation of horticulturist and artist Paul Loiselle. “I am in the business of creating beauty,” is Canadian playwright how Tomson Highway describes his work, a statement which is clearly echoed by Paul’s intentions. A passionate and enthusiastic creator of beauty, Paul is always looking for new ways to express his creativity through his love of plants and his interesting approach to progressive landscaping. Ideas tend to sprout prolifically in the fertile world of Kiwi Gardens.
Most of Kiwi’s perennial plants are grown on site, potted, and offered for sale. But examples of these plants are thriving throughout the many display gardens where customers can wander among the perennials, learn what growing conditions suit the various plants, and borrow ideas for their own gardens. These island gardens live amongst ten acres of forested pathways surrounding the central nursery space. The gardens feel like set designs offsetting the dramatic seasonal transformations in the plant world. Gardeners and visitors often come back to see how the plants grow into themselves throughout their growing season. These changes happen every year in the gardens of Kiwi.
A boldly unconventional nursery sits quietly in a friendly central clearing surrounded by trees, A few long greenhouse tunnels provide shade and shelter for both curious shoppers and thousands of plants of all sizes and ages. Sun-loving plants are exhibited in the spacious open area. Shoppers can pick the brains of the knowledgeable staff who obviously love their jobs. This scenario is a daily happening at Kiwi.
Art in the Garden
Then there’s Art in the Garden, the annual Father’s Day weekend event in mid-June that draws huge crowds. This year it takes place from June 19–21, and tickets are available from TicketsPlease.ca.
28 years ago, Paul created spaces for art pieces of all descriptions and helped hang them from trees and plant them in gardens. Art in the Garden was born, and Kiwi Gardens added another dimension to its existence. Artists arrived with art to sell: stone sculptures, metal ceramics, basketry, glass art, birdhouses, fencing and furniture, mobiles and interesting accessories for all kinds of garden design. Art in the Garden has grown significantly over the years. Its reputation is widespread. There is a growing number of permanent pieces of art now living in these gardens. Visitors can appreciate art as an integral part of interesting garden design while they explore the trails meandering through the forests. It’s a wild experience.
Recently Paul has created an addition to Art in the Garden. Known as the Sunday Medieval Market, it features local artisans at work: wood carving, felt making, stone cutting, hide tanning, blacksmithing. Each season brings a new form of craftsmanship and creativity inspired by the natural world. This new Sunday Market is an offspring of the Cordwood Folk School owned by artists Zoë and Ben from Brooke Valley. Its hands-on creativity is contagious and inspiring. In addition to being irresistibly fun, Kiwi Gardens has successfully transformed a nursery business into an experience offering a refreshing and therapeutic escape from a modern world spinning with violent changes. The beauty of Kiwi’s gardens, the feelings it invokes, the peacefulness it offers is extremely precious and important. It feels like a beautiful retreat designed for those of us who love the inspiration of the natural world. Not to mention the opportunity to acquire some gorgeous perennials to remind us how wonderful this world can be!
Find details at kiwigardens.ca.
