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Keppel Croft Gardens
A horticultural treasure on the Bruce Peninsula
Big Bay, Ontario
About Keppel Croft
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Come and explore Keppel Croft Gardens at Big Bay on the beautiful Bruce Peninsula.
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We have four acres of gardens, a nature trail, an arboretum, and Keppel Henge.
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Enjoy your picnic at one of our numerous picnic spots.
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Days and Hours
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​​Wednesday through Sunday, and Holiday Mondays 10 am - 5 pm
May 16th - October 12th, 2026
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Contact us for after hours visiting and photograph sessions. The light is so beautiful outside of visiting hours!
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​ Entrance $5 per person. Children free.
Dogs on a lead are welcome.
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Contact
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Bill and Dawn Loney
504156 Grey Road 1
Georgian Bluffs, Ontario
N0H 2T0
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519·534·1090
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Website renovations made with support from Jennie Hoekstra.
Renovations in progress
Here's our new Home page
for the 2026 gardening season.
The rest to come by mid-February.
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:
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​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.
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Thanks, Gwynn and Jana. We planted your Daphne by the patio edge. Come and enjoy the scent in the spring. We are delighted with your gift. Thanks again.​​
Summer Solstice at Keppel Henge, 2026
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Come and join us to celebrate this annual event.
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The Bluewater Astronomical Society will provide a presentation. Bring
your picnic and your curiosity.
Winter at Keppel Croft, 2026
January 9, 2026
We really enjoyed our cymbidium orchids in the Green Room last winter and hope we will have lots of blooms this winter. These orchids spend summer in their pots in the garden. We bring them into the house just before the frost comes. That change of environment stimulates the buds. Already we have one spray of orchids to enjoy.
January 11, 2026
Snow again ...
The overnight snowfall seems to have obliterated the ice rink that was Keppel Croft after several days of temperatures above zero and more rainfall than snowfall.
The dry stream bed was flowing, flooding over our laneway as it ignored a culvert. Bill had to take an alternate route to the barn as the water was deeper than his rubber boots were tall.
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We aren't complaining. The first winter we lived here there was so much snow.! After one storm we had to dig out our 3/4 ton pickup and our little Chevette. All we could see of the car was the top of its aerial.
At the birdfeeder
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​• Blue Jays
• Chickadees
• Junkos
• Goldfinches
• Downy Woodpeckers
• Hairy Woodpeckers
• Red Bellied Woodpeckers
• Tree Sparrows
• Mourning Doves
• White-breasted Nuthatches
• Red-breasted Nuthatches
​​• one Red Poll
• and too many black and red squirrels​
January 21, 2026
A Job for Early Spring
​If there is ever an archeological dig at Keppel Croft what will they find? All our lost hand tools! We hit on this great idea to reduce losses. Wooden handles are cleaned, sanded, and threaded with string from old venetian blinds. We paint the handles bright yellow and hang the tools up to dry. They don't get lost any more!​​​​ It's a spring job.
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​Lee Valley Tools has supplied us with tools of excellent quality. We check out garage sales and second hand stores. Retiring gardeners offer their tried and true favourites. Bill's favourite tool is a Japanese weeding sickle, and mine is a Korean Homi digger. I have even painted my NZ hand sheep shears yellow. I would hate to lose that tool.
Learn about Bumble Bees
Bumble bees are important pollinators in Southern Ontario. Learn how to identify them. https://wildlifepreservation.ca/bumble-bee-resources/
Photo: Mary Prawecki
Photo: Mary Prawecki
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/​ View garden photographs and posts by members on Facebook and Instagram.
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