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Keppel Croft Gardens
About Keppel Croft
Come and explore Keppel Croft Gardens at Big Bay, on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula.
We have four acres of gardens, a nature trail, an arboretum, and Keppel Henge.
Enjoy your picnic at one of our numerous picnic spots.
Days and Hours
Wednesday through Sunday, and Holiday Mondays : 10 am - 5 pm
May 16th - October 12th, 2026
Contact us for after hours visiting and photography sessions. The light is so beautiful outside of visiting hours!
Entrance $5 per person. Children free.
Dogs on a lead are welcome.
Contact
Bill and Dawn Loney
Georgian Bluffs, Ontario
N0H 2T0
519·534·1090
Website renovations made with support from Jennie Hoekstra.
Our Garden Journal
Occasional entries about our gardening endeavours at Keppel Croft.
May 6
I used to think all daffodils were yellow. How wrong that was! It is the beginning of the daffodil season now and the variety of colour and shapes is quite astonishing. Here are a few of the early daffs in bloom at the moment.
May 7
It is the beginning of the magnolia season. Bill planted the seed of this magnolia years ago. It is one of several white magnolias in the garden. The city of Owen Sound has many beautiful mature magnolias that look wonderful at this time of spring.
When we paid off our mortgage 50 years ago we celebrated with a champagne breakfast on the patio and planted this magnolia. A build up of ice slowly creeping off the roof in the winter reinforces the lean of the tree,
This photo is from last year. Two black squirrels have taken to nipping off the buds. Promising buds litter the patio, The tree is stripped of blooms. This has never happened before. Have you any solutions?
May 8
Oh, no! It was inevitable. On Friday we got our first Black fly bites.
Last year I bought a bottle of lavender spray to use as bug deterrent. I will buy another this season. It works for me!
Many lavender products are available at Bluewater Lavender Farm in Wiarton.
Annual Wiarton Lavender Festival to be held July 25 and 26 at Bluewater Park.
https://www.bluewaterlavender.com
May 11
In today's sunshine there was a sparkling dispaly in the barnyard of blue and while anemones. They are self seeded, escaping from the garden behind the rail fence. The patch grows larger each year.
May 14
In spring 1977 we found the survivors of the original gardens - the bank of lilacs in front of the house, two columbines and a red tulip at the back of the house and this clump of narcissus at the front of the house. The clump has expanded slowly. The Pheasant's Eye blooms are delightfully fragrant but not flamboyant.
May 16
The tiny bell shaped Leucojum blossoms are one of my favourites.
I knew them as Snowdrops in my mother's garden. Later found out they are called Snowflakes!
May 18
No Mow May is in evidence now.
June 1
Our super useful and ingeniously made garden cart was an end of season gift from our neighbour, Sandy, known locally as The Blueberry Man!
He built this cart using a golf cart. The large wheels make the cart easy to move over our uneven ground.. It is remarkably easy to maneuvre and light to pull or push.
There are two hinged wooden supports, front and back, The platform is quite stable. A low rim around the platform keeps the load secure.
There are plans to refresh the paint work but so far this season the cart has been fully employed. No time for a paint job!
Our Garden Guest Book
Our Guest Book
Absolutely divine. Whimsy and nature, rocks, stones, pottery and all of nature's beauty.
Linda L., Owen Sound
So special a place, twenty five years visiting and still so beautiful in its aging prime.
S. Rodrigues. Toronto
In June in 2025 we found an unexpected potted shrub by the workshop. In the Guest Book we found this comment:
The Daphne is a gift from Gwynn and Jana in thanks for your hospitality last year. We have had a lovely time in your garden today. I hope you can find a space for the Daphne and that it does well for you. Gwynn and Jana.
Thanks, Gwynn and Jana. We planted your Daphne by the patio edge. Come and enjoy the scent in the spring. It's doing well this spring. Thanks again.
From Our Garden Journal, May 27 - an update on that Daphne!
Here's our daphne in flower!
If you scroll down this page to the note below about our Garden Guest Book you will read about the surprising provenance of this plant, a variegated Daphne.
.After the winter we were anxious as the plant was not looking very promising but our concern was misplaced.
It has burst into bloom and the fragrance is a delight. Thanks for your gift, Jana and Gwynn!
Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties
We are founding members of Rural Gardens of Grey and Bruce Counties. Visit the RGGB website featuring our member gardens for information about each garden, gardening advice from experienced people and for special events offered by our members: www.ruralgardens.ca/
