This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for your support.
We recently visited Greenhill Gardens for the first time, and it felt like we’d been transported to an old-fashioned English country garden. Here’s a look at our visit!
We’ve been on the lookout lately for pretty spots other than our own property so that Kennedy can do a little Plein Aire painting during her summer break from school. I came across something called “Greenhill Gardens” on Google Maps when I was looking for something else in our area, and I had to investigate further. The photos I saw and reviews that I read told me that we definitely needed to go on a little adventure and see if we could find this magical place. I didn’t have high expectations for what the gardens would look like in reality, thinking it all sounded a little too good to be true, but let me tell you: they were even better than what I had seen online in the reviews—a real-life secret garden in the middle of nowhere, minus the walls described in the classic novel. I just had to take some photos and share our adventure here. If you love a good garden and find yourself in our little corner of the world, Greenhill Gardens is definitely worth a visit.
About Greenhill Gardens
Greenhill Gardens is a public garden on 6 acres in Southwestern Ontario, just west of the village of Wilkesport. Originally planted by the Robson family over several years, starting in 2008, it was recently donated to the St. Clair Region Conservation Foundation. It is now open to the public as a place to find relaxation and nature, have a picnic, or go for a walk in a beautiful setting. The gardens are supported by donations and bookings for wedding photos, graduation photos, weddings, and events.
Greenhill Gardens has three ponds, which are full of wildlife and aquatic plant species. The garden beds around the property are planted with many different flowering shrubs, perennials, and trees and are kept beautifully cultivated and manicured. You’ll also find charming garden features like a fountain, bridge, covered walkway, and cozy seating areas and patios tucked away in different corners of the garden.
Finding Greenhill Gardens
We had a bit of a tough time finding Greenhill Gardens using our car’s GPS at first. Since we didn’t have an exact address, the best method we found was to enter “Wilkesport Line and Indian Creek Road.” If you’re coming from far away, you may want to type in “Lambton County” as well. The gardens are located right at the intersection of these two roads, and we made it there just fine. There are three different entrance roads into the gardens, and they are all connected and lead into the central parking lot, so you should be able to enter at any one of those points and wind your way through the gardens to the main parking area.
A Favorite Among Gardeners for Interesting Foliage: How to Grow and Care for Blue Fescue Grass
Parking and Getting Around
There is a central gravel parking area at Greenhill Gardens. The day we visited, which was a weekday, finding open parking was not an issue as we were the only ones there other than two cars belonging to the grounds care workers. If walking is an issue for your group, you can easily see quite a bit of the flower garden by driving through the winding roads, but to see everything up close, getting out and walking around is really best.
Keep your green space perfectly landscaped: How to Divide and Transplant Hostas
You can access walking paths from the main parking area heading out in a few different directions, and which one you take first is entirely up to you. One path leads down a set of stairs towards a terrace overlooking one of the ponds; another takes you to the area with the covered walkway, more ponds, and lots of beautiful shrubbery. Another leads to cobblestone walkways, roses, and the shade garden. You’ll want to explore them all. Expect to spend about one to two hours at Greenhill Gardens to take everything in.
What We Saw on Our Visit
Our first mission after finding Greenhill Gardens was to locate the perfect spot for a picnic, which wasn’t difficult at all because there were many. We were drawn down the stairs from the parking lot and across a little bridge, then found ourselves on a little island in a pond, which had a conveniently placed bench complete with a pergola over top for shade. We sat and ate our picnic lunch, but we cut it short because we couldn’t wait to keep exploring.
More ideas for your rose garden and perennial plantings: How to Epsom Salt for Roses and Other Plants
Peonies and roses were in bloom while we were there, and the irises were just on their way out. I’m making it my mission to get back to see the hydrangeas, which were everywhere, but of course, not quite in bloom yet.
Of course, the covered walkway with wisteria vines growing over it was a big highlight. The combination of perfectly weathered wood and twisty vines was charming.
Fountains and garden statues can also be found here and there, peeking out from the landscaping.
A beautifully little seating area on a cobblestone patio.
We’re definitely hoping to visit the gardens again a few times to see how things change throughout the seasons. If you love the idea of taking yourself on a little self-guided garden tour and you happen to be in the Southwestern Ontario area, I highly recommend checking out this magical spot.
More Favorite Places to Visit in Southwest Ontario: Cobbletog Antiques in London, Ontario
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.