The Toronto Music Garden

Overview of the Toronto Music Garden. Photo by Nicola Browne.

In the midst of a busy urban environment, the Music Garden provides a safe, quiet, beautiful space for reflection. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

Specially selected glacier-tumbled granite boulders from the Canadian Shield are placed throughout the movements of the garden. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

An "eddy" doubles as a threshold into the Allemande. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

In the Allemande, the striations in the birch trunks echo the veins of red feldspar swirling through the granite boulders. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

At the heart of the Courante, a Maypole stands at the meeting place of two spiraling paths. Coneflowers, Russian sage, butterfly bush, and asters provide vibrant color throughout the season. Photo by Virginia Weiler.

Pink anemones brighten a shady corner of the Sarabande. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

In the Allemande, "squirrel trails" spiral in and out of a forest. In places, lush plantings of grasses create a quiet, contemplative effect. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

The Menuett Pavilion arches over a concert stage for music, dance, and theatrical performances. Pink anemones brighten a shady corner of the Sarabande. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

In the Gigue, wide grass steps dance down the hillside, providing both stairs and seating for informal performances. Vivid yellow-flowered perennials embrace the amphitheather-like space on either side. Photo by Virginia Weiler.

A perfect gathering space for lovers of nature and music, the garden is the setting for many performances, both planned and spontaneous. Here, a willow tree dances with a performer. Photo by Adrian Holmes.

The garden's tendril theme is expressed even in the details of the Menuett Pavillion's metalwork.