Close [X]

Joan Whattam in her garden. And some of the flowers she grows. (Photos by Dave Sidaway, The Gazette)

• News
• All

Garden tour set for Saturday, June 20

Seven private residences open their gardens for viewing

The Gazette
Thursday, June 18, 2009

Enlarge

Joan Whattam in her garden. And some of the flowers she grows. (Photos by Dave Sidaway, The Gazette)

For the last 40 years, Joan Whattam has spent many hours cultivating the gardens at her home in Dollard des Ormeaux.

This year, she’s been paying special attention to her plants and flowers because hers is one of seven homes open to visitors this Saturday as part of the West Island Citizen Advocacy’s 33rd annual Garden Tour.

“Gardening is like interior decorating. You want to do something new every year,” she said of her garden that  boasts some unique and exotic plants, including a California Yucca that flowers only once every five years, Lord Kitchener peonies that date back to 1907 and Felix Crousse peonies that can be traced to 1881.

Whattam and her neighbours, Guy and Gail Jacquart, who are also part of the garden tour. 

“We wander around each other’s gardens with our coffee cups,” Whattam said.  
The tour this year includes seven private residences in Pointe Claire, Dollard and Pierrefonds. Tickets are $25.