The newsletter of the Civic Garden Centre in Metropolitan Toronto February, 1992 Volume 19, Number 2
%J;\THI? ?\;,Il;']i;nI?».RUARY 16, 1992 GARDENING
February,Trellis, 1992
Toronto Parks and Property: Mr. Victor Portelli.
Lewis, Mrs. Mary Mills, Ms. Laura Rapp. Representative of Metropolitan
Bell, Mrs. Wendy Lawson, Mr. Peter J.
For 1991, 1992, and 1993: Mrs. Cicely
Macaulay, Mrs. Robin Wilson
Brinckman, Mrs. Luba Hussel, Mrs. Susan
For. 1991-1992: Mrs. Mary Ann
Bayla Gross, Mr. Kenneth Laundy, Mrs. Ruth MacKneson
Finkelstein, Mr. Bill Granger, Mrs.
Georgina Cannon, Mrs Martha
For 1991: Dr. Brian Bixley, Mrs.
Mr. Kenneth Laundy
Mrs. Bayla Gross
Mrs. Mary Ann Brinckman
Mrs. Cicely Bell
Members: Board of directors:
Vice-president and treasurer: Mr. Peter J. Lewis
President: ~ Mrs. Susan Macaulay
Executive committee:
Course information: 397-1340
Trellis Shop: 397-1357
Special events: 397-1350
Rentals: 397-1349
397-1345 (hours:
Gardening hotline: noon to 3:00 p.m.)
397-1340
Main number:
All numbers are area code 416.
Telephone:
Courses: Mrs. Ann Warren
Mrs. Carolyn Dalgarno
Volunteer and publicity co-ordinator:
Mrs. Barbara Stevenson
Trellis Shop assistant manager:
Trellis Shop manager: Mrs. Jackie Brisby
Secretary: Mrs. Shirley Lyons
Rental agent: Mrs. Betsy Chubb
Mr. Walter Morassutti
Maintenance supervisor:
Librarian: Mrs. Pamela MacKenzie
Mrs. Helen Craig
Mrs. Anne Marie Van Nest
Horticulturists:
Editor, Trellis: Mrs. Iris Hossé Phillips
Accounts: Mrs. Janie Brentnall
Executive director: Mrs. Sally Sullivan
The Civic Garden Centre is pleased to rent facilities for meetings, receptions, exhibits and shows. Please contact our rental agent. Civic Garden Centre staff members:
Rentals:
weekends and holidays noon to 4:00 p-m.
weekends and holidays noon to 5:00 p-m. Winter (November 1st to March 31st): weekdays 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m,;
weekdays 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.;
Registered charity number 0228114-56. Hours: Summer (April 1st to October 31st):
Centre serves members throughout Metropolitan Toronto and across Ontario.
Edwards Gardens, at Leslie Street and Lawrence Avenue East in North York, the
The Civic Garden Centre is a volunteer-based non-profit organization with open membership, working to foster interest, involvement and education in gardening, horticulture and related artistic, environmental and community issues. Located in
General Information
Garden Centre
Editorial
By Iris Phillips
Trellis has a new look and I am pleased to report that we produced this issue on our Macintosh computer. Two important considerations prompted the change: the first was financial savings and the second was complete control over corrections and changes. A very special thanks to Leslie Lynch, a CGC volunteer who provided computer expertise and creative ideas.
On December 13, 1991, the Centre installed a new telephone system. Our new central number is 397-1340. Direct numbers to the Centre's departments are listed on the inside front cover.
Please take time to peruse our new programs, courses and events. Two special guests will lecture at the Centre in February and March: Adrian Bloom of the famous Blooms of Bressingham Nursery in England and Jennifer Dickson, a Canadian who is well known outside the country as an artist, photographer and garden historian.
I hope to see you at our many activities and events.
Sy Sy By B G Gy S Sy Yy Spring is on the way
Watch the March Trellis for your member's pre-order form for the Easter and pansy plant sales.
Sale dates:
Pansy sale, Friday, April 3, 2:00 to 6:00 p-m.
Easter plant sale, Friday, April 10, 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
TRELLIS
Volume 19, Number 2
Editor: Iris Hossé Phillips
Advertising Information: (416) 397-1361
Trellis is published ten times a year as a members' newsletter by the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, North York, Ontario M3C 1P2. Telephone number: (416) 397-1340.
Manuscripts submitted on a voluntary basis are gratefully received. No remuneration is possible.
Articles, manuscripts and advertising material must be received by the 15th of the month to insure publication six weeks later. For example, material received by October 15 will be included in the December issue of Trellis.
Opinions expressed within Trellis do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre. 1 Editorial 2-7 CGC events -- details: An Edwards Garden Evening, Catch the Gardening Spirit, The evolution of the Italian garden, Perennials: the Practical & the Romantic, Creative Gardens with Perennials
The evolution of the Italian garden
Two special presentations by Jennifer Dickson: Wednesday, March 11 and Thursday, March 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Cost: members: $10 per lecture; non-members: $15 per lecture
We introduced Jennifer Dickson to the Civic Garden Centre at the February Edwards Garden Evening program. Her reputation is widespread as an artist and as a lecturer on historic gardens.
Although eclipsed in the 20th century by garden design in North America and England, the Italian garden prototype was the primary basis for contemporary understanding of the function and symbolism of the garden. In these two consecutive lectures, Jennifer Dickson will share with us the evolution of the Italian garden from the Roman philosophy of the genius of the place to the botanic paradise of the gardens of the northern Italian lakes.
Jennifer Dickson has been visiting and photographing gardens in Italy since 1981. These lectures draw on her evocative slide documentation of the beauty of the Italian garden. We know you will enjoy this series and become further acquainted with the achievements of this outstanding Canadian.
Trellis, February, 1992
The Betrothal Amphitheatre, Villa San Remigio. Photo by Jennifer Dickson, 1990.
The evolution of the Italian garden -- continued
Wednesday, March 11 -- part one
Our knowledge of Roman gardens is based partly on the writings of Pliny and partly on fresco fragments and archaeological findings at Pompeii. We visit a reconstructed courtyard garden at Piazza Armerina, and view the beauty of Lake Garda from the villa of the Roman lyric poet Catullus.
Italy has one of the oldest botanic gardens in the western world, the Orto Botanico at Padua, where rare species were propagated from the seeds brought by intrepid travellers from remote quarters of the globe.
The medieval hortus conclusus became the courtyard garden of Renaissance villa and palace. We will visit several in the ducal palace at Mantua, as well as walking in our imagination along the cool terraces of the Medici villas of Cerreto Giudi, Castello and Petraia, near Florence.
The lecture will conclude with three Renaissance gardens with a water theme: the Villa D'Este at Tivoli, the Palazzo Farnese at Caprarola, and the lyrical beauty of the Villa Lante at Bagnaia.
Thursday, March 12 -- part two
The baroque period in Italy produced gardens in which evergreens, stone and water fused in a delightful fantasy. We will visit the water games of the Villa Torrigiani near Lucca, the elegant garden rooms and green theatre of the Villa Reale Di Marlia, and the exuberant fountains and floral parterre of the Villa Garzoni at Collodi.
The romantic shores of Lake Como are next on our itinerary and we will visit Villa Carlotta during the peak of the flowering of azaleas and rhododendron and Villa Melzi D'Eril in early spring.
The lecture will conclude on Lake Maggiore, where an ambient climate has resulted in three of the most profusely planted Italian gardens: the botanic gardens of the Villa Taranto (which rival England's Kew gardens), the early 20th century terrace gardens of Villa San Remigio, and finally, the earthly paradise of Isola Bella.
Register for one or both of these lectures and come away with a wealth of gardening knowledge, an understanding of garden history and a soul that has been refreshed by a brief but glorious escape from our Canadian winter.
Registration form on page 9.
Short but Sweet
In March we long for April; In May we long for June: Don't be in such a hurry, It will all be gone too soon.
From: More Green FingersAnother present for a good gardener by Reginald Arkell
Trellis,February, 1992
Perennials: the Practical & the Romantic
An afternoon program on perennial gardening
Sunday , April 12
1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
Members $35 / non-members $45
If woody plants are the bones of a garden, then perennials are the elements that give it life. Their great diversity in form and texture, foliage and blossom are the defining characteristics of every garden. Perennial plants are central to the mood you wish to create: structured and formal or fluid and ephemeral. In these high-tech times with instant art forms, perennial gardens are a refuge for the romance of the soul. This afternoon program opens a window on the romantic theme and will explore both the practical considerations and the romantic inspiration necessary in planning a perennial garden .
1:00 - 2:00 PRACTICAL GARDENING WITH PERENNIALS
Patrick Lima is the author of many articles and several books including the modern gardening classic, The Harrowsmith Perennial Garden. He is the creator of Larkwhistle, an extraordinary perennial garden near Owen Sound.
Patrick will look at the practical considerations of perennial gardening: climate and soil preparation, fertilization and cultural requirements, bridging and extending periods of bloom.
2:00 - 2:15 Coffee Break
2:15.-3:15 PERENNIAL ROMANCE
Anne Milovsoroff holds the Weston Chair at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington. She is a landscape architect and designer experienced in several climates and has detailed knowledge of perennial plant material.
Anne will consider the various elements which appeal to the senses -- colour and texture, bloom and fragrance. These features are an integral part of the design of a romantic garden.
3:30 -:5:00 GROUNDWORK
Toronto's Master Gardeners will provide demonstrations and information in key areas relevant to perennial plants -- fertilization, propagation, insects and diseases. This session is an opportunity to examine and compare new materials and methods, and includes both organic and synthetic approaches to gardening problems. Demonstration areas will be located in the Floral Hall where the Master Gardeners will be available to answer individual questions.
Registration form on page 9.
Bonus event: Creative Gardens with Perennials
Adrian Bloom will visit the Civic Garden Centre on Monday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m. for a special lecture and slide presentation on Creative Gardens with Perennials. Cost: members $10; non-members $15.
Days before the February issue of Trellis was to be put to bed, Valleybrook Gardens called the Centre to tell us that Adrian Bloom will be in Canada and available to lecture for one evening only. We jumped at the chance and, in cooperation with Valleybrook Gardens, are pleased to offer you this special and unexpected program.
Adrian Bloom is chairman of the famous Blooms of Bressingham Nursery in Norfolk, England. The nursery was started by his father Alan Bloom and is one of the largest nursery companies in Britain with a collection of over 5,000 species and varieties.
As a businessman and plantsman, Adrian Bloom travels the world looking for new plants. The plants collected on his travels are assessed in the gardens of Bressingham and the best are offered to the gardening public.
Mr. Bloom has lectured in the UK., US.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe and authored several books. He is often on television putting forward ideas of how to use plants in the garden, having designed and planted small gardens for year-round interest. For the last 20 years, he has been involved in the planning and planting of Blooms of Bressingham Chelsea Flower Show exhibits which have won many gold medals.
In his six-acre garden at Foggy Bottom, Adrian Bloom has used conifers widely with other plants and has created many small areas -- features applicable to the city garden. Foggy Bottom is a year-round interest garden, and one of the best in England for winter colour.
Adrian Bloom, along with his father Alan Bloom, is the holder of the Victoria Medal of Honour which is awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society for services to horticulture.
Registration form on page 9.
Trellis,February, 1992
Create the perfect garden at Pine Ridge Garden Gallery
We supply a wide variety ofquality grown plant material including trees, evergreens, shrubs, roses, clematis, unusual annuals, tropicals, water andbogplants, ; natives,ferns, grasses and rare and unusual herbaceous perennials. Visit our interesting garden centre where we takepride in ourfriendly service and expert advice.
Open 7days a week = Tel: 683-5952
An invitation: join our tour guides!
The Civic Garden Centre offers adult and children's tours to the public. Our two children's tours, "Nature Recycles" and "Bugs, Flowers and Things in the Dirt" were very popular in 1991.
The Centre is actively recruiting additional tour guides for Edwards Gardens. Interested members should contact Helen Craig at 397-1340 for details.
Guided tours begin the first week of May, 1992. A training session in April will familiarize guides with the history of Edwards Gardens and the plant material there. Tour guides meet monthly and receive a program update and additional training.
Our group's interest in the gardens is diversified -- from research into historical gardens, learning about the plant material and even photographing the gardens. Our common interests include meeting the public, love of the changing face of nature, appreciation of the beauty of trees and flowers, a sense of humor, and a desire to become involved.
Our Edwards Gardens tour guides are men and women of all ages, who enjoy themselves and extend an invitation to you to join them.
February 4 to 17, 1992
Use this form to register for Civic Garden Centre special programs
The Civic Garden Centre is again using a multi-event form to register participants in our special progams. This winter and spring, we offer a wide range of garden-related subjects for your enjoyment. To register for one or more programs, use this form or phone, providing either VISA orMasterCard numbers. Should you have any questions about the programs or registration, please call our new number 397-1340. All registration fees include G.S.T.
Event
Catch the Gardening Spirit City Gardening, Country Style seminar
As you can see by looking at this issue of Trellis, 1992 will be another busy year for the Civic Garden Centre. Special programs, plant sales, garden tours and Mistletoe Magic will need your help in the months ahead.
In addition, the Centre requires year-round regular staffing in the shop and library, and in the administration, reception and horticultural areas. We also need tour guides for the children's program and the regular tours on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Many committees need additional members. If you have some time to give, please call us at our new number 397-1351 and make an appointment for an interview.
Want to know more?
We have planned two general information sessions about the Civic Garden Centre -- who we are, what we do, how we operate, how we are funded. A tour ofthe Centre's facilities is part of the session. Come and spend an informative hour learning about the variety of volunteer opportunities open to people of all ages. Join us if you are now a volunteer or you're a potential volunteer and would like to know more about the Centre.
The sessions will take place on Saturday, February 8 at 1:00 p.m. or Thursday, February 13 at 2:00 p.m.in the Centre's Board Room. R.S.V.P.to 397-1351.
In the library
By Pamela MacKenzie, librarian
Be a library friend: : : y Sl Selie . Snyder, Leon C. Native plants for {réuly99§, gl(folll"br;rr};glsa;?,nti maghi:ct}i northern gardens. 1991. $30.
g\ex be;s may as?ist Es'to acq}t\xire newf; New acquisitions: yg Sspgnls:)gr}q:gbc?;kt fi)lrr E}:lercli}aasriry , Recent additions to the Centre's library bookplate with your name, or the name T of a friend, will be placed at the front of the book. Please call the library and the staff will be happy to help you. We accept VISA and MasterCard; you will receive a tax receipt for your purchase.
By pen and by sword. Hortus, the journal begun by David Wheeler in 1987, has a reputation for quality contributions from distinguished garden writers. By pen and by sword is a selection of these articles and makes stimulating reading for garden B The following books need friends and i . will be on display during February. If e;;;%usxasts. New York; Summit Books, you would like to buy one for the ' PTG
° James, Theodore. Flowering bulbs indoors and out. 1991. $25.
More decorations with flowers, by Ronaldo Maia. New York, Abrams, 1991. Flower arrangements from the simple to the overwhelming. An ideas book, handsomely illustrated.
Nature perfected: gardens through history, . Bremness, Lesley. World of by William Howard Adams. New herbs: recipes, remedies and decorative York, Abbeville Press, 1991. An ideas. 1990. $10. international history of the garden as an art form.
[ Pike, David. Popular bonsai. 1991. $15. Gardening with colour, by Mary Keen. London, Butterworth, 1991. A o Le Dantec, Denise. Paris in stimulating portfolio of planting bloom. 1991. $50. schemes.
A4444040404400000444
Raffle winners -- Mistletoe Magic 1991
Remember those raffle tickets you bought at Mistletoe Magic 19917 Here are the namesofour winners.
First prize: Mrs. M. L. Griffith, Willowdale. Second prize: Mrs. Shirley Locke, Hamilton. Third prize: Mr. D. Spandlier, Toronto. Fourth prize: Mr. H. Walker, Scarborough. Fifth prize: Mrs. C. Karl, Toronto. Sixth prize: Ms. Sheila Badgley, Toronto. Seventh prize: Mrs. J. Lofeodo, Toronto.
Trellis,February, 1992
Mulmur Bullet
By Androsace
We don't really have a lawn, though we have quite a few grassy spaces. Most are so rife with weeds that a serious application of herbicide would produce a kind of gramineous psoriasis. There is a large green rectangle in the Fenced Garden, composed of grass, thyme and creeping charlie in about equal proportions, plus a minuscule quantity of Mazus reptans set into the grass as it is so successfully done in the very different conditions of the Leonard Buck Garden in New Jersey. Sloping from the house to the road is a Front Lawn, but it is not imposing as Front Lawns should be. It is so neglected that I carefully steer visitors away from it, but whether it is neglected because we so seldom use it, or whether we use it so little because of its abysmally neglected state, I am reluctant to say. Any billiard-table properties to which it might have aspired were rudely eliminated by a dance routine performed on it by a herd of cattle last summer.
The Front Lawn is separated from the road and the driveway by a two-metre white cedar hedge which shields the house from passers-by. On the road and driveway side of the hedge is part of our rock garden, a natural bank which I have stripped of its thin grass and into which I have incorporated some small rocks in an effort to echo the lacy effect of the filigree decoration on the house. The bank is over 40 metres in length, but is less than one metre in depth in some places, and is never more than three.
At the curve where the road and the driveway meet, there was until recently one of those small green spaces to which I have alluded, dividing the RRG (Roadside Rock Garden) from the GRG (Gateway Rock Garden). Every gardener will recognize the need for these labels. The strip was about one and a half metres wide, bordered with
dark red tiles that ran up the slope for about two metres towards the hedge, and was more thyme than grass. Visitors were often puzzled by its presence, since it looked as though it were part of a path that had once passed through the hedge, and allusive minds sometimes recalled the opening to the movie Sleuth. Laurence Olivier is sitting in the middle of a maze; Michael Caine is trying to reach him, unsuccessfully, until Olivier presses a button which makes a section of the hedge revolve so that Caine can pass through. Could our hedge be made to do the same?
The explanation was much simpler. In the summer of 1984 I dug away the grass for the extension of the rock garden south -- towards the road -- along the driveway and out on to the roadside. When that was done, my spouse said, "Where is Charlie going to lie?" Charlie was our dog, and he used to stretch out in the sun on the hottest days at this most strategic junction where he could keep a careful eye on any movement, of person or animal, along the road and up the driveway and through much of the garden. His coat would be impregnated with the fragrance of thyme, which was just as well, since his hunting expeditions meant that he frequently had more evilsmelling contacts. I had unthinkingly taken away his favourite spot, and so, thinkingly, I went back and restored it, complete with bordering tiles. I sat there occasionally in the first thin sun of spring and pale October warmth, but Charlie never lay there again. Charlie's Place remained until a few weekends ago when I lifted the tiles, dug out the thyme, set in a few rocks and added plants so that the space was reincorporated into the rock garden.
(continued)
February, 1992
Charlie and I were really close, though enthusiasm was more on my side. He was affectionate, but with a cat-like quality, a faint air of reserve; his favours could not be purchased with a cookie or a caress, but had to be won by unwavering long-term commitment. Sometimes, when he knew I was unhappy, he would give me some of his time, but I couldn't count on it, which naturally made me want it more. He had, as he made clear, responsibilities, serious business to conduct, and the frivolity of tenderness would have to fit itself around that. He stayed clear as much as possible from other dogs, who might want to draw him into the timewasting games, with the exception of Meg the airedale, almost twice his size, who seemed to provoke in him the chaste delights of companionship.
The serious business was hunting. He was a country dog, and loathed the city, shrinking from the lights, and plodding about town with an air of such desperate misery that I believe I was suspected of beating him. When we arrived in the country at weekends, he would leap from the car, race in two or three circles, and then be gone. Not for long, for half-an-hour, an hour or two. I would see him crossing the barnyard to the north and then, a few minutes later, catch a glimpse of him hurrying up the driveway from the south. He made me think of the White Rabbit, checking the time, permanently late for a cabinet meeting, never for a tea party. He was a diligent hunter. He was small, caponish, with a very high density, some terrier blood and who knows what else. He had great patience and endurance, and was prepared to wait by a groundhog hole for many hours:
" ... Meanwhile my dog runs off, noses down packed leaves into damp mysterious tunnels .
With people, especially children, he was all gentleness; it was hard for them to imagine, until they saw him in
Mulmur Bullet -- continued action, the savagery and persistence with which he launched an attack. In his prime, I never saw a live groundhog in the garden, at least not for long, though I saw many dead ones. That never changed, for even when he aged and his hunting skills declined, he knew that it was his responsibility to assure me of a steady supply of dead groundhogs. He could no longer catch the speedy youngsters who fed at the borders of the barnyard, or vanquish the fat patriarchs of the fields, so he would wait until he heard Ward, our neighbour, out with the rifle, and then trot down and collect a corpse or two, and bring them to me.
He was generally obedient, and would come when called unless he was on a serious mission, when he would arrange to be out of sight so that he could not be charged with ignoring my whistle. He
(continued over)
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would race towards me, his fat body low to the ground, the dust rising up in small columns from the dry gravel of the Mulmur Township roads as though a machine gun were tracing a path along the road's surface. That's how he got his nickname. He was incredibly fast. Occasionally he would speed right by, but [ couldn't rebuke him, because I knew he wasn't doing that to be difficult, but simply because there was some high priority I wasn't able to identify.
And then, rapidly, he fell apart. Because he was a stray, I did not know how old he was; perhaps, he was very old. He started to dig in the garden and chew at the plants. I took him to the vet, who drew diagrams but did not know what the problem was, or what to do. Then he began to walk unsteadily and aimlessly, so I took him to the vet, who drew more diagrams, but did not know what to do. Then he began to slip in and out ofconsciousness, waking to cry with pain, this dog who had never
Mulmur Bullet continued
whimpered when he was torn by the barbed wire in the fields, or attacked by a larger dog, or bitten in the ear by a groundhog, or injected against this or that ("One tough customer," the vet had said approvingly). I held him in my arms, but the pain, all that pain, his pain and my shallow reflected pain, was too much, and I took him to the vet. We did not pretend with diagrams, but let Charlie slip gently away into peace.
For four years Charlie's Place remained untouched. Now it has gone. I hope that Charlie, wherever he is, will be pleased with what I have made in his spot, this cluster of rocks, these few plants with their flowers of brittle and transient beauty.
Reprinted with permission from Ontario Rock _Garden Society Journal, November, 1991. Androsace, a rock garden plant, is the pen name of a Civic Garden Centre member.
For the love ofgardens.
When you're at work on the garden you love, remember Sheridan Nurseries. At Sheridan, we have expert staffto help you, and the finest selection ofnursery stock in Canada, including over 750 types ofplants and trees grown on our own farms. And all ofour nursery stock is guaranteed for two full years.
Need any advice to help make your garden even lovelier? Gardens By Sheridan landscape designers offer everything from peerless consultation and planning to complete construction and maintenance services. All for the love ofgardens, at Sheridan Nurseries.
Galanthus -- plant of the month
Galanthus nivalis
By Anna Leggatt
Galanthus or snowdrop. There are 12 species of herbaceous bulbs which all look alike at the first glance. The flowers are solitary, pendulous, with three outer "petals" and three shorter green and white "petals" forming a tube.
The two that have been available over recent years are the giant snowdrop G. elwesii and the common G. nivalis. They can be identified when they first start to grow in the early spring. G. nivalis (native to Europe from Russia to Spain) has the leaves flat against each other, while G. elwesii (from Turkey and the Greek Islands) has leaves wrapped around each other. Millions of bulbs of the latter have been dug up in the wild in recent years; they are now threatened in the wild. Make sure you buy only nursery-grownstock.
Galanthus n. "Flore-plena" is a double form and a variety with extra green marks. These are usually available locally.
Trellis, February, 1992
Plant the bulbs in rich, well-drained soil in semi-shade, about six cm deep. It is best to plant in drifts, at least 25 together in groups. They look particularly well under deciduous shrubs. The best time to plant and divide them is when they are still green in the spring, just after flowering. Unfortunately, they are sold dry in the fall. Plant them as soon as possible.
For the earliest bloom, plant them outside a basement window, facing south. Mine have bloomed in January. Most years they are flowering by midFebruary. At the end of March, the blossoms look a little tired and muddy after they have been flattened by several snowstorms.
I have hundreds of snowdrops around the garden from an original planting of two dozen. How can February be depressing with snowdrops in flower?
Anna Leggatt is a Toronto Master Gardener and editor of the Ontario Rock Garden Society Journal.
CLASSIFIED
Begonia Society starting: If you're interested, call Mrs. Beth Frost -- (416) 640-3703 or Mrs. Miree Lex -- (416) 251-6369
Gardening hotline
Gardening questions? Master Gardeners provide answers daily between noon and 3:00 p.m. Phone them at their new number: 397-1345.
Questions and answers with the Master Gardeners
. Can I propagate pussy willow? I buy twigs every spring 5 and 1'd like to grow some. s
A. Yes, the willow will root easily in water or in a sterile medium such as peat, sand, or vermiculite. Also, you could take soft wood cuttings in late spring and grow from these. Make a clean cut, remove the bottom leaves, dip the cutting into rooting hormone and push it into the medium. Put a > Wilow plastic bag around the cut area to increase the humidity; but f let the cutting "air" for a short while each day. Keep the medium moist and fairly warm to promote rooting.
Q. Is there any kind of plant or flower to put in an area where there is not enough sun to grow grass?
A. Ground covers for shady areas include: e ajuga (carpet bugleweed), best if the soil is alkaline as it is more difficult to establish on acid soils e goutweed (Aegopodium), with variegated foliage, spreads rapidly, can be invasive. Control growth by mowingorclipping off flower heads once or twice each season.
e pachysandra (Japanese spurge) has green foliage and creamy flowerheads in late spring » lily of the valley (Convallaria) has scented white bell NALLEY flowers in May * English ivy (Hedera helix) has dark green leaves.
Q. Why do some smoke trees not smoke? Mine is 15 years old, faces south and is in full sun. It develops small buds but these do SMoKe TREE not develop. I planted another smoke tree two years ago. It has o not bloomed either. (My husband suggests they are in a nosmoking zone!)
A. The smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) prefers a lime soil, and usually does well in full sun. An American variety, C. obvata, is less showy. Individual plants may be unisexual or may have both unisexual and bisexual flowers on the same plant. Named varieties are female and have the most bloom. Smoke trees need full sun and do best in rather poor soil. In fertile earth they grow too leafy and tend to flower sparsely. Newly planted trees need copious watering in their first years.
Thanks to Vivien Jenkinson for illustrations. Master Gardeners answer questions on the gardening hotline daily, noon to 3:00 p.m.
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.Gardor O of Tororts presents Gateway to Spring
The 37th flower show of the Garden Club of Toronto at the Civic Garden Centre, March 4 to 8.
Featuring:
. floral displays -- forced pussy willows, forsythia and tulips, hyacinths and apple blossoms
. competitive classes -- miniature landscapes, topiary, pot-et-fleur, flowering bulbs, plants in a birdcage, blooming plants growing in a bag, junior gardener classes ideas for both the beginning and experienced gardener special features on ecology, container gardening, travel, flowers and landscaping commercial areas tea room raffle prizes
The show is the annual fundraising event of the Garden Club of Toronto. Proceeds from past sales have been used to create and renovate public gardens in the Toronto area -- Casa Loma, Spadina, St. James Park, Black Creek Pioneer Village, the fragrant garden at the Canadian National Institute of the Blind. Our newest project is a playground and garden at the West End Creche.
Gateway to Spring:
Dates: March 4 to 8
Times: Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Admission: adults: $6.50, seniors and students: $5.50, children: $1, under five: free Free parking
Trellis, February, 1992
Coming events at the
February 2
e Southern Ontario Orchid Society, meeting, 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
e Geranium and Pelargonium Society, meeting, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
!
e Ontario Rock meeting, 1:30 p.m.
Panayoti Kelaidis, Rock Botanic Garden
Garden Society, Speaker: Dr. director, Denver
e York Rose and Garden Society, meeting, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
10
e Toronto Bonsai Society, meeting, 7:00 p.m.
e Southern Ontario Orchid Society, newcomers meeting, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
11
e North Toronto Horticultural Society, meeting, 7:00 to 10:30 p.m.
12
° Ikebana International 208, meeting, 7:30 p.m.
Centre
e Rhododendron Society of Canada, meeting, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
17
20
¢ Canadian Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society, meeting, 7:30 p.m.
22
e Toronto Gesneriad Society, judging school, 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m.
23
e Toronto Gesneriad Society, judging school examinations, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p-m.
e Southern Ontario Orchid Society, meeting, noon to 4:00 p.m.
e Canadian Rose Society, meeting, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
March
4to8
. Gateway to Spring, the spring show of the Garden Club of Toronto. (See page 18 for times.)
RIBBONS and BOWS
BERRIES & BASKETS FABRIC FLOWERS & OTHER CRAFT ITEMS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1992
9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
1992 - A VERY SPECIAL YEAR FOR THE TRAVELLING GARDENERS FLORIADE & AMERIFLORA
MARCH 26 Gardens of Sicily, Southern ltaly & Keukenhof
MAY 19 Gardens of England, The Chelsea Flower Show & Floriade
MAY 20 Cruise on ' Royal Cruise Line with Len and Connie Cullen (Cullen Country Barns) to the Scandinavian Capitals & Russia with a tour to Floriade in Holland.
SEVERAL TOURS FROM APRIL AUGUST 1992 TO THE =4 AMERIFLORA '92" COLUMBUS OHIO U.S.A. A
Helping You Grow...
3rd \nnual
SPRING INTERNATIONAL
FEATURING:
® SHOWTIME GARDEN THEATRE Seminars starring Ross Hawthorne Sponsored by (£ Landscape Ontario
HORTICULTURAL TRADES ASSOCIATION
® Expert Horticulture Tips courtesy ofCFRB & Mark Cullen's Live Radio Show
® "MASTER GARDENERS poqenied by ONTARIO HORTICULTURAL Helping You Grow" Seminars ASSOCIATION
® Designer Gardens - Waterfalls and Beautiful Flowers in Bloom
® 1000's of Home & Garden Products and Outdoor Lifestyle Ideas
SPECIAL ADDED ATTRACTION: LEISURE POOL & PATIO SHOW
(416) 512-1305
Fax: (416) 512-7777
Askfor Trish Kenyon
. o e - May we invite you to join us?
The Civic Garden Centre warmly welcomes new members. Join us, and meet friends who share an interest in gardening, the floral arts and horticulture.
Activities:
The Civic Garden Centre offers: . garden tours . workshops, classes and clinics . horticultural library . flower shows o soil testing service . lectures . gardening hotline . The Trellis Shop (garden . Master Gardeners' activities supplies, plants, gifts and books) . plant sales . Trellis newsletter o fund-raising actvities
Member discounts apply on many of these activities.
Volunteers:
The talents andenthusiasm of Civic Garden Centre volunteers permit offering a variety of programs and special events. If you are able to offer time on a regular or as-needed basis, please contact our volunteer co-ordinator. Volunteer jobs include tour guides, shop sales, library assistants, secretarial, reception, horticultural assistant, committee member or a volunteer position tailored to meet your particular skills or interest.
APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP
Mail to: The Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, North York, Ontario M3C 1P2
New member B Please print:
Renewing member ] !
Single memberhship $25
Family membership $35
Mr./Mrs./ Miss/Ms
Gift membership o] ragee
Donation, tax deductible Apt.
Total 5 City
Method of payment:
[] Cheque (payable to theCivic Postal code GardenCentre)
