Whether your fictional favourites run to small folk with big appetites and furry feet or a young orphan lady from P.E.I. sporting red hair and a fiery temper, the third annual home and garden tour on July 11 organized by CFUW Perth and District has you covered.
The tour, part of the century-plus work of the Canadian Federation of University Women, is a fundraiser to help financially challenged women in the Perth area pursue post-secondary education and to support advocacy and education activities in the community.
This year, the four homes and eight gardens on the self-guided tour within Perth and the surrounding area are linked by literary themes. One stop on the route, for instance, features a mystical landscape and gardens and a “Gandalf-approved” house that call to mind J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic trilogy of hobbit derring-do, The Lord of the Rings.
Another spot, named for the beloved Canadian classic Anne of Green Gables, spotlights traditional East Coast gardens, a man-made pond reminiscent of the one dubbed the Lake of Shining Waters by the ever-ebullient Anne Shirley, and a white home with green shutters and a covered porch.
The idea of a literary theme came from one of the local CFUW members, who is also an author, says Margaret White, past president of the Perth district foundation and an organizer of this year’s event.
“Her thinking was that when you wander through someone’s garden, you want to see it, to feel it, so what she thought was for each of the gardens to come up with a theme that people could kind of immerse themselves in.
“One of the ways of doing that as well is that we’re inviting both the volunteers and the guests to wear costumes in keeping with the theme.”
To inspire all-out engagement, there will also be a costume contest, adds White.
Other stops on the tour include an Alice in Wonderland-themed home and garden. An older brick home in Perth, its stained-glass windows, fireplaces and chandeliers inspired a sense of wonder when the current owner first saw it, says White. That sense of wonder suggested the Alice theme to event organizers, she says, adding “the back garden is huge and it’s going to be just a feast for the senses.”
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Hansel and Gretel are among the other inspirations this year.
The tour features artists and musicians at the sites, a garden picnic lunch on the banks of the Tay River (with only 225 lunches available, you need to order yours by July 4), and a raffle with more than $6,000 in prizes donated by local businesses.
The last two years of the tour have raised about $44,000. Organizers are anticipating 500 guests this year and hoping to match or exceed last year’s total of $27,000.
Those funds help young women like the engineering student White mentions who has received an annual bursary from the foundation since she began university.
“She’s kept us updated on her progress and how well she’s doing in school and how much that has depended to a large extent on the fact that she didn’t have to work quite as hard to raise money because she had our support. So, that’s a very wonderful thing for us to hear.”
Homeowners — who love to share the spaces they love — and sponsors — including this year’s platinum sponsor, Carleton Place Nursery — are among those invited to the awards ceremony.
“Everyone feels great at the end,” says White. “It’s such a heartwarming moment.”
Tickets for the tour are $35, and lunch tickets are $20. For more information, visit the tour site.
