Kingswood And Moorside

Picking up where I left off yesterday, here's one more view of Kingsmere Lake. The name of the lake predates the presence of Mackenzie King at this place, but that would have been a factor in his starting to buy land here.

The path led us back up towards Kingswood. A few red trilliums could be seen along the way.

The cottages here are a lovely sight to see. I've been inside before, and the exhibits about King and his life are contained within them. The opening for the season would have been just three or four days after we were here.

We followed the path towards the other residence, built later. This sign, again in French and English, was by the path: 'Apart And Alone With God, With Nature'.

Moorside is the name of the other residence, more of a formal home. King crafted the vision for this over time, establishing gardens and landscaping details over a period of years. The main house has an accompanying garage-carriage house, and there are a number of what can best be described as follies on the grounds. The ground floor of the main house features a tearoom during open season. I have visited at other times of the year, and on one of those occasions a wedding party was having photos done here on the grounds.

King's gardens include both the traditions of the French and English formal gardens; the former is about geometry, while the latter relies on perennials and ties closer to nature. You can see one of the follies at the bottom of the slope.

Here we have it in greater detail, with an example of the rock garden motif visible beyond it before the woods. King called this The Window On The Forest. Taken from a building in Ottawa demolished in 1936, it was erected here and provides a separation from the formal gardens behind me to the plants that have taken root in among the rocks. The plaques you see are in English and French; sentences from King's will are inscribed on them. "For nearly half a century, Kingsmere has been my real home. I bequeath my Kingsmere properties to Canada as a thank-offering for the opportunities of public service which the people of my country have given me."

Another one of the oddities here on the estate- this appears to be a stone fireplace mantle, half buried in the soil. It makes for an interesting bench.

The Gift Of A Prime Minister

Today I am beginning a new series, from a visit made in May when Tom and Janette were here for the Tulip Festival, so these next few posts will be from that day. 

Gatineau Park encompasses much of the Gatineau Hills, an uprising of land north of the city of Gatineau on the Quebec side of the Ottawa River. Most of the park lies within the regional municipality of Les Collines-des-l'Outaouais, and takes up over 360 square kilometres of woodlands, lakes, and rolling hills. It is a federal park, having a unique status in that it is not technically part of the national parks system, but administered by the National Capital Commission. Its origins date back to the early twentieth century, formally established in 1938. Private property ownership was still allowed in the park under its mandate- one of the hurdles towards it becoming a formal national park- but Gatineau Park is a delightful escape for those in the national capital, an oasis of nature with some spectacular scenery in all seasons.

We headed into the park only to find a closed parkway, leaving places like Pink Lake and the scenic lookouts along that route inaccessible for this visit. I expect that the parkway opened up for the season just a few days later. Navigation on my part led us by a different route to another destination- the Mackenzie King Estate. 

William Lyon Mackenzie King is one of our finest prime ministers- I would say he and Lester Pearson are tied as the best. Have a look at his story here. A longstanding Liberal politician, he served as an MP under Laurier, spent time in private practice as a lawyer, and then returned to politics upon Laurier's death, taking the reins of the party and dominating federal politics from 1921-48, most of that time as Prime Minister. As a young man he began buying up land around Kingsmere Lake here in the Gatineau Hills, and started building a home- and then another- as a retreat away from politics. The lifelong bachelor left the entire estate to the country upon his death (along with his in-town residence, Laurier House), and this place was, for all intents and purposes, his true home. There are three distinct residences on the 231 hectares of land- two of them are open to the public, while the third, a 19th century farmhouse called The Farm, is now the official residence of the Speaker of the House of Commons. We started over from the parking lot to Kingswood, the first of the two residences the public can visit, beyond the above gate.

Quotes from King are placed in the form of signs along the paths here at the estate, in French and English. They tend to reflect his love of the land, this one for instance says, "such happiness as I felt in being beneath my own roof, amid the trees." 

Kingswood, a combination of the nearby lake's name and the name of Woodside, his childhood home in Kitchener, Ontario, consists of cottages and a carriage house. It was the first residence built here over time, more modest than what he would later build. Today Kingswood houses artifacts of the man, but we were a few days earlier than the official opening for the season, so the buildings themselves were closed. 

This view from a porch looks down the slope towards Kingsmere Lake.

We headed down the path. This outlying building is most likely a pump house, or a shed. It lies up from the shoreline.

This was the path heading back up. Those of you who follow Tom's blog might remember a similar view in a post he did back in May.

Steps led right down to the shoreline of the lake, a pretty spot in the midst of the hills. Fall colours around here are particularly stunning.

Close by the steps, fiddleheads were growing.

Here we have the other structure built here, a boathouse that incorporates changing facilities. King enjoyed spending time on the lake with guests, whether that meant swimming or boating. We'll pick up from here tomorrow.

The Finale For The Festival

Today I bring my series on the Tulip Festival to a close with these final shots from Commissioners Park at Dow's Lake. I have enjoyed showing this year's edition, and have enjoyed your comments throughout.

Sun Drenched Floral Garden

Carrying on with this tour of the tulips at Dow's Lake, here are more of them.

The Beavertails hut was among the food choices here in the park, and it was always busy. Beavertails are a fried pastry in the form of the beaver tail, garnished in a variety of ways. The chain is based out of Ottawa, often appearing at festivals while maintaining a permanent location in the Byward Market and locations across the country.

This, for instance, is the maple Beavertail. I'd have saved you a bite, but, well, I can't be trusted around such treats. :)

This is one of those shots taken on Victoria Day when I was here in the morning, another one of those tulip sculptures. This one stood outside a tent shelter for Lee Valley, a tools and gardening business based out of Ottawa, with stores across Canada and a catalogue business. Tom mentioned he was familiar with them from his nursery days.

Moving on, the path took me towards other tulip beds. Tomorrow we'll have a finale to this series.