Posted with full permission from the Hamilton Spectator.
_____________________________________________
Kathy Renwald
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 23, 2007)
Les Clarke has a framed view of Lake Ontario that's priceless.
"The lake is different every day. The storms, the waves, where the sun comes up -- it's fascinating."
He's lived on Beach Boulevard for two years and has a lovely, beachy garden that trickles down to the well-used and well-loved waterside trail.
In his garden there are bulky, thick, wood pilings, lashed together with rope big enough to lasso a freighter. They line a walkway formed by massive slabs of stone. Here and there are colonies of smooth stones piled up against easy-care perennials.
A porch at the back of his townhouse has an elevated view of the garden. Purple coneflower and yarrow poke up through a mulch of beach stones in a garden that is designed to reflect the charm and identity of life at the edge of the lake.
"We have a nice time here, we watch the boats, the people on the trail. We love it."
As we chat at the edge of the trail, cyclists breeze by, city workers on cleanup duty, joggers and strollers. At the end of a long leash we meet Newman, with ears as big as a sail, a low-slung canine trotting after his inline-skating owners.
Along the trail, gardens are wild or formal, puzzling, inviting and often fun. There's a Jimmy Buffett sensibility, with hammocks, cabanas, fire pits and outdoor showers tucked into unlikely places.
On the rooftop of one cottage a cheery garden faces the water. Pots of petunias and geraniums cascade over the roof's edge, and two canvas umbrellas offered shade for a siesta or happy-hour activities.
The contrast is charming. On one side of the trail, gardens and lawns; on the other, beach grasses, lazy paths and boardwalks down to the beach.
Yes, there are hydro towers and the symphony from the Skyway, but there's identity and history packed into every kilometre of the Beach Strip.
Leave the trail and take a route along the road, and it's like walking through a textbook of architectural styles. Elegant verandas framed by old magnolia and chestnut trees capture the essence of summer at the lake.
Around Ontario there are communities being built in the style of the new urbanism. It means that every house looks different, there are porches to encourage social exchange, gardens instead of lawns, and garages are hidden at the back. It's an attempt, and sometimes a forced one, to create neighbourhoods.
In Hamilton you don't have to travel far to find the real thing. The Beach has been loved and loathed, neglected and discovered again.
Take a stroll along the Hamilton Beach Recreation Trail, with gardens on one side and the long blue horizon of Lake Ontario on the other. There are freighters and shorebirds, butterflies and the discord of traffic -- it's a free-form mix that's as mercurial as Les Clarke's view of the lake.
Kathy Renwald is producer and host of Gardener's Journal.
gardenersjournal@sympatico.ca
Photos-Homes from the turn of the past century, some with wide verandas, are still postcard pretty on the Hamilton beach.
Purple coneflower pokes up through pebble mulch in Les Clarke's Beach Strip garden.
Les Clarke's beach-style garden suits its shoreline location.
A rooftop garden overlooking the water is in casual Beach Strip style.
Newman takes a stroll along the Hamilton Beach Recreation Trail.
_____________________________________________
Kathy Renwald
The Hamilton Spectator
(Aug 23, 2007)
Les Clarke has a framed view of Lake Ontario that's priceless.
"The lake is different every day. The storms, the waves, where the sun comes up -- it's fascinating."
He's lived on Beach Boulevard for two years and has a lovely, beachy garden that trickles down to the well-used and well-loved waterside trail.
In his garden there are bulky, thick, wood pilings, lashed together with rope big enough to lasso a freighter. They line a walkway formed by massive slabs of stone. Here and there are colonies of smooth stones piled up against easy-care perennials.
A porch at the back of his townhouse has an elevated view of the garden. Purple coneflower and yarrow poke up through a mulch of beach stones in a garden that is designed to reflect the charm and identity of life at the edge of the lake.
"We have a nice time here, we watch the boats, the people on the trail. We love it."
As we chat at the edge of the trail, cyclists breeze by, city workers on cleanup duty, joggers and strollers. At the end of a long leash we meet Newman, with ears as big as a sail, a low-slung canine trotting after his inline-skating owners.
Along the trail, gardens are wild or formal, puzzling, inviting and often fun. There's a Jimmy Buffett sensibility, with hammocks, cabanas, fire pits and outdoor showers tucked into unlikely places.
On the rooftop of one cottage a cheery garden faces the water. Pots of petunias and geraniums cascade over the roof's edge, and two canvas umbrellas offered shade for a siesta or happy-hour activities.
The contrast is charming. On one side of the trail, gardens and lawns; on the other, beach grasses, lazy paths and boardwalks down to the beach.
Yes, there are hydro towers and the symphony from the Skyway, but there's identity and history packed into every kilometre of the Beach Strip.
Leave the trail and take a route along the road, and it's like walking through a textbook of architectural styles. Elegant verandas framed by old magnolia and chestnut trees capture the essence of summer at the lake.
Around Ontario there are communities being built in the style of the new urbanism. It means that every house looks different, there are porches to encourage social exchange, gardens instead of lawns, and garages are hidden at the back. It's an attempt, and sometimes a forced one, to create neighbourhoods.
In Hamilton you don't have to travel far to find the real thing. The Beach has been loved and loathed, neglected and discovered again.
Take a stroll along the Hamilton Beach Recreation Trail, with gardens on one side and the long blue horizon of Lake Ontario on the other. There are freighters and shorebirds, butterflies and the discord of traffic -- it's a free-form mix that's as mercurial as Les Clarke's view of the lake.
Kathy Renwald is producer and host of Gardener's Journal.
gardenersjournal@sympatico.ca
Photos-Homes from the turn of the past century, some with wide verandas, are still postcard pretty on the Hamilton beach.
Purple coneflower pokes up through pebble mulch in Les Clarke's Beach Strip garden.
Les Clarke's beach-style garden suits its shoreline location.
A rooftop garden overlooking the water is in casual Beach Strip style.
Newman takes a stroll along the Hamilton Beach Recreation Trail.