The Children's Garden
Families have been drawn to Tower Hill for generations to picnic (the Kentucky Fried Chicken takeout restaurant was just around the corner for decades), climb the Tower, check out the fish in the Pond and enjoy the beauty of the flower gardens. Although neighbourhood children have been playing in the woods forever, visitors never ventured beyond the tended areas.
Now, the woods that wrap entirely around the Garden offer a network of pathways for exploration, free play and discovery. The long gone Sunken Rose Garden behind the Time Capsule and Sundial is a gathering place for families filled with whimsy, a Butterfly Garden and several access points to the woods.
There are two sets of stone steps leading into the woods on the back of the Tower. From one, a path makes its way all the way down to Great North Road and a surprising number of people find their way on foot to the Garden following that path.
The other is a tiny set of steps, leading to “nowhere”. That’s where it used to lead; but now it is just one of the many ways to access Periwinkle Woods. Most of the forest floor and the understory in the woods surrounding the Tower has been taken over by Periwinkle, Bugleweed, Buckthorn, Honeysuckle and Japanese Tree Lilac.. Periwinkle is a popular evergreen ground cover for shade adorned with purple flowers that must have been planted decades ago before people realized what damage it would do to our ecosystem. Maybe the sign should say “Periwinkle Woods- A Cautionary Tale”.
Removing it was futile, so the Gardeners used it to define paths and hoped the name would spark a conversation about the importance of avoiding its use. Many back breaking hours have been spent by the Gardeners removing buckthorn and honeysuckle and the long term goal is to turn Periwinkle Woods into a place where all visitors can learn about our unique ecoozone where the Boreal and Deciduous Forests meet and overlap.
At the bottom of those steps, you will find a Log Living Room; a table and chairs and couch donated and installed by Tallman Tree Service. Not so comfy but fun!
From here, a path takes visitors downhill towards the railway tracks to discover the Spooky Old Tree; a mighty fallen oak laying on its side in the clearing, providing endless opportunity for imaginative play.
The Butterfly Garden is easy to spot from the Tower as it features two bright blue butterfly benches.
The benches and butterfly plants were made possible by a generous donation by the McDowall Family, in memory of their mother Betty.
In this open but tucked away space, children find all sorts of other interesting things …
Bugs …
Peacocks …
A flock of geese …
Once they have spotted Mr. Googley Eyes …
They will have found the other end of the lower path through the Woods.
That path takes them through The Enchanted Forest; where fallen logs are covered with moss and the Gnomes and Fairies live.
The path through the Enchanted Forest leads to Hawthorne Hollow; a gathering place for playing or programming. This is where children will learn more about our Northern Forests and will find the Abandoned Trappers Cabin. One of Santa’s reindeer lives there year round and Santa comes to take him to the North Pole just before the holidays.
There’s a shortcut to Hawthorne Hollow from the Butterfly Garden.
As children of all ages enter through the gap in the cedar trees,, they will spot the Storyteller’s Circle. The storyteller sits on the magical rock under the leaning tree and spins a tale for the children gathered there.
Then over the footbridge, where a stream runs over the rocks in the springtime, fed by the mysterious aquifer system at the top of the tallest hill in town.
At the big rock the path goes straight down to Hawthorne Hollow., to the right leads back to the Spooky Old Tree, to the left through the Enchanted Forest.
There is another path to left at that entry point to the woods. It leads into a special place called Serviceberry Grove. It is a quiet contemplative spot planted as a tribute to all the Tower Hill Gardeners, past and present, who have made the Garden a place our Community has treasured for almost a Century.
It was inspired by a small book with a big message by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Serviceberry- Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World
Pause for a moment before trying to keep up with the children scampering to the top of the Tower.
