A.M. (Mac) Cuddy Gardens Open House a Success!

In keeping with Mac Cuddy's tradition of opening his gardens to the public for garden tours, Fanshawe College held an open house of the A.M. (Mac) Cuddy Gardens, located near Strathroy, Ontario, on June 6 and 7, 2009. These beautiful gardens have more than 2,000 species of plants displayed in dry, rock, woodland, perennial, rose and aquatic gardens. Several plants found in the garden, such as the indigenous Cucumber Magnolia and the Yellow Trillium are on the endangered species list.

Guests enjoy the A.M. (Mac) Cuddy Gardens on June 6 and 7.

The weekend was a resounding success with nearly 800 visitors to the garden. Guests came from near and far, including our partners from the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington, Niagara and the United States.

In 2007 Patricia VanOmen Cuddy, widow of the late A.M. (Mac) Cuddy, donated the property known for decades as Cuddy Gardens to Fanshawe College. This living legacy is comprised of a lush and unique garden stretching over more than five acres and thrives under the constant attention of the horticulture students and specialists at Fanshawe College. It also includes the century-old residence where Mac Cuddy and his family lived for more than 56 years.

Close to $5,000 was raised towards future garden development during the two-day event.

The plant sale held at the Gardens helped raise funds toward future garden development.