When I was back in the Toronto region recently, I made sure to fit in a visit to Lost Horizons Nursery. I’ve mentioned Lost Horizons in past posts. It is aptly named because returning there is like making a gardener’s pilgrimage to Shangri-la. Indeed, on the website, a note about the name reads:
“Lost Horizons” is derived from the Frank Capra film, which held me spellbound as a child. Everything thrived in that luxuriant paradise hidden high in the mountains, far from the stress of the world. We hope that, with the assistance of Lost Horizons, you can create your own Shangri-la.
Gardens in general are peaceful places, offering a calm oasis in a bustling world. The Lost Horizons garden moves a step beyond, and approaches a spiritual experience, deeply satisfying to any gardener’s soul.
Beyond that, of course, the garden is an inspiration and an education. It would be impossible to walk through the garden without coming away with some bright idea for your own garden or an overwhelming urge to acquire some irresistible plant.
Fortunately, the latter response can be readily indulged, as a cornucopia of beauties are on hand, waiting for you to take them home with you. Although I didn’t come with anything specific in mind, I left with several plants settled on the back seat of my car.
I have added a Cephalaria gigantea (Giant Scabiosa) and a Kirengeshoma palmata (Yellow Wax Bells) to my garden and look forward to watching them grow and prosper.
It’s an odd comparison, but the Lost Horizons garden reminds me of Jack Nicholson in As Good As It Gets when he tells Helen Hunt that she makes him want to be a better man. Visiting the Lost Horizons garden makes me want to be a better gardener!
Here are a few more photographs of the Lost Horizons garden.
Willow House Chronicles 