A Day in the Country is Worth a Month in Town

By Sarah Battersby on July 27th, 2010 6 Comments »
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Country in town: Ashbridges Bay, Toronto. Chicory, Queen Anne’s Lace and sweet clover in bloom.

Before green apples blush,
Before green nuts embrown,
Why one day in the coun­try
Is worth a month in town.

I agree com­pletely with poet Christina Rossetti on this one. But while there isn’t any way to get “city” in the country—unless you count high speed internet—luckily there are plenty of places to get “coun­try” in the city. You just have to find it. Back alleys, vacant lots, and untamed park­land are now full of wild flow­ers, like Queen Anne’s Lace, intensely blue chicory, and—the smell of sum­mer, for me—sweet clover. I’m thrilled to have these wild green spaces in the city, like Evergreen Brickworks, and Ashbridges Bay by the lake. One thing, how­ever, I’m sure I won’t see in the city is a group of wild turkeys cross­ing the road like those I saw this week­end in the country.

Why did the wild turkeys cross the road? Peer pres­sure, perhaps?

If you feel like Christina Rossetti and me, let us know  your city / coun­try strat­egy. Fave places to go? Share in the comments!

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⇪ Posted in Articles, Front Page, Garden.

  • Ladyslenderlegs

    the Little Lake on the Mountain is one of our favourite get­aways, the Pinery is another favourite for camping

  • Sarah

    I love the Pinery. The BEST sun­sets ever on Lake Huron. Little Lake on the Mountain, is that in Prince Edward County?

  • sweet­keet

    I do like to escape to the coun­try, though I have been unable to ‘dis­ap­pear’ in any sig­nif­i­cant way for the past five years or so for a vari­ety of rea­sons. That said, some years I go to Bruce’s Mill for the maple sugar fes­ti­val in March/early April. I also adore the many farm­ers’ mar­kets that line the Niagara Parkway near Niagara-on-the-Lake; going there and see­ing the orchards, grass, trees and gar­dens is absolutely THRILLING for me, since I live in a high-density mid-Toronto neigh­bour­hood. St. Jacobs is also a lovely day trip. In Toronto, Edwards Gardens is won­der­ful, as is the Toronto Music Garden with its lush, tall grasses, gigan­tic and mys­te­ri­ous fruit-bearing shrubs and monarch butterfly-laden flower gar­dens. It’s lovely by the lake.

  • Helen

    In the city, the Leslie Street Spit is a favourite “coun­try place” to be. It really feels like the wild and wide open spaces I love about the coun­try. Plus, you get Lake Ontario *and* that crazy Toronto skyline.

    Further north, though rather man­i­cured, there’s the Beltline Trail. It’s like walk­ing in a leafy lane, per­fect when the sun get high.

  • Sarah Battersby

    Haven’t yet seen the Beltline trail, and must go there soon. And yes, one of the best things about the Leslie Street spit is the view of the city, from that great wild van­tage point. Great place for a bike ride, but bikes are only allowed on week­ends if I remem­ber. A plus: no hills!

  • Sarah Battersby

    Bruce’s Mill is great, and they have the apple but­ter fes­ti­val in the fall too, I used to go a lot as a kid. Good to be reminded of it. St. Jacobs is another place I’d love to go to, good to know it’s pos­si­ble to do it in a day. Edwards Gardens is get­ting bet­ter and bet­ter with all the new gar­dens around the Toronto Botanical Gardens head­quar­ters, good in every sea­son. Music gar­den is another gar­den on my To See list.


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