e VISAM/C ACCEPTED OPEN TUES. THRU SUN. (416) 686-2151
380 KINGSTON RD. EAST, R.R.1 AJAX, ONTARIO L1S4S7
Civic Garden Centre
GENERAL INFORMATION
Vol. 16, No. 7
EDITOR: Iris Hossé Phillips
ADVERTISING INFO: (416) 445-1552
Registered charity number 0228114-56 TRELLIS is published ten times a year as a members newsletter by the CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, North York, Ont. M3C 1P2. Tel. No.: (416) 445-1552. Manuscripts submitted on a voluntary basis are gratefully received. No remuneration is possible. Lead time for inclusion of articles and advertising material is six weeks: manuscripts and material must be received by the 15th of the month to insure publication. For example, material received by October 15 will be included in the December issue of Trellis.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.
SUMMER OPERATING HOURS
The Civic Garden Centre is open from April 1st to October 31st.
Weekdays: 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Weekends: Noon to 5 p.m.
WINTER OPERATING HOURS
The Civic Garden Centre is open from November 1st to March 31st.
Weekdays: 9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Weekends & Holidays: Noon - 4:00 p.m.
You will notice that we have reverted to the former practise of combining the July/August issue of Trellis. A summer edition makes good sense and frees the September issue for information and details on courses offered at the Centre.
Although summer is a busy time for gardeners (watering, weeding, and mulching), now and then we should sit in a shady corner and enjoy the garden and a good book.
| have recently read two interesting books: The Vanishing Garden: A Conservation Guide to Garden Plants by Christopher Brickell and Fay Sharman and My Weeds: A Gardener s Botany by Sara B. Stein. Both books are available at the Centre s library. The Brickell book discusses greenhouse plants, herbaceous plants, alpines, shrubs, and trees and draws attention to the threat facing many of our cultivated plants. Many garden plants are in danger of disappearing and some are already lost. The book makes a strong plea for the survival of old and new garden plants. ( It is much the rage to obtain new plants and neglect old ones. George Glenny 1848). The Stein book is a personal and light-hearted look at botanic life in the garden. It is packed with botanical information and practical advice and provides the history, anatomy, and reproductive habits of common weeds.
| hope our members have an enjoyable summer and plan to write articles for Trellis this fall.
Contents
Iris Phillips
and Cacti
THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE
Sponsor Recognition
The Centre wishes to acknowledge the generosity of the sponsors of Through the Garden Gate
Darrell Kent Real Estate Ridpath s Ltd.
Sunrock Springs Pure Drinking Water
Woods Gordon
York Printing House Ltd.
Unitype
President s Report
1988 was another fine year for the Centre, both of consolidation and advance. | will not try to comment in detail upon the many activities the various plant sales, Catch the Gardening Spirit (a great success this year and last), the many Members Programmes, the Edwards Lecture, botanical-painting and flower arranging workshops, Cornucopia, the Master Gardeners and the Horticultural Hot Line, soil testing, Trellis magazine, our many courses, and so on. These could all doubtless be done better, and no doubt, too, there are other things we should be doing; but no prudent observer could fail to notice the hum of activity here at the Centre. The Centre s staff, its Board, and our many volunteers can be proud of the transformation that has taken place.
Two activities merit, however, particular comment. One was the great triumph of Through the Garden Gate, our first venture into garden visiting on a major scale. Close to 2000 people were bussed through Cabbagetown and Rosedale and Yorkville, on two of the hottest summer afternoons, without a hitch and to unanimous acclaim. It was a feat requiring enormous vision, energy, tact, resourcefulness, and, to Heather MacKinnon and Peter Thomas and the team that they assembled, go all our congratulations.
The other event | would like to recall for you was the visit of Jane Brown, who gave four lectures in three days on the subject of the twentieth-century English garden. This was our first substantial garden history venture, and who could have predicted that there would be an average of 200 people for each lecture? The figures suggest a depth of interest in gardening as an art with its own disciplinary history that will certainly encourage us to try further, and more ambitious projects.
When | reported to you last year, | referred to our efforts to improve the salary conditions for the staff, to the computerization of some of the Centre s activities, and to an in-depth evaluation of our educational role and its potential. | am pleased to report that our continuing series of financially successful years has enabled us to redress what we perceived as the disparities in salary for our staff, compared with salaries elsewhere in comparable occupations. We have, at the same time, been adding staff. Our Rental Agent is now full-time, the Public Relations and Volunteer Coordinator functions have been merged into a full-time position, and an increased role has been given to the Assistant Horticulturist.
We are now just about to embark on the computerization of some aspects of the Centre. We are grateful for financial support from the Kinnear and McLean Foundations, and we are the fortunate recipients of a Wintario grant. | have been promised that the first computer will be installed by June 1 we shall see! There are sure to be some teething problems, so please bear with us, and with the staff in particular, as we take the plunge. Our thanks go to Bob Saunders and Ken Laundy for the considerable time they have devoted to the realization of this project.
Horticultural education is the core of the Centre s mandate. For some time we have felt it desirable to try to develop an up-to-date coordinated programme of courses and other related activities. The Edwards Foundation is generously funding a study of what we actually do, of what neighbouring institutions do, of what we should be doing, and of how we can accomplish it. As is usually the case, numbers of people have contributed to this discussion; my special thanks go to Sue Macauley who is overseeing the project.
At this meeting, some of our Board membes will be retiring, and | thank them sincerely for their contributions over the past three years. They will, am sure, forgive me if | make special mention of Robert Saunders, who has served the Centre nobly as
Treasurer, and who has been in charge of the computer project. In my years as President his advice has always been clear and balanced, and his support and friendship constant. No President could ask for more; and | am delighted that he will be rejoining us to keep an eye on those computers.
| hope that the staff, too, will forgive me if | do not mention them all. They did a fine job in 1988, and the Board has acknowledged its gratitude. But, just as in tennis, the first rule for successful doubles play is to choose a good partner, so the first rule for a president, in an organisation like this, who wishes to remain relatively unscathed, is to have a good Executive-Director, and have been lucky enough to have Sally Sullivan with me throughout my presidency.
What of the future? In terms of upcoming events, 1989 should be a dandy. In June, we have Through the Garden Gate Mark I, which | am told will be even better than Mark I, though it s difficult to imagine how that could be possible. Then in September Freeman Patterson, the photographer for the Eaton/Weston book of Canadian gardens, will be here to talk about some of the gardens he saw and photographed in the preparation of that book. The same theme, of Great Private Gardens, will be continued in October with the Third Great Gardening Conference, whose partcipants include Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto. In November, we will have a revamped Cornucopia and the Edwards Lecture will be given this year by Charles Nelson, of the Glasnevin Botanical Garden, Dublin, on the Gardens of Ireland. All of our regular activities will, of course, be going on at the same time.
The longer term? There have been criticisms, from reasonable people, that the Centre lacks specific long-term goals. Like all two-handed economists, | believe on the one hand that the criticism is in some sense true, in another sense false. | have spent quite a lot of my professional life dreaming up, and writing up, long-term plans most of which have come to naught because the objectives were diverse and not capable of being neatly summarised, because the resources weren' t available, or because new ideas came along, and the decision-makers changed their earlier priorities. | even wrote such a plan, called Growing Up: The Civic Garden Centre 1988-2000, which dealt with the resources we would require in order to obtain some set of objectives. That Report was approved by the Board but, typically, two years later, it has already been overtaken by new developments, and needs revision.
My objective as President has been quite simple; to make the Centre as exciting and stimulating a place for gardeners as, with its resources of money and people, it could possibly be. That has meant proceeding on a broad front, counting heavily upon the creativity of staff and members and volunteers (including the Board), and the results speak for themselves. That doesn t mean that | don t have views about the directions in which we should or should not go; and | would like to end by giving you an example of each, so that you know where |, at least, stand on these issues.
It was suggested to me recently that the Centre needed a new focus, and that that focus should be the environment . As | have indicated, | do not believe it possible or desirable for an organization like this to have a single focus, unless that focus is so broadly construed as hardly to be a useful focus at all. If we consider the particular proposal, it would be absurd to be against the environment, and everything that we do here at the Centre should be imbued with and should encourage environmental awareness. But there are already many highly professional, specialized, even wellfinanced organizations dedicated to environmental concerns. To make the environment our focus would be, | believe, to turn the Centre in an unwise direction. Our mandate, spelled out in the summary of Letters Patent of October 1963, includes conservation among its objectives; but the emphasis is repeatedly on horticulture, and the encouragement that the Centre can give to the creation and maintenance of
beautiful gardens.
There is one track, however, which | believe we should follow, that we have an obligation to follow. We are the Civic Garden Centre of Metropolitan Toronto, and we receive generous support from the municipality. That means to me that we must reach out to all the citizens of Toronto. We know that there are localized communities out there with great gardening traditions. They may not be interested in the Centre; there are many good gardeners who do not support us. But that is their prerogative. Our responsibility is to make the effort. This is a direction which | hope the Centre will choose to follow in the years to come.
3 :
b em,mfry Squ reé @arde"
s+ PERENNIAL
SPECIALISTS
Steeles Ave. W. (2 miles west of Highway 10) R.R. 10 Brampton L6V 3N2
Knowledgeable staff 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 LIST by mail to above address
WHITE ROSE ... Canada s Largest Craft and . Garden Centre has a complete selection of Tropical Plants, Flowers, Evergreens, Trees, and Shrubs, Annuals, Perennials, Pots and Planters, Patio Leisure Furniture and so much more...
Ornamental Grasses for the Garden
by Anne Marie Van Nest
Long a neglected plant in the landscape, ornamental grasses have finally found a home. They are suitable in many areas. Short, hardy grasses like the Arrhenatherum elatius Var. bulbosum Variegatum, Tuberous Oat Grass are ideal for the rock garden. Growing to 40 cm this plant stores water in its bulbous roots and can withstand dry soils and drought conditions. Its green and white leaves create an interesting accent plant.
Perennial grasses can create a spectacular backdrop for the garden. Miscanthus sinensis Gracillimus Maiden Grass, has a fine texture on a plant that grows to 2 metres. The dramatic flowers appear in late fall and persist throughout the winter.
Ornamental grasses can be placed in the front of a garden bed. The Dwarf Blue Fescue, Festuca ovina Glauca) is an excellent specimen plant for the front of a border. It has a striking silver-blue colour to the leaves. This Festuca prefers a well drained, dry soil and will be short lived in a heavy clay soil. With a tendency to die in the centre, this grass requires frequent division to keep the clump attractive.
Water gardens or damp areas are ideal for the graceful arching form of ornamental grasses. Molinea caerulea Variegata, Purple Moor Grass is a short grass that is very distinctive planted next to an informal pool. It is an upright growing grass, attaining a height of 60 cm. This grass is not as invasive as some of the wet area grasses; however, it is advisable to make a special barrier of metal to contain the rhizomes. Gardeners with sandy loam soils will have a greater problem restricting the roots of the invasive grasses than gardeners with heavy clay soils.
Grasses for groundcovers are categorized in two ways. They are either tufted and clump forming plants or rhizome and stolon plants. The later are much harder to control. Most grasses for groundcovers are among the tufted group and will require close planting to create a mass effect. An interesting plant that is used as a groundcover is the Velvet Grass or Variegated Yorkshire Fog. Holcus lanatus Variegatus is a tufted grass that grows best in full sun or partial shade. It is a short dainty grass that does not grow taller than 30 cm. The common variety of this grass has an interesting history in England. In the 1800s it was used as hay to feed cattle. The cattle were never fond of this food, even after the Duke of Bedford sprinkled salt over the hay. The animals showed good instincts because the velvet grass did kill some livestock. The variegated form in cultivation does not have any toxic properties.
Sorghum bicolor.
(Illustration from Domestic Floriculture, 1874)
Grasses in a natural garden offer an important range of textures, colours and graceful movements. The Northern Sea Oats are one of the best grasses for a natural shady garden. Uniola latifolia grows to 1.2m and is attractive through three seasons, in flower (August to winter), in fall colour (rich bronze), and during the winter as an upright arching specimen.
Annual grasses that are overwintered or started from seed each year should also have a location in the garden. Pennisetum setaceum, the Crimson Fountain Grass has an extremely attractive form. It will grow to 1 meter and has purplish narrow flowers from late July to September. The fine texture of this plant and the arching flowers make this sunny grass popular.
Grasses can be used as cut flowers and are ideal in dried arrangements. The shades of green, brown and white add an interesting effect to the arrangements. The Tufted Hair Grass is an evergreen perennial grass that is ideal for dried arrangements. The plant loves damp shaded locations in addition to sunny ones. It is a very fine grass in a tufted form with wiry panicles rising above the leaves. The flowers are light green feathery panicles forming in July. It can be found under the name Deschampsia caespitosa.
Often grouped into the loose term of grasses are the sedges and rushes. These are often characterized by their three sided stems. Most of the sedges lack large and bright coloured flowers. Many prefer shady cool moist areas to grow and some of the smaller varieties are excellent in containers. Morrow's Sedge, Carex morrowii is a bold plant 25 cm tall, with tufts of dark green leaves striped with gold. Growing this plant in a container will make transporting it indoors for the winter much easier.
Better Gnomes | and Gardens
Introducing the gnomesfrom Gormley Knoll. Each character sculpted in charming detail, cast in ciment fondu, sioned, numbered and handpainted in enchanting colours. Capture the spirit of an English cottage garden. Send $1 for our colour brochure.
NAME ADDRESS CIryY
Volunteer Corner
by Carolyn Dalgarno
Did you know that in the Spring of 1989 the Centre s volunteers contributed the following time to help staff our various events?
e The Garden Club of Toronto Show 140
e Through the Garden Gate - 200 hours hours (not including set-up) (during the event)
e Garden Festival 220 hours during the
e Members Night 20 hours (per event) actual event
e Regular Staffing of the Centre
e Perennial Sale 160 hours 240 hours a week
e Hanging Basket Sale 40 hours
e Catch the Gardening Spirit 24 hours
e Administrative Support (typing, filing, etc.) - 30 hours a week
¢ \We also have Master Gardeners, Tour Guides, The Flowery and many others who work behind the scenes.
As volunteer co-ordinator, would like to say a very large THANK YOU to everyone who has helped. The Centre s continued growth is not possible without you.
More light, more air, less heat loss and healthier plants. No other Green Houses can make these claims as confidently.
Send for our Free Catalog 4802 Hwy. #7 East
Beautiful from any angle! Here s a side showing the Unionville, Ontario handsome wide glass panes and the streamlined ap- . pearance created by the wide white plastic strips that Two models on dlSplay cover the seams. It s a greenhouse you ll be proud to own.
For more information: Call 857-1849 or 292-7593
ATTHECENTRE e ATTHE CENTRE e ATTHE CENTRE
Coming Events at the Centre
Many society meetings are open to Civic Garden Centre members.
July 5 23 31, August 14,15,16,17,18
BASIC FLOWER ARRANGING COURSE,
Registration deadline June 30
Members $40.00 Non-Members $50.00
6 week course
North Toronto Horticultural Society Flower Show
Aug. 1,2,3,4
GREEN THUMB CAMP
Children 8 to 11
Members $65.00 Non-Members.$72.00
GREEN THUMB CAMP
Children 8 to 11
Members $65.00 Non-Members $72.00
Canadian Iris Society Auction
Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society
Men s Garden Club
Toronto Gesneriad Society - General Meeting
Southern Ontario Orchid Society - General Meeting
Ontario Rock Garden Society - General Meeting
Grafting workshop and slide presentation on the flowers of Crete, followed by a Plant Sale
2827 Yonge St., 700 Evans Ave., 847 King St. W., Toronto M4N 2J4
Etobicoke MSC 1A1 Oshawa L1J 2L4 Tel. 481-6429
Tel. 621-9100 Tel. 728-9429
Opuntia Rafinesquiana.
(Illustration from Domestic Floriculture, 1874)
Bromeliads and Cacti at Allan Gardens
by Ron Myhr
As | wrote in the March issue of Trellis, Allan Gardens has a fine and wide-ranging collection of gesneriads. Gesneriads are not the only plant family given special treatment, however. Also notable are the collections of bromeliads and cacti.
The Bromeliads
The bromeliads are a diverse tropical and sub-tropical family found almost exclusively in the Americas. Mainly epiphytes, they range from the mosslike (Tillandsia Spanish Moss) to the shrubby, and occupy many habitats. As monocotyledons, with a single seed leaf, the bromeliads are more closely allied with the grasses and the orchids than with the more common garden and greenhouse plants. Even within the monocots, the bromeliads are a very distinct group. When taken with their restricted range, this suggests a recent and rapid evolution, probably after the separation of South America from Africa.
Most of the bromeliads grown as decoratives are instantly recognizable as belonging to the family. They tend to have stiff, straplike leaves, sometimes variegated or otherwise decorative, with a dramatic inflorescence rising from the centre of the
plant. These are frequently brightly colored as flowers, often with decorative fruit following. The inflorescence is almost always very long-lasting. The leaves of many species form a reservoir at the center. Rain water accumulated in this reservoir provides a habitat for insects and amphibians and an important source of water and nutrients for the plant.
As with the gesneriad collection, the bromeliads at Allan Gardens are grouped together in a single house. The environment is bright, airy and cool, with running water splashing in the vicinity and humidifying the atmosphere. These are conditions that should be ideal for bromeliads, and in fact most seem to be thriving.
One of the most striking, yet familiar, of the family can be seen in some quantity. Ananas cosmos variegatus is a variation of the pineapple, which is familar to all as a fresh or preserved fruit but unfamiliar as a cultivated plant. While the flowering inflorescence is not dramatic, the fruit itself is attractive and interesting, and the white and green variegation in the leaves alone make this a worthy decorative.
Many species and varieties of Aechmea are
on view. Aechmea fasciata Silver King has a large and dramatic pink inflorescence arising from the robust silvery leaves, while the more graceful A. gracilis has narrow shiny leaves, topped by a long inflorescence studded with orange berries. A. Royal Wine has shiny reddish leaves, while A. discolor has plain green leaves, with an orange and green inflorescence.
Neoregelia spectabilis has broad green leaves, interestingly tipped in red or pink, while N. carolinae tricolor has variegated cream and green leaves flushed with pink. N. Meyo has dark green shiny foliage flushed with red.
Among the other notable members of the bromeliad collection are Vriesia carinata mariae, with an inflorescence reminiscent of a stiff feather stained a brilliant red, and Niedularia bilbergoides, which is unlike many of the other bromeliads in that it is small and delicate with a yellow inflorescence. There are many others, all worthy of attention and study.
Mixed in with the bromeliads are a few specimens of another mainly tropical monocotyledenous family, the orchids. On my most recent visit was very taken with some large baskets of cattleya hybrids. The white-flowered types tend to bloom in midwinter, the purple types in mid to late fall. Some bloom may be found at most times of the year. A careful viewer can also spot one of the delights of the orchid world, Haemaria discolor Dawsoniana . This is an orchid grown for its beautiful foliage, black velvet laced with red and silver, rather than its flowers. Look for it near the Ananas plants.
The Cacti and Succulents
The change from the jungle atmosphere of most of Allan Gardens to the desert environment housing the cactus and succulent collection is dramatic. There is a stark and compelling beauty to this display, rendered even more so by contrast with the other houses of the complex. The overall effect is wonderful, but the extent and diversity of the collection is also notable. | find myself drawn to sitting on the benches thoughtfully provided, studying the plants with more care than | customarily take with
other families.
Among the many species represented in the collection are a number from two large families, Mammillaria and Opuntia. These are among the most familiar of cacti, yet the range is capable of surprising. M. Bombyana forms a large compound mound with many fuzzy small flowers. M. saffordii makes a small mound, but is very heavily spined. M. hahniana, on the other hand, has very fine spines, which give it a hairy appearance.
The Opuntai group are the prickly pears, which give us some edible fruits. The range in size is tremendous, as is the range of visual effect. O. rufida is large, with the spines in cinnamon colored tufts. O. microdasys is smaller and more delicate, a diminutive bunny ears type. O. yuccatensis and O. leucotricha are the largest, the latter over six feet tall and very spiny.
The other notable cacti include a number of good specimens of Echinocactus grusonii, the common barrel cactus, and my favorite, Pylocereus palmeri cristata. The latter has a strange, twisted form quite unlike anything else I've seen.
There are a number of other succulent plants grown along with the cacti, to very good effectt. A number of very large Agave species are in the collection, one of which is hitting the roof. Crassula argentea, the common jade tree, is enormous and in flower, and C. perforata and its variety Variegata are vigorous and interesting, the latter being grown as an effective ground cover. Haemanthus albiflos is a near relative of the common amaryllis, but has very thick succulent leaves. It is recognizably an amaryllis, but also clearly belongs with the succulents. Two euphorbias, E. lactea and E. triucalli demonstrate just how different close relatives can be from one another the common poinsettia is a euphorbia, but it would seem to have nothing in common with the spiny stems of these cousins.
One could easily devote a visit to the cacti and succulents alone. It's a display that rewards careful and repeated viewing, and that simply can't be appreciated at a glance.
A Classical Chinese Garden
by Vivien M. Jenkinson
Vancouver has its Chinatown, similar to Dundas Street in Toronto, in a busy city area. But behind a splendid Chinese archway on Pender Street lies a haven of peace, the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, flanked by the Dr. Sun YatSen Park.
China s Garden City of Suzhou developed this style of garden during the Ming dynasty (A.D. 1368-1644) when many private classical gardens were created. These gardens reflect the Taoist philosophy of yin and yang: light is balanced by dark, rugged and hard by soft and flowing, small by large features. The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen garden in Vancouver was built in 1985-1986, using materials, tools and techniques much the same as those of the Ming era. A team of experts from Suzhou did the work, under a joint leadership of Chinese and Vancouver architects.
The four main elements in a classical Chinese garden are buildings, rocks, plants, and water. The garden is designed to create a mood of peace and tranquility, and of serenity and harmony. The visitor moves through a series of pathways, through corridors and pavilions, and experiences a fresh view at each step.
The pavilions are distinctively Chinese and reveal curving tiled roofs and fretted windows, with each design being different. The entrance court leads to a double corridor. Through beautiful tilework and lattice screens, the visitor sees the placid milky water which reflects the pavilions, the limestone rocks, and the carefully pruned trees. The patterned mosaic of a pebbled floor catches the eye, and then a movement outside the moon window of a pavilion
draws attention to a blue heron, fishing from the rocks. The cascading waterfall which splashes over convoluted limestone provides a pleasant sound. Although the garden is small, it takes quite a time to see it all. The details are exquisite, and to take it all in one must travel slowly. Each lookout platform reveals a new vista of beauty.
The rocks reflect a rugged landscape. Pitted and oddly shaped limestone was shipped to Vancouver from China, as were the pebbles of the courtyards, which are set in circle and diamond patterns. The rocks are carefully arranged so that the reflections in the pools show up the details of the irregular surfaces and contrast the calm water. This garden has a prized collection of limestones, each distinctive yet in harmony with the others.
The main plants are trees, ferns, shrubs, and ground-covers. No massed bedding transplants here, but the splendid flowers of the Japanese lace tree, the shape of a contorted pine, the straight vertical lines of bamboo. Plants are used for their symbolic meanings: the pine denotes strength, the winter flowering plum symbolizes the renewal of life. Waterlilies float on the milky (from the lime) pool, and the willow s fronds dip down to the surface.
The water itself shows contrast. The peaceful still, unruffled lake lies in front of one pavilion and across the garden, a little rocky hill has a waterfall and a flowing streamlet tinkles its way down through small pools.
The paved path which leads to the Scholar s pavilion, is positioned so that the open side has the most tranquil view. Varieties of ferns and fine stone specimens are placed near. At the end of the path, the visitor arrives at the Main Hall, and may refresh himself from the freshly-made tea placed there, turning to look out, once again, on the pleasant view of the pavilions, rocks, plants, and water.
%Humbcr Keeps You GROWING
e |n Business Since 1948
e 20 Acres of Garden Centre
e Over 50 Greenhouses
e 20,000 sq. ft. Garden Store
¢ Residential & Commercial Design & Instillation
Growers of over 1,000 hardy perennials, available year round. Over 200 varieties of herbs. Over 125 kinds of novelty geraniums.
EREE
HELPFUL GREEN THUMB GARDEN GUIDES
Drop in or write for our new books: Perennials for Ontario Gardens
Only $3.95
Berries for your garden
Only $1.75
Humber Nurseries, where flowers bloom 365 days a year, offers Toronto s largest selection of: Trees, Shrubs, Evergreens, Annuals, Perennials, Roses, Ceramics, Chemicals Soils, Wicker & Landscape Hardware
Our Professional, Courteous staff are here to help with any garden questions.
HUMBER NURSERIES LTD.
R.R. #8 Brampton, Ont. Hwy. #50, 1/4 mile North of Steeles Ave. South of #7 highway 794-0555 6779711
*Member Landscape Ontario* **OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK**
SLEEPING WITH A SUNFLOWER
Louise Riotte Garden Way Publishing Book, 1987
Sleeping with a sunflower (Helianthus annuus) under your pillow, will permit you to know the truth of any matter.
This is a delightful, witty, knowledgeable book filled to the brim with fascinating things our forbears knew: how to make dandelion coffee or something as tasty as a chickweed sandwich. The book describes things you have probably never tried, nor heard of before.
The book is organized by month of the year and the lunar cycle. For example, the advice for planting seeds states: the Moon is considered to be on the increase from New Moon to Half Moon to Full Moon, and on the decrease from Full Moon to dark of Moon to New Moon. You should always plant new seed on the increase of the Moon . You should also time what you are doing in your garden, by the zodiac sign. If you want an abundance of flowers, plant your seeds or seedlings under the signs of Cancer, Pisces, or Virgo in the first quarter of the moon.
The vegetable wisdom in this book is well worth the price alone. For instance, did you know that you should harvest root crops like carrots (Daucus carota sativa) in the afternoon? Pick crops like tomatoes (Lycopericon lycopersicum) and corn (Zea mays rugosa) between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.?
You can even learn something | would guess no one knows the answer to (a handy idea for a cocktail-party conversation with a stranger) why, in October, do springs of fresh water that have run dry in the summer, start running again just before a rain?
One small note of caution is necessary. Louise Riotte lives in southern Oklahoma which is almost a whole zone warmer than southern Ontario. The prudent gardener will 14
note her recommended times and change them to three or four weeks later.
There is no guestion that this is a marvellous book to own and give as a present. It is pure delight.
The price is $9.95 and it s available from the Book Shop at the Centre.
Vel Muscari botryoides.
Muscari monstrosum. (Illustration from Domestic Floriculture, 1874)
1989 Green Thumb Camp
Registrations are now being taken for the Summer Camp run by the Civic Garden Centre. Children aged 8 through 11 years will value the opportunity to learn about gardening and nature in Edwards Gardens.
The camp is a recreational and educational experience from 9:30 am to noon each day. The first session is July 31st to August 4th. The second is from August 14th to 18th. The fees are $65.00 per child of Civic Garden Centre Members and $72.00 per child for non-members.
REGISTRATIONFORM
Please register my child for the 1989 Green Thumb Camp. | understand | will be required to provide medical information and sign a waiver.
My child will attend: Week 1 July 31-Aug 4 9:30-12:00PM Week 2 Aug 14-Aug 18 9:30-12:00PM
Total. Fees i iRihatis s i Civic Garden Centre $65.00 Non-Member $72.00
Nameofparent/guardian:
Address: Telephone (day)
Child s name:
Dateofbirth:
O Enclosed is my cheque, payable to The Civic Garden Centre. Please charge my [J MasterCard [J Visa
Card number:
Dateof Issue:
Signature Expirydate:
In the Library
by Pamela Mackenzie
Two recent additions to the CGC Library s Historical Collection.
Philip Miller (1691-1771) was one of the most influential gardening writers of the eighteenth century. His works remained in print for over a century. Appointed first Curator of the Chelsea Physic Garden, he remined there for fifty years. Under his direction the garden became famous and was enhanced by his books, the most important of which was The Gardeners Dictionary.
Insectigone
Fossil Flower
Natural Insecticide for crawling insects
Diatomaceous Earth for bugs
Safers bug pests
Insecticidal soap for all
Forsyth, William. A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit-Trees; 2nd ed. 1803.
William Forsyth (1737-1804) succeeded Philip Miller as Curator at Chelsea in 1770. There he built what is believed to be the first rock-garden in England; he was a founder member of the Royal Horticultural Society. His treatise on fruit-trees was the first book on the subject to be published in America. Although nowadays, considered less distinguished than his predecessor at Chelsea, the Danish botanist Martin Vahl named the genus Forsythia in his honour.
Canagro
Natural fertilizers with bone and blood meal
Lakefish Fish emulsion fertilizer
Tanglefoot Barrier for tree insects
Plant Food Plus Non toxic plant fertilizer
Rotenone - Organic Insecticide
Civic Garden Centre Executive Committee
President: Dr. Brian Bixley
1st Vice-President: Mrs. Susan Macaulay
2nd Vice-President: Mr. Klaus Bindhardt
Treasurer: Mr. Kenneth H.C. Laundy
Member: Mrs. Anne Bawden
Member: Mrs. Heather MacKinnon
Board of Directors
For 1989: Mrs. Anne Bawden, Mr. Klaus Bindhardt, Dr. Brian Bixley, Mrs. Barbara Brown, Mrs. Eliane Hooft, Mrs. Doreen Martindale, Mrs. Heather MacKinnon, Mrs. Gail Rhynard.
For 1989 and 1990: Mrs. Cicely Bell, Mr. Stuart Gilchrist, Mr. Alan Grieve, Mr. Kenneth H.C. Laundy, Mrs. Susan Macaulay, Mr. Victor Portelli of Metropolitan Toronto Parks, Ms. Laura Rapp.
For 1989, 1990 and 1991: Mrs. Georgina Cannon, Mr. William Granger, Mrs. Bayla ngross, Mrs. Judy Lundy, Mr. Robert Saunders, Mrs. Robin Wilson.
LA CREATIVE LANDSCAPE BEGINS WITH A PLAN... AND JUST KEEPS GROWING!
Have your planting plan prepared by a professional landscape consultant who will visit your home. The Landscape Consultant will listen to your landscape ideas and provide a scale drawing of your new landscape that is & easy to follow.
This service is available for only $50 per front and back yard ($100 for both) within our designated area. Fee is refundable with purchase of Weall and Cullen nursery plants valued at $400 or more ($100 refunded with a minimum $800 plant purchase). Ask at your nearest Weall and Cullen location for more details.
7 locations to serve you #8 opening in Etobicoke in May.
Bulk Ennombre third troisieme class classe
May we invite you fo join us?
WVe 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 s
« 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 v
