THE NEWSLETTER OF THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE INMETROTORONTO
Toronto s Finest Christmas Sale
ADMISSION: $3.00
November 1, 2 & 3 Friday & Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE 777 Lawrence Avenue East (at Leslie) Toronto (416) 445-1552
October 1990
Civic Garden Centre Staff
Executive Director: Mrs. Sally Sullivan
Accounts: Mrs. Janie Brentnall
Editor-Trellis: Mrs. Iris Hosse Phillips
Horticulturists: Mrs. Anne Marie Van Nest
Mrs. Helen Craig
Librarian: Mrs. Pamela MacKenzie
Library Secretary: Mrs. Edythe Clapp
Maintenance Supervisor:
Mr. Walter Marassutti
Programme and Special Events
Co-ordinator: Mrs. Dorothy Whiteman
Rental Agent: Mrs. Pamela Westwood
Assistant Rental Agent: Miss Mavis Griffin
Secretary: Mrs. Shirley Lyons
Trellis Shop Manager: Mrs. Jackie Brisby
Trellis Shop Assistant Manager:
Mrs. Barbara Stephenson
Volunteer Co-ordinator and Publicity:
Mrs. Carolyn Dalgarno
LPerennial Flowers
Since 1975, we have been committed to producing a collection of perennial flowers second to none. Visit our nursery ororderby mail. Our descriptive illustrated catalogue is $2.00.
-
Crawfords Country Gardens
R.R.#3, Milton, Ont. LT 2X7 (416) 878-0223
VISA e Mastercard
Civic Garden Centre
GENERAL INFORMATION
Vol. 17, No. 9
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 @ 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.
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.
L4 [F)
The Edwards Foundation Lecture
November 14, 7:30 p.m.
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden is the subject of the Edwards Foundation Lecture at the Civic Garden Centre on Wednesday, November 14th at 7:30 p.m. Mr. Donald Vaughan, a Vancouver landscape architect, sculptor and artist who, designed the garden with Joe Wai, will be the guest speaker for the evening.
The Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, situated in the heart of Vancouver s Chinatown, is the first authentic Chinese garden to be built outside China. This garden of the Ming Dynasty is unique to the modern world and was created by 52 artisians from Suzhou. The tradition of the Chinese classical garden has a heritage of 2500 years. A typical Chinese garden links rocks, plants, water and man and stresses the unity of all things. Enclosed by walls, the Chinese classical garden appeals to a sense of timelessness and tranquility. Step into another world by joining us for this very special evening.
The Edwards Foundation has provided funds for the Edwards Memorial Lecture programme for the past eight years. This generous gift enables us to bring outstanding Canadian and international speakers to the Civic Garden Centre.
Refreshments will be served following the programme.
My War against the Aphids
by Eleanor Irwin
If you were to drop in for a visit some evening and sit in the solarium, enjoying the view out into the garden, you might also admire the bright pink blooms of one of our indoor plants. If your eyes dropped from the blooms to the pot from which they were emerging, you would notice some weedy growths like green onions beside the plant s woody stem. If you asked, you would be told that they were garlic, and your question would give me an opportunity to regale you with tales of my war against the aphids.
Only days after we bought an hibiscus last fall and bore it home in triumph, | noticed the aphids. There were only a few at first, their little green ovals showing up as the calyx parted and a flower opened. | have to confess that | have a strong dislike of aphids. | can deal quite easily with spiders or slugs, ants or fruit flies, but aphids appal me! | have thrown out house plants that became infested with aphids, but | certainly was not going to throw out a newly acquired hibiscus.
Because the plant was near the kitchen and an eating area, | wanted to avoid a pesticide which would harm the human inhabitants of the house. On a shopping expedition to the local supermarket, | found Safer s Soap, which assured me on its label that it was a natural insecticide for houseplants. Kills insects on contact. Spray thoroughly both leaf surfaces and stems. For aphids . repeat as required. So | sprayed and in the process discovered that it is very difficult not to mention messy to spray the underside of leaves where the eggs are laid.
After a period of spraying, my family took to pointing out that far from the aphids being eliminated, there were now far more of them. They were crawling all over the buds, had large hatcheries on the underside of the leaves and were obviously thriving on the spray. | was discouraged. So | asked a botanist for advice. Oh, he told me, you don t need to buy an insecticide soap. Just
fill the sink with water, add diswashing detergent, turn the plant upside down and dip it in the suds.
For a while | puzzled how | could hold a plant upside down when it was in a 10 inch pot, two and a half feet tall, with a wingspan of at least 30 inches. What sink, or even bathtub, would offer enough room? How could | use this good and inexpensive advice?
| filled a large bowl with water and detergent and began to dip each branch into the solution. Early morning would find me at my task, newspapers spread beneath the pot, coaxing buds and leaves into the bowl, bending branches gently down, and then allowing them to drip. How gratifying it was to find aphid bodies in the bowl! This method was going to rid me of them.
After a period of spraying, my family took to pointing out that far from the aphids being eliminated, there were now far more of them. They were crawling all over the buds, had large hatcheries on the underside of the leaves and were obviously thriving on the spray. | was discouraged. So | asked a botanist for advice. Oh, he told me, you don t need to buy an insecticide soap. Just fill the sink with water, add dishwashing detergent, turn the plant upside down and dip it in the suds.
In early March, | went off to a conference, leaving instructions about my indoor garden with one of my sons. | returned after two weeks to plants mostly healthy but an hibiscus which looked as if autumn had come. It had fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf , and shortly thereafter those yellow leaves fell to the floor, though the bare branches were topped with flowers which kept right on blooming bravely through the crisis.
Fortunately, spring returned to the plant. With watering, tiny leaves appeared and after six weeks there were no signs of the wintery trauma through which it had passed. Indeed, | had to admit that it looked better than ever, though | insisted that it was my fertiliser, not the drying out imposed by my son, that had improved it.
But still we had aphids! Then | heard somewhere that garlic planted in the garden would keep aphids away. If it worked for tomato plants and rose bushes, perhaps it was worth a try. Into the soil in the pot went six cloves. And to my amazement, as they sprouted, the aphids did seem to diminish in number. When | turned the leaves over, | observed that many were entirely free of eggs. Maybe at last, had hit upon a cure. Visitors did remark, more or less politely, on the weeds and were more or less impressed when we identified them as Allium sativum.
Garlic certainly had an effect, but alas! a remnant of the aphid population survived and began to fight back. | was in despair. returned to the earlier treatments, the spray and the detergent. Maybe what was needed was a way of keeping the solution in contact longer. When it touched the buds, some of the aphids were killed, but others hidden in the folds of the flowers lived on to reproduce themselves. | began stirring up the detergent solution into thick suds and forming the suds round each bud and on the underside of each leaf. The suds evaporated slowly and left behind a filmy haze.
So far, | feel optimistic. This treatment has certainly reduced the numbers of aphids. But | am not claiming a victory yet. | have lived too long with these aphids to believe that they will take this most recent onslaught without a counterattack. Perhaps, before they regroup, | should try garlic again.
Eleanor Irwin has both a personal and a research interest in flowers; she likes visiting flower gardens, delights in finding flowers in the wild, and writes about flowers in Classical Greek literature.
From the Library
by Pamela MacKenzie Librarian
THE NATIONAL ARBORETUM BOOK OF OUTSTANDING GARDEN PLANTS,
by
Jacqueline Heriteau. New York, Simon & Schuster, 1990.
This authoritative book is a very useful guide to selecting garden plants for a wide variety of situations. The text is devoted to flowers, aquatic plants, herbs, ornamental grasses, ground covers, vines, and shrubs and trees. Under each of these headings comes a general introduction on design and cultivation, followed by descriptions of plants grouped according to the requirements of the gardener. For example, the section on ground covers is divided into ten plant groupings: Flowering ground covers; covers with deciduous foliage; evergreen foliage; ferns; lawn alternatives; ground covers for nooks and crannies; for seashore gardens; for shade; fast growing covers for slopes and erosion control; for wet conditions. Each plant is described, with planting and propagation instructions. Cultivars are included. Approximately one third of the plants are illustrated by good colour photographs.
AT THE CENTRE e AT THE CENTRE e AT
Coming Events at the Centre
CHINESE BRUSH PAINTING COURSE
Registration Deadline: September 28
Members $75.00 Non-members $85.00
WATERCOLOUR - ABSOLUTE BASICS COURSE
Registration Deadline: September 28
Members $45.00 Non-members $55.00
MASTER GARDENERS - Meeting
Men' s Garden Club - Meeting
PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP
Registration Deadline: September 28
Members $20.00 Non-members $30.00
Southern Ontario Orchid Society Sheldon Takasake of Carmela Orchids, Hawaii
26 THERAPEUTIC HORTICULTURE COURSE 10.00 am 12 noon $12.00 per session 4 Sessions
28 York Rose and Garden Society Meeting 2:00 pm 28 Rhododendron Society of Canada Meeting 2:00 pm
28 GROWING ORCHIDS AT HOME COURSE 1:30 - 3:30pm
Registration Deadline: October 25
Members $20.00 Non-members $30.00 1 Day
November
1,2,3 MISTLETOE MAGIC -TORONTO S FINESTCHRISTMAS SALE, Nov. 1 10:00am - 9:00pm ATTHE CiViC GARDEN CENTRE Nov.2 10:00 am - 5:00pm Admission: $3.00 Nov.3 10:00 am - 5:00pm
White Rose
v C!AFTS & NURSERY SALES LTD 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 mgé,(@ i.; and so much more... AR NOW WITH 16
e Q\\Q UNIONVILLE SCARBOROUGH NEWMARKET BARRIE : 4}4/1/ 4038 Hwy# 7 1306 Kennedy Rd. 55 Yonge St. S. 561 Bayfield St. >N OSHAWA WHITBY SCARBORO/PICKERING , »Q300Taunton Rd.E. 1243 Dundas St. E. Port Union/401 Rx:s ETOBICOKE MISSISSAUGA REXDALE 4 1582 TheQueensway 333 Dundas St.E. 35 Woodbine Downs Rd. BRAMPTON BURLINGTON HAMILTON (& - - Hwy #10/#7 Bypass 4265 Fairview St. 2500 Barton St. " ST.CATHARINES CAMBRIDGE WATERLOO 459 Welland Ave. 525 Hespeler Rd. 200 Weber St. ~
Everyone is talking about ... MISTLETOE MAGIC ...
Toronto s
Finest
Christmas
Sale
. at the Civic Garden Centre
Nov. 1, 2 and 3.
The Civic Garden Centre s largest fundraising event, the fall craft show, received a facelift last year. The show was re-named MISTLETOE MAGIC; the building was decorated throughout for Christmas and many new exhibitors participated in our sale. The exciting new image-pleased both the public and the exhibitors. Our reputation has travelled quickly through the craft community.
Over 60 artisans will sell a wide variety of exquisitely made items including pottery, contemporary Canadian glass, jewellery, lace, wood carvings, women and children s clothing, lingerie, herb mixes and seasoning, gourmet chocolates, toys, dried flowers, Christmas accessories and much, much more. The Christmas theme will be carried throughout the building with trees, wreaths and sparkling white lights. Demonstrations, materials to make your own decorations, plants, supplies for the most discriminating hostess and a cafe with a menu for morning coffee, lunch, afternoon tea and a light dinner make a day at Mistletoe Magic thoroughly enjoyable for everyone.
Place: The Civic Garden Centre 777 Lawrence Avenue East (located in Edwards Gardens)
Admission: $3.00
when
\/Volunteer Corner
by Carolyn Dalgarno Volunteer Co-ordinator
100 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Civic Garden Centre s craft show Mistletoe Magic held at the Centre on Nov. 1, 2 and 3, requires more than 100 volunteers to become part of the team to staff this show.
Tuesday, October 30 Morning or afternoon
Join the staging committee to help install the show.
Wednesday, October 31 Morning or afternoon
Help with signage, welcoming and assisting exhibitors or last minute staging details.
For the duration of the sale we need front door ticket sellers, help in the tea room, sale of raffle tickets, people to act as floaters and volunteers to sell plants in the Patio Garden area.
Thursday, November 1 Opening Day Shifts: 10 am. - 2 p.m. 2p.m. - 6p.m. 6 p.m. - 9p.m.
Friday, November 2
Saturday, November 3
Shifts: 10 am. - 2 p.m. 2p.m. - 5pm.
Shifts: 10 am. - 2 p.m. 2pm. - 5p.m.
For members who work during the day, please try to volunteer a shift either Thursday evening or Saturday.
We need each and every one of you. Many of last year s exhibitors commented, The volunteers made this show a pleasure for us".
You do make a difference. Please call me at 445-1552
Bulbs in Natural Looking Gardens
Fall is flower bulb planting time. For a different look, use bulbs to create a garden space that looks as if Mother Nature has done all the work for you.
Although sweeping formal beds and borders of flowers can be both beautiful and impressive, developing and maintaining them requires a great deal of time and effort. With today s hectic, two-career lifestyles, many people are opting for a less studied approach.
All kinds of flower bulbs lend themselves to this attitude to benign neglect. Indeed, many varieties flower more profusely when they are left completely alone. Even a small back, side or front yard can accommodate this approach. A stretch of open grass can become a corner of upland meadow or a few shady trees can set a woodland tone.
Of course, now is the time to get started because all spring-flowering bulbs must be planted before the first hard frost in the autumn. Your natural garden can easily include the tiny, white flowers of either snow drops (Galanthus nivalis) or snow flakes (Leucojum aestivum, or Leucojum vernum). Many alliums do well in a naturalized setting. Two excellent varieties are the white-flowered Allium ursinum an edible herb called Bear s Garlic in Holland and the yellow-flowered Allium moly, which naturalizes particularly well and blooms in early summer, after the other springflowering bulbs have died down.
The tiny, star-shaped Anemone blanda in pink, white or blue creates a dazzling display in no time at all. Another little gem is Chionodoxa, which blooms early, looking like little blue stars across an expanse of lawn or peeking out from low ground cover.
In the dark, moist corners, under broadleafed trees, the old-fashioned lily-of-thevalley (Convallaria majalis) spreads out, delicate, bell-shaped white blossoms bedecking the dark green foliage.
In rough grass, damp borders and among shrubs, try the guinea hen or snake s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris). A most unusual looking bloom, it bears a checkerboard pattern of muted grey, purple or brown and white and is very hardy.
The naturalized garden, however, can also contain the old favourite tulips and daffodils but with a twist. Try planting the botanical varieties which are smaller and more like the original types. Tulips such as Tulipa fosteriana, Tulipa kaufmanniana, and Tulipa greigii fall into this category as do the very small ones T. tarda, T. turkestanica and T. urumiensis. From among the many varieties of daffodils, choose the botanical ones, such as Tete-a-Tete', February Gold , Hawera , Jack Snipe , and Peeping Tom".
Botanical crocus also fit into the natural garden, along with various Scilla (now properly classified as Hyacinthoides), like Scilla (or Endymion) non-scripta, commonly called English bluebells, and Scilla campanulata (also Endymion or Scilla hispanicus), often known as Spanish bluebells.
Last, but certainly not least, add some species lilies to your naturalized garden. For example, choose the pinkish-purple Lilium martagon, the gold-banded Lilium auratum, or the fragrant, white, yellowcentred Lilium regale. Just remember to plant them this fall because, for Dutch flower bulbs, spring starts now!
Courtesy of Netherlands Flowerbulb Information Centre.
TALES of the EARTH
MEDITATION GARDENS
Places that help to clear one's mind from the turbulence of the day; places in which to reflect and focus peacefully in timeless surroundings.
B2 4 Join Canadian [£5§ Gardening I2¥ Columnist JIM ST. MARIE fora
OFGARDENGLAND & WALES
MAY 21 - JUNE 5, 1991
Visit the world famous Chelsea Flower Show plus 3 castle, 2 royal, 2 botanic and 4 educational gardens plus Europe s largest retail nursery and garden centre and tour 5 private gardens, and meet their owners.
Also meetand hearPhilip Swindells, award winning British Garden Writer and Broadcaster, author of 16 horticultural books.
Trip includes: London City Tour, Thames River Cruise and a whole day free in London.
FOR DETAILSWRITE TO: UPTOWN TRAVEL, DepartmentTR 104 King Street South, Waterloo, Ontario. N2J 1P5 or call: (519) 886-3320
Questions and Answers, by Master Gardeners
Q. | have a poinsettia that I've kept going since last Christmas. How can | get it to bloom again?
. Put the plant under a black polythene bag or under a large carton for fourteen hours each day (eg. from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m.) for eight weeks. Then return it to normal conditions. This process will start the coloured bracts to form. You will get the Christmas colour again and you will have a bigger plant this year.
Q. What do | do with my Tuberous
A. Begonias?
Dig them up and take them in before the frost comes. Let them dry off do not water them. Then clean the tubers, dust with garden sulphur, or with bulb dust from a nursery, and store them in peat moss. Keep them in a cool dry place until next March. Repot them then, and start to water them gradually. Move them into a bright light, a window or under lights, when the leaves start to show. Give them a bit more water. Put them out in the garden after the last frost.
Q. I want to put in a ground cover alongside my driveway; however, | use salt on the driveway in winter.
. Try cotoneaster as it can withstand salty conditions better than other plants. Also check where the run-off from the driveway goes. If it drains into the flowerbeds, use one of the de-icers that is not so harmful to plants. Calcium chloride and urea are alternatives.
CLASSIFIED ADVERTISEMENT
Royal Botanical Gardens Presents Christmas in Style
* Floral Demonstrations
* Christmas Displays
* Sale of Unique Floral Designs
* Plant Material
* Mechanics
* Books and more!
® Tea Room
Admission $2.00
November 16th
10 am - 9 pm
November 17th
10 am - 4 pm
Royal Botanical Gardens Centre wEr 680 Plains Road West, Burlington Specializing In The Unusual... 1-800-668-9449
WANTED
BONSAI
Ex. Secretary for Canadian Rose Society. Honorarium Paid. Interest in TOPIARIES ARALIAS Roses an asset. BRAIDED FICUS CACTUS BOUGAINVILLEA ORCHIDS BAMBOO HANGING BASKETS
The Canadian Gardener A Guide To Gardening In Canada by Marjorie Harris
Harrowsmith: Annual Garden by Jennifer Bennett and Turid Forsyth
$29.00
$19.95
Beds and Borders
Traditional and Original Garden Designs by Wendy B. Murphy
Sissinghurst: Portrait of a Garden by Jane Brown
Nantucket Gardens & Houses by Virginia Scott Heard
$49.95
$47.95
$50.00
Executive Committee
President: Mrs. Susan Macaulay
1st Vice-President: Mr. Klaus Bindhart
Treasurer: Mr. Kenneth H.C. Laundy
Member: Mrs. Cicely Bell
Member: Mrs. Heather MacKinnon
Board of Directors
1920 Mrs. Cicely Bell, Mr. Stuart Gilchrist, Mr. Alan Grieve, Mr. Kenneth H.C. Laundy, Mrs. Heather MacKinnon, Mrs. Doreen Martindale, Ms. Laura Rapp.
1990 - 1991: Dr. Brian Bixley, Mrs. Georgina Cannon, Mrs. Martha Finkelstein, Mr. William Granger, Mrs. Bayla Gross, Mrs. Judy Lundy, Mr. Robert Saunders, Mrs. Robin Wilson.
1990, 1991 and 1992: Mr. Klaus Bindhardt, Mrs. Mary Anne Brinckman, Mrs. Luba Hussel, Mrs. Susan Macaulay, Mr. Victor Portelli, Representative of Metropolitan Toronto Parks and Property.
A 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 X § Landscape Consultant will listen to your landscape ideas & - $ 5 RN e and provide a scale drawing of your new landscape that is 3 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 $500 or more ($100 refunded with a minimum $1000 plant purchase). Ask at your nearest Weall and Cullen location for more details. 8 LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU.
