Thank you for purchasing tickets to this year’s Mark’s Choice Through the Garden Gate: Windfields Estate
As you get ready for the tour, here is some additional information about the area and the gardens featured on the tour.
LONG DESCRIPTIONS OF THE GARDENS
Your garden guide include a map of the route and a short description of each garden. If you’d like to read a longer description of each garden download the supplemental garden guide.
HISTORY OF THE AREA
The area known as Windfields Estate was originally businessman E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm, started in 1937, and eventually known as one of the most prominent thoroughbred racing stables in North America.
In 1968, Taylor sold most of his land to residential developers and made a gift to the Borough of North York of thirty acres, including a ravine along Wilket Creek which ran through the property. The Taylor family resided on the remaining part of the estate until 1987, when their mansion was transferred to the City of Toronto with the agreement that it be leased to the Canadian Film Centre.
Most Windfields homes were built in the 1970s and 1980s. These are the homes that are featured on our tour. Many of them are still owned by their original owners; surprisingly few have had more than two owners, perhaps because of their space and ideal location … a little bit of country in the city. It’s an area of avid gardeners, many of whom have taken their inspiration from the neighbouring oasis of Edwards Gardens and Toronto Botanical Garden.
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