Tag Archives: garden

The Guild Inn and Sculpture Park

Posted by thenewcollector in Antiques, Architectural Antiques and tagged with , , , , ,

Back about a month ago, my husband and I decided to take a drive into nearby southern Scarborough, Ontario. En route to the car, we ran into our neighbour who was born and raised in the area. She recommended we visit “The Guild“. I hadn’t heard of the place but our neighbour said it was a historic parcel of land on the coast of the lake. She said it had a large garden full of antique architectural features, which I was immediately curious about as a sucker for all things garden and architectural. She also said it had once been home to an expansive artist colony (in fact the first artist colony in Canada!), and still housed a large Inn. It all sounded very interesting, so off we went to visit the Guild.

I am so glad we ran into our neighbour that day! The first thing we noticed when we arrived (it’s free to enter and park) was a large building, boarded up and behind a chain link fence. This was the actual Inn – a structure built in 1914 that has been used as a residence, military hospital, shelter and hotel over the years. Obviously neglect has not been kind to this once stately home. It is in a sad state, and thus it was quite easy to imagine why the Inn has a reputation for being haunted. Our disappointment from the Inn, however, was quickly forgotten when we ventured further into the large park behind the building. We were immediately welcomed by towering columns and neatly kept trails through mature trees. The grounds in stark comparison to the Inn are well maintained. The large lawn ends in a tree line, and beyond a beautiful vantage point on top of the bluffs to the lake below.

What is left of the Guild Inn today

What is left of the Guild Inn today

guildphoto24

guildphoto19

guildphoto7

guildphoto9

The beautiful view of the lake from on top of the bluffs

The huge 88 acre grounds are composed of forested areas, large lawns, flower beds, and a few remaining smaller buildings. The most notable building (other than the Inn) is a small log cabin in the woods. This is the Osterhout cabin which was built in 1795 and is the oldest building in Scarborough. Scattered around, grouped but never very crowded, are architectural remnants of Toronto’s past. Beautiful archways, columns, and sculpture that once graced the city’s buildings are on display. Plaques give the history of the objects, although some of these have been lost over the years. You can enjoy the objects from afar or venture closer – often to discover a face carved into the facade. The day we went there were quite a few people around (it’s a popular spot for wedding photography) but it was easy to feel like you were alone in some historical wonderland.

guildphoto15

The Osterhout Log Cabin

The Osterhout Log Cabin

guildphoto17

The history of the Guild is very interesting. The original manor residence was built in 1914 in the Arts and Crafts style. In 1932 the residence and grounds were bought by Rosa and Spencer Clark. They were great lovers of the arts, and slowly transformed the grounds into an art colony during the Depression era. The Clarks rescued facades and ruins of various demolished downtown Toronto buildings to create the Sculpture Park. Altogether, pieces of more than 60 structures were amassed. The Guild Inn proved so popular as a lakeside resort and artisans’ community that in 1965 a 100 room addition and a swimming pool were added (I believe this addition was demolished in 2009). Many people who grew up in this area of Toronto have fond memories of staying at the Inn, or visiting the restaurant for a family meal and walk through the park.

guildphoto6

guildphoto11

guildphoto13

The Guild is a unique and memorable historical site that unfortunately continues to languish without proper restoration. Now owned by the city, various plans including a college campus have been proposed to revitalize the land. Personally, I think any plan that can restore the Inn and the art colony would be ideal. There are so many people interested in crafting and the arts it seems like a missed opportunity not to build on what is already part of the land’s cultural background. I could easily see people taking everything from painting lessons on the grounds to metalwork classes in the studios. Most importantly, without some serious money and invested owners, the beautiful objects and buildings already on the land will continue to deteriorate.

Fortunately, the Guild Inn and surrounding park may still have a bright future. Many local people are active in preserving the space and organizing events that use the park and raise awareness. Just this month, CBC radio did an interview with Friends of Guild Park president, John Mason. I recommend a listen (it’s short and well done). There is also a Facebook Page devoted to The Guild, with regularly updated news. If you live in Toronto, you owe it to yourself to visit. Perhaps, like so many artists before, it will inspire you to capture its beauty either through photographs or drawings. Even if you just walk through the park and enjoy the scenery, it will almost definitely inspire you to return.

Antiques in the Garden – Part 2

Posted by thenewcollector in Antiques, Decorating with Antiques, Vintage and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

Wow. Over three weeks have gone by since my last post! One of the reasons I haven’t posted about antiques in the garden is because I’ve been too busy spending time planting in my garden. That’s ironic or something. Check out my first peony of the season. This was taken a week ago and the whole plant is flowering now:

Peony in bloom

Between the garden, working, spring cleaning and a super fun cracked molar incident, I haven’t been blogging nearly as much as I should. I’ll try to turn that around with this installment of Antiques in the Garden. If you haven’t already, you might want to check out Part 1 for more ideas on how to use antiques & vintage items in your outdoor space.

First upon our return to my parents’ garden is this lovely large stone bowl. This is actually a crucible used for melting glass. It was the years of use that gave the inside of this object its complex blend of colour. It’s hard to see here but the bottom of the crucible has layers of dark green and brown glass. My mom usually keeps some water in the crucible and uses it to house a few floating plants and flowers:

Crucible for Glass

Near the crucible are these two giant iron wrenches (you can see how tall they are compared to the normal shovel leaning next to them). These are a bit of a mystery, but the most popular idea is that they were used on steam locomotives. I guess the wheels on those giant trains required some pretty serious torque!

Big Wrenches

The next object is near and dear to my heart because it reminds me of trips to Biarritz France, near where my mother grew up. It is a segment of antique concrete fence in the form of branches. This object was actually made by the same artisan who crafted some of the similar fence work still found on the beachfront in Biarritz. It was made by a process called sand casting. The process began by first creating the shapes by pressing real branches into sand. Then the wood was removed, wires were added for stability, and concrete was poured into the sand molds. Texture details were added before the concrete hardened. Sand casting is often used in foundries for metal but it also has a long history with concrete. Here is the fence in my parents’ garden:

Concrete Fence

And just to compare here’s a photo I took of the fence in Biarritz. This particular section of fence is probably quite recent, as they replace segments as needed, but many parts are still vintage to at least the 1950s:

Fence in Biarritz, France

What an elegant and whimsical way to add texture to your garden, don’t you think? Here are a few more nice antique and vintage pieces I found around the grounds:

Tin Star

Iron Finial

Iron Post

Now, for the big exciting finale, I’m going to show you the famous President Taft doors:

Shuttered Doors

I love the little duck silhouettes!

Please don’t crowd – there’s room for everyone. Okay, so the story is these green shuttered beauties were once part of a cabin nestled into the scenic countryside of rural Quebec. The cabin was a summer-house for none other than 27th President of the United States William Howard Taft. In the 1990s the cabin was renovated or torn down, and my parents were able to buy these doors on one of their many picking trips to Quebec. They now mark the entry to the compost pile which is admittedly not the most noble of places but makes them very useful nonetheless.

Almost too much excitement for one garden tour right? Oh but there’s more. Not only did my parents get the doors, they also bought an entire small shed from the Taft property. EDIT: Turns out I was wrong! My dad left a comment to explain the origins of the shed. Here is his quote: “I have to clarify that the small Taft “shed” you  illustrate is actually something I made from four Taft shutters (presumable from the same guest house as same color and construction) and a tin shingled top of some birdhouse or something,  Bought on a different trip to Quebec.  I noticed one day that the shutters where the same width as the top sides, and I had a screw gun in my hands so I put it together.  People have had many interesting theories about its use. Ventilated out house, smoke house, threshold to another dimension. It’s good to have theories.” Thanks dad! That’s actually a much more interesting origin story for this unusual piece:

Shed

How about them apples? How bout them somewhat historically interesting apples? And yes, while there is no official certification to prove the President Taft story, my dad says it’s true so that’s good enough for me. Even if it wasn’t true and those Quebec dealers used the pure unadulterated excitement of President Taft to sell these things, they would still be worth the purchase. They are lovely antique objects that are durable, decorative, and still very useful in the garden.

You may now return from the edge of your seats. The garden tour is over! Thanks for coming along and I hope you enjoyed it!

Antiques in the Garden – Part 1

Posted by thenewcollector in Antiques, Decorating with Antiques, Vintage and tagged with , , , , , , ,

The weather is warming up and that means I’m starting to think about the garden. Even though we have a small space I find it very satisfying to dig in the dirt. I’m a pretty easy-going gardener. If something works, great. If not, oh well. Dig it out and try something else. I educate myself through the internet and books here and there, but my most important go-to expert is my mother. She’s an amazing gardener and with the help of my dad she cultivates a number of vegetable and flower gardens. My mom’s advice for the novice gardener is pretty straight forward: It takes five years to establish a perennial garden, so patience is key. Plant a mix of foliage, colours and heights to create interest. Most of all, enjoy the process and understand that gardens change so trying to create a static “perfect” garden is silly and frustrating. It’s one of those journey and not the destination things.

Gardening is quite the popular hobby these days, and along with it the desire to create outdoor “rooms”. Gliding chairs, sectional sofas, fire pits, elegant lighting and even rugs are now common elements in the outdoor living space. As we attempt to include more decoration in our outdoors, antiques find a new home. Many antiques are durable enough to grace the outdoors year round, especially industrial or architectural pieces. I looked around my parent’s garden and found many antiques that work perfectly amidst the flowers. I took a lot of pictures so I’m going to break it up into two blog posts.

The first item I noticed in the garden was this vintage plant stand made out of chain. The paint is wearing off, which I quite like, but you could easily spray paint a metal object like this if you wanted. I love the idea of using a plant stand for a birdhouse too. This stand creates a nice tall focal point in the middle of the yard:

Near the plant stand are two large concrete urns or planters. These are from the Victorian period, and I love the classic shape and weathering on them.  They look softer because of their age. A nice thing about planters is that you can change the plants inside them whenever you wish to suit the season.

Another item in the antique concrete category are the two balls that sit near the entrance of the garden. I think the moss and speckled surface of the concrete is quite lovely. These may have perched on the top of a stone fence at one time, perhaps flanking the gate to a grand estate.

These items are wonderful but they take up ground space. What if you are like me and have to make every inch count? Well, you can still use antique items on the walls of your outdoor space. Check out what I found on the back fence:

It’s a piece of gingerbread trim from a house. When old houses are renovated or torn down, architectural elements like this are sometimes thrown out. Thankfully there are many people who salvage these items and repurpose them. In this case, trim that decorated a house for a hundred years finds an excellent second life as a backdrop in the garden.

Along another section of the fence, I found these two antique grates. These durable cast iron beauties were probably used over heating vents.

Finally, this selection of interesting shapes were mounted on the storage shed. The wooden rectangular piece is another architectural remnant, perhaps from a house but I’m not sure. The wooden “X’s are even more mysterious! I had to ask my dad what they were. Any guesses? They’re used in fishing to wind up the nets. I think originally there were rods in each arm (you can see the little holes), connecting two “X” pieces together, and the net would wind up between them. I searched for more information or images of these things but without luck. If you know anything please share because I’m curious!

So that does it for part one! I love my parent’s garden and there’s so much to see. The next part of the tour will feature giant locomotive wrenches and a set of doors that may have once belonged to former US President Taft. I’ll post that soon. Until then, I have some weeding to do 🙂 Enjoy the weather!