Y S
\.; THE CIVIC | 0 GARDEN CENTRE
\\ presents the Sixth Annual \\\% ) Edwards {o,\i%g Foundation ,.,\r,,,@,.\%,
%% NG Flower
* 4\\' [ N : ""Q.\ %'\ an illustrated talk by &7 Sheila ;\(. &/:\ 2N Macqueen :" \%\«2 ; X Thursday, 5@})}, 3 October27th, 1988 0%Gy 7:30 p.m. 73St s N
*easy to bloom indoorplants
Welcomes new members with 1freeplant with every paid membership and includes
e plant sales/shows
¢ educational talks
e slide shows
e guest speakers
e advice on plants
® social activities
Meetings held the 2nd Sunday of every month at the Civic Garden Centre, in the auditorium, from 2 to 4 p.m.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Vol. 15, No. 8
EDITOR: Iris Hossé Phillips
ADVERTISING INFO: (416) 445-1552
TRELLIS is published ten times a year as a members newsletter by the CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, Don Mills, Ont. M3C 1P2. Tel. No.: (416) 445-1552. Manuscripts submitted on a voluntary basis are gratefully received. No remuneration is possible. ALL EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING MATERIAL MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE 15th DAY OF THE PREVIOUS MONTH OF ISSUE. Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre.
The Centre is located in Edwards Gardens, at Leslie Street and Lawrence Avenue East. It is a non-profit, volunteer-based gardening, floral arts, and horticultural information organization with open membership.
Printed by York Printing House Ltd
The Civic Garden Centre is from April 1st to October 31st.
Weekdays: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00
Weekends: Noon to 5:00 p.m
As the new editor of Trellis, would like to share with you some of my ideas for the newsletter. Trellis will present a rich collection of ideas that reflect the changes in gardening taste and style. Topics as wideranging as drip irrigation, heritage seeds, herbs, gourmet vegetables, flowers that bloom at night, plants that attract birds, and native plants will be explored. Needless to say, Trellis will continue to reflect the interests of the Centre s members and print articles on the technigues of gardening.
Some of the ideas will be tried and evaluated in the garden of our newly acquired house. At present we have an unwieldy quince bush, masses of chinese lanterns, and an aged untrained Sarcoxie euonymous. Although there is a great temptation to duplicate our former garden of roses and perennial borders, | plan to learn about native plants like bugbane (Cimicifuga racemosa) and buffalowberry (Shepherdia canadensis) and wildflowers. My new plants should be tolerant of our increasingly hot and dry summers, coldhardy in winters, disease resistant, easy to propogate, and have a long period of bloom. Do such plants exist?
The proposals, notes, articles, and art work prepared by our members will continue to be the staple of Trellis. | welcome and look forward to receiving a wide variety of material from you, the members.
Anne Marie has joined the staff of Sheridan Nurseries after three highly productive years at the Centre. This is a wonderful opportunity for Anne Marie to further her career, and we wish her every success.
Staff, volunteers, and members will miss Anne Marie's advice, guidance, and support. Noted for her patience, creativity, and organized manner, she has always given more than required. The Centre has been greatly enhanced by her outstanding contribution.
Anne Marie Van Nest
It certainly is a relief plant taxonomists are not responsible for the naming of new children. Most certainly, each child would be renamed at least three times, and in the end no one would know who they are. Of course, | am joking, plant names are relatively constant. Plants are usually named by their discoverer. Luckily, in most cases this is straightforward. However, one of my favourite rockery plants, Basket of Gold Alyssum, was a recent recipient of a name change. For years it was known as Alyssum saxatile, so named by the great plantsman Carolus Linnaeus. Now | have to start calling it Aurinia saxatilis, as named by Auguste Nicaise Desvaux who lived during the early 1800s. These name changes are confusing.
If | start talking about a plant called Hippeastrum, which grows wild from Mexico south to Argentina, you will probably not recognize this popular indoor plant that has showy blooms and strap leaves. However, when | mention the incorrect name of amaryllis, recognition is immediate. Now that the difference is clear we will use the incorrect name of amaryllis until we are reprimanded by a plant taxonomist.
Amaryllis are native to South Africa, and are hardy to Washington D.C. Growing amaryllis is a delight for everyone. The plant seems to inch upward before our eyes and when the first flower opens, a neighbourhood celebration is in order. The appeal of amaryllis is caused in part by the ease that it can be grown. If the bulbs have been properly treated in Holland, the bulb will be ready to flower as soon as you pot it. Purchase the largest bulbs that are available. The large bulbs are five years old and will often produce two flower stalks with 4 to 6 blooms on each. A smaller, three year old bulb may produce only one solid stalk and a few flowers. The pots should be just large enough to allow one inch of space from the side of the bulb to the pot's circumference. A sterile, fertile, and well drained soil should be used. Leave one third of the bulb sitting above the soil.
This will reduce the chance of rotting the bulb. Water sparingly until the new growth starts. The new growth will usually be the tip of the flower bud, but occasionally the leaves will start to grow first with the flower stalk appearing later. As the plant starts to grow, move it to a bright location away from direct sun, and be wary of overwatering. New bulbs might require a stake to hold the bulb upright. The plant becomes very tap heavy when all the flowers are in bloom. When the leaves are full grown start to fertilize them regularly until late summer. A balanced fertilizer with a higher phosphorus ratio is best. Once the flowers have faded cut the stalk with a
sharp knife. Do not remove any of the leaves. Treat your amaryllis as a house plant until late May when it can be planted in the garden or left in the pot and placed in a semi-shaded location until the fall. Continue to fertilize and water it throughout the summer. In preparation for the dormant period reduce the amount of water so that the foliage will start to die down. Store the bulbs in their pots with soil in a spot where they will not get wet and are cool (about 55 F). Begin the process again in December or January and your amaryllis will bloom in 6 to 8 weeks.
Many exciting colours have been developed recently. A rising favourite is Apple Blossom, a white amaryllis with dawn-pink stripes. Dwarf amaryllis are interesting if you fancy a perfect scaled- down version. Pamela is a capsicum red colour and a dwarf. Two new introductions are the Petticoat, a picotee type in white with a red edge and Papillon (Butterfly) which is undescribable. It certainly suits its name.
The Trellis Shop has an excellent selection of Ludwig Amaryllis bulbs from Holland.
The Government of Canada has awarded Bob Kadoguchi the Order of Canada in recognition of his work promoting intercultural relationships.
Bob was a founding president of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre twenty-
five years ago and was an executive director for ten years. Many members will also know Sue Kadoguchi, Bob s wife, who teaches lkenobo lkebana at the Centre.
PERENNIAL PLANT
Knowledgeable staif
Steeles Ave. W. (2 miles west of Highway 10) R.R. 10 Brampton L6V 3N2 7 days a week (9-5pm) mid-April - mid-Oct. Over 3000 different hardy plants, alpines, dwarf conifers and shrubs, .... Hardy ferns, vines, groundcovers and native wildflowers Gift Certificates $10. up (10-15-20 etc.{ by mail any time All Year Send $2.00 for NEW (No.10) PLANT L ST by mail to above address
Last year while biking around his Cabbagetown neighbourhood, Peter Thomas reflected on the appeal of the many small gardens. He thought the Centre might sponser a tour of a selection of these gardens and mentioned the idea to Helen Skinner and Anne Bawden. They were enthusiastic and all started to search for suitable gardens. As the interest in the project grew, a member suggested a special garden in Rosedale and another a garden in Yorkville. And, if you are going to look at one garden in Rosedale, it makes sense doesn't it, to look at two or three? And thus the idea for Through the Garden Gate was born.
Of course the Centre has organized garden tours before, but never from this perspective. To begin with, all the gardens had to be downtown. Downtown city lots are usually small, and since many new houses are also being built on very small lots, we felt there would be interest in seeing how others handled a small space.
We wanted hidden gardens, secret places that you could only see by passing through the gate. None were great gardens, none were specialist s gardens, but each in their own way reflected the area in which they were located: from the sophistication of Yorkville to the quiet old-fashioned gardens of Rosedale, to the shade gardens of Cabbagetown. Some were designer gardens, some were simple and homey. Only two could be described as lowmaintenance gardens. Virtually all the gardens integrated water into their design. The simplest garden consisted of hemlocks with water dripping from a high source to splash into a small pool below. No flowers at all! In the hot, dusty heart of the city, this tiny green garden was like a clearing in a Muskoka woods.
The tour was held July 16 and 17, from noon until 4:00 pm. The $10.00 ticket admitted you to the 16 private gardens, plus a tour of the Necropolis, while a complimentary shuttle-bus service provided transportation between the areas.
It was steaming hot. The daisies and lilies were in full glory. From time to time one of the five shuttle buses would get lost in the maze of Rosedale, but people stayed cheerful and the wonderful volunteers kept smiling. One aspect that surprised and delighted us was the way so many women visitors entered the spirit of the tour and wore hats as though going to a garden party. One woman gaily explained that she wore hers because our tickets were so pretty!
Thanks to the publicity skills of Carolyn Dalgarno, we received unprecedented media coverage. The public turned the tour into a major event, and by the end of Sunday afternoon, more than 1,900 people had gone through the gate! We were
overwhelmed by the response. Yet, nothing was stolen, no plants or gardens were damaged.
| would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who worked so hard to achieve our success; from those who answered phones that never stopped ringing, to those who rode the buses and guarded the garden gates. We are very grateful to the garden owners who generously opened their gardens to us.
Finally, we succeeded in our aim to project a higher profile for the Centre, to raise money, and in line with our mandate, to be instructive.
Will we do it again next year? Well Peter is off on his bike again, so we shall see!
Heather MacKinnon
Chairman Through the Garden Gate' Dwarf Sumac
17 August, 1988
At your closest Sheridan Be 'n And Sheridan s nursery Garden Centre you will I . Stock is guaranteed for find the finest selection of nur- ~one full year. sery stock in Canada, including At Sheridan Garden Centres you more than 750 varieties of will also fincj qualified nursery- plants and trees grown on menwho will be pleased to help Sheridan s own farms. you in any way they can.
The Master Gardeners have had a very busy first year at the Centre. Our hot line was used by over fifteen hundred callers during the first six months of 1988. They also spoke to numerous groups about aspects of gardening.
In order to meet this demand, we plan to expand the Civic Garden Centre s Master Gardener Programme and are looking for interested participants. The Civic Garden Centre s Master Gardener Programme encourages the appreciation of horticulture and gives recognition to the many dedicated home gardeners in Toronto.
The purpose of the programme is to train enthusiastic gardeners to become a knowledgeable source of horticultural information for other gardeners.
During the Master Gardener in Training phase, the participants will volunteer at least 40 hours for the promotion of horticulture at the Civic Garden Centre, complete two correspondence courses on home gardening, and participate in learning seminars. The completion of these requirements within one year will enable the trainee to graduate to Civic Garden Centre Master Gardener.
The Civic Garden Centre s Master Gardener Programme provides a unigue opportunity to learn and share gardening
information among fellow gardeners. If you are interested in the Centre s Master Gardener Programme, please contact Helen Craig at the Centre, 445-1552, before October 21, 1988.
A meeting will be held in early November to select the new participants. A representative from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Master Gardener Programme will be present to officiate the gardening knowledge exam. Fifteen Master Gardeners in Training will be selected based on their exam results and interview. Successful applicants will receive their Independent Study courses shortly thereafter and the training programme will begin.
Vivien Jenkenson
Oct. 18 - Oct. 31
ALTHOUGH we fume and fret and fuss, Some flowers will never grow for us, And nothing we can ever do Will make a dahlia s dream come true.
and the Rose A rhododendron, set in lime, Looks like a curate doing time; Reginald Arkell While roses, on the other hand, More Green Fingers ~ Are simply sick to death of sand.
What foolish tricks we gardeners play: Roses that long to live on clay Are found in rhododendron land In little borders built on sand.
CORNUCORPIA - The Civic Garden Centre s Fall Craft Show
Admission $2.00 Thursday, Friday & Saturday
INTERMEDIATE SOGETSU,
Registration deadline Nov. 3
Members $40.00 Non-Members $47.50
Men s Garden Club
North Toronto Horticultural Society
Garden Therapy Meeting
INTERMEDIATE IKENOBO IKEBANA FLOWER ARRANGING
Registration deadline Nov. 8
Members $37.50 Non-Members $45.00
Toronto Gesneriad Society
Ontario Rock Garden Society
Southern Ontario Orchid Society General Meeting
Toronto Bonsai Society
Toronto Cactus & Succulent Society
CHRISTMAS CORSAGE
Registration deadline Nov. 14
Members $15.50 Non-Members $23.00
Geranium & Pelargonium Society
Rhododendron Society of Canada
York Rose & Garden Society
WRAPPING & PACKAGING WITH A DIFFERENCE
Registration deadline Nov. 17
Members $20.00 Non-Members $27.50
ADVANCED CORSAGE
Registration deadline Nov. 21
Members $15.50 Non-Members $23.00
IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL SHOW
Admission $3.00
Cornucopia, one of Toronto s original art and craft sales is back and better than ever! The sale starts on Thursday, November 3rd and continues until Saturday, November 5th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day at the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave. at Leslie. Admission is $3.00 for adults, $2.50 for seniors and $1.00 for children under 12. Everyone will receive a free package of phostrogen while supplies last.
Crafters and artisans from all over Ontario will be selling a wide range of carefully selected merchandise including smocked dresses, rag rugs, Victorian pillows and linen lingerie, childrens jogging suits, baskets, Christmas decorations, hand-made sweaters, woven items, jewellery, quilts, doll houses, sweat shirts, stuffed animals, and herb mixes and seasonings. A special feature of Cornucopia is our own in-house craft area.
This fun-filled sale gives you the opportunity to get a head start on your Christmas shopping while supporting the year s largest fund-raising event for the Civic
Garden Centre. Treat yourself to lunch in the Trellis Cafe and ponder your purchases over a glass of wine or beer. Buy a raffle ticket and win a VCR, a watercolour painting, a set of Olympic coins, a dried flower arrangement, or a membership to the Civic Garden Centre and the course of your choice. There will be a silent auction and spot door prizes.
Bring a friend, and join the pre-Christmas festivities at the Civic Garden Centre, November 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Free parking.
You can take part in our free workshops, helping to make crafts for the sale or teaching a craft.
¢ Glue Gun Workshop October 6th 10am. -2 p.m.
Workshop leader: Pat Van Clieaf
Come and have some fun making Christmas Hobby Horses and other ornaments using your glue gun.
Please bring a sharp knife, a cutting board, a glue gun if possible, and your lunch.
e Decorator Santa Workshop
October 18th and 25th at 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Workshop leader: Lillian Lee
Adorable, easy to make Santas can dress a tree or top a gift. Pleae bring scissors and your lunch.
e Pressed Flower-Card Workshop: October 20th, 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Class members should continue to press small flowers and leaves so that we will have plenty of material to work with.
If you would like to help to collect necessities for these workshops we need: Good seeded cones from the following trees Alder, Beech bushes, Fir, Larch, White Pine, Hemlock, Spruce, Grapevine
cuttings, teasles, milkweed pods in fact any good, clean natural materials. Your help will be sincerely appreciated.
If you have jams, jellies, relishes, pickles, vinegars you would like to donate, please bring them in to Carolyn Dalgarno in the Volunteer Co-ordinator s Office.
Take tickets on consignment and sell them to your friends. Just pick them up and sign for them in the office.
We need 120 volunteers to staff Cornucopia for three days. Pleae call Carolyn Dalgarno at the Civic Garden Centre and sign up for a shift.
Tell everyone about this event. Let's make this year s Cornucopia a huge financial success. Come, bring a friend, have lunch, and beat the Christmas rush.
Audrey Meiklejohn
Coming to the Centre in October is the internationally acclaimed floral designer
Sheila Macqueen. We are fortunate that she has agreed to give a workshop and a demonstration in addition to the Edwards Memorial Lecture.
Mrs. Macqueen is the author of several books, including Flowers and Food for Special Occasions, Flower Arranging from your Garden, and the recently published The New Flower Arranging from your Garden.
She has been associated with The Constance Spry School in Great Britain for many years as the Chief Demonstrator and Decorator.
This is a wonderful opportunity for those of us who like to work with garden plants to learn more about doing the flowers '. In particular, | am sure she will show us how to achieve those beautiful English mass designs we all so greatly admire.
A few years ago | had the pleasure of visiting her garden and four hundred year old cottage in Hertfordshire and | can truly say she is a gardener s flower arranger.
Don t miss Sheila Macqueen October 27th and 28th.
Edwards Foundation Lecture: An illustrated talk by Sheila Macqueen. October 27th - 7:30 p.m. no admission charge
Sheila Macgueen Workshop: October 27th - 10:00 a.m. to Noon. Registration limited. Members only - $50.00
Demonstration: October 28th - 10:00 a.m. to Noon. A demonstration of 10 flower arrangements. Members $15.00 - Non-members $20.00.
Sheila Macqueen International Flower Arranger
NAME PHONE
ADDRESS
October 27, 1988 10:00 a.m. to noon.
Registration limited to members.
POSTAL CODE
[] Members $50.00 Experienced flower arrangers only. You must provide your own materials.
October 28, 1988 10:00 a.m. to noon.
A demonstration of ten flower arrangements.
[] Members $15.00
] Non-members $20.00
Limited registration.
[] I enclose my cheque made payable to the Civic Garden Centre.
[J Please charge my L[] Visa
CARD NUMBER
SIGNATURE
DATE OF ISSUE [] Mastercard
EXPIRY DATE
[ ] Member
[] Non-member
Carolyn Dalgarno
September is the time of year when most people renew their commitments for the coming year or seek new ones. I hope that those who have helped us through the past year will see us through 1988/89.
The Civic Garden Centre is a non-profit, volunteer based facility. There is an even more pronounced emphasis on volunteer based at the moment as the Centre enters a very important phase of its growth.
In 1989, the Centre will celebrate its 25th birthday. With continued volunteer help, we will enjoy an exciting, activityfilled year.
We will need volunteers to commit halfa day a week to run the library, shop, reception area, horticulture area, and help in the administrative offices.
As a non-profit organization, we are unable to pay to staff these areas. It is therefore necessary to look to the volunteer sector for help. In fact, we would be unable to function without this help. When you become a Civic Garden Centre volunteer, you are making a great contribution towards the future ofthe Centre. The Board ofDirectors and the staff are very aware of this contribution.
We also need those of you who cannot give half a day a week, but do have some free time available to volunteer for special events. Cornucopia, for example, needs not only people for workshops, but also volunteers to work on November 3rd, 4th, and 5th.
When you are making your plans for the fall, please keep us in mind. The Centre s need for volunteers is very real.
Please call 445-1552
Areas to consider: ® Tea Room ¢ Raffle
Cashier e Helpful Hostess ® Tickets
Please call Carolyn Dalgarno 445-1552
REVIEW Barbara E. Stevenson
By Sheila Macqueen
Published by Macmillan, London, 1988.
We are fortunate to have Sheila Macqueen, one of the worlds foremost flower arrangers visit the Civic Garden Centre in October.
Sheila will give a talk on Flower Arranging from your Garden , which is also the subject of her new book. Sheila has revised and expanded her earlier book Flower Arranging From Your Garden, and included many new colour photographs.
If you do not own Sheila s original book, you will definitely want to add the new book to your library. It is packed with good gardening advice. She makes many good points, such as this on borders: Always make borders wider than you think they should be, and try to plan at least some so that you can look along them: you can get a wonderful effect from a wide flower border, whereas narrow borders seen straight on, are rather disappointing.
|, personally, try to follow her sound planting advice:
Shrubs in the border.for background, evergreens for winter colour, and lovely fresh colour in the spring, with flowers planted in clumps to create lots of colour and simple restful effects.
This book is full of good advice and is warmly written. Sheila has a wonderful wealth of knowledge of plant materials. Each plant is discussed in detail, and tips on flower arranging, drying, pruning, and growing requirements are there in abundance. This makes arranging possible in every season of the year. The chapter on the arrangement of trees and shrubs is superb. This wonderful reference book will be consulted frequently.
The New Flower Arranging From Your Garden will be on sale in the Trellis Shop for $39.95. Sheila Macqueen will be pleased to sign a copy for you on Members Night in October.
Ikenobo, the oldest school of Ikebana, was chosen to arrange flowers at the recent Summit Conference held in Toronto, June 19 - 22. Mrs. S. Kadoguchi, President, Mrs. Baillie and Mrs. E. Irving, members of the Toronto Chapter who teach at the Civic Garden Centre, were part of the team who decorated the private and conference rooms of the participating Prime Ministers and Presidents at the Summit.
Good Reading from the Library
Pamela MacKenzie
KITCHEN HERBS, by Sal Gilbertie, Bantam Books, Toronto, 1988.
From his experience as a commercial grower, Mr. Gilbertie gives detailed information on the cultivation and harvesting of 34 culinary herbs. An extensive section of recipes by Frances Tower Giedt follows. This well-illustrated book will be welcomed by anyone growing herbs in the garden.
THE POTTED HERB by Abbie Zabar, Stewart, Yabori & Chang, New York, 1988.
Growing herbs in containers, indoors and out, is the emphasis of this very attractive book. lllustrated by the author, it has, in addition to sections on cultivation, chapters on herbal topiaries, cooking with herbs, and gift ideas.
Person for approximately 10 hours a week to work in stockroom and assist when needed.
Flexible hours
Trellis Shop Contact Jackie Brisby 445-1552.
many informative books on preserving plant material, as well as a free instruction leaflet with purchase of above items.
President: Dr. Brian Bixley
1st Vice-President: Mrs. Susan Macaulay Treasurer: Mr. Robert Saunders
For 1988: Mr. Charles Coffey, Mr. Mark Cullen, Mrs. Margaret Killey, Mrs. Susan McCoy, Mrs. Judy Samuel, Mr. Robert Saunders, Mr. Phillip S. Tingley, Mrs. Dorothy Weir.
For 1988 and 1989: Mrs. Anne Bawden, Mr. Klaus Bindhardt, Dr. Brian Bixley, Mrs. Eliane Hooft, Mrs. Heather MacKinnon, Mrs. Gail Rhynard.
For 1988, 1989 & 1990: Mr. Stuart Gilchrist, Mr. Alan Grieve, Mr. Kenneth H.C. Laundy, Mrs. Susan Macaulay and Mr. Victor Portelli of Metropolitan Toronto Parks.
An affordable and professional Weall & Cullen Landscape Design for only $50. for a front or back yard® ($100. for both). The $50. fee is totally refunded with @ minimum purchase of $300. worth of quality Weall & Cullen Landscape nursery stock. Weall & Cullen nursery stock carries our famous one year GUARANTEE®**. An investment thatis gucrcnfeed to grow.!
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S12139 TORONTO
W at the Civic Garden Centre warmly welcome new members. Join us, and you will make friends who share the same interest in gardening, the floral arts and horticulture that you do. In addition to the many exciting classes, garden shows, speakers, clubs-within-the-Centre, etc., that will be available to you, our membership fee entitles you to the following:
e Annual subscription to members
e Free borrowing privileges from one of newsletter Canada s largest horticultural libraries
* Discounts on courses, lectures
« Discount on Soil Testing Service and workshops e
* 10% discount on most purchases in
* Free Admission to the the Trellis Shop Members Programmes
e Special local and international
e Access and discounts at special Garden Tours members day plant sales
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to Civic Garden Centre | o ...
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