TRELLIS 4
Asupplement to Trellis, the newsletter of the Civic Garden Centre in Toronto
November/December, 1998
MISTLETOE MAGIC
November 5 to 8
Thur. & Fri. 10 am. - 9 p.m. Sat. & Sun. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Toronto s finest craft sale
unique handcrafted gifts holiday decorations specialty foods distinctive artwork and more ...
Enjoy morning coffee, lunch or afternoon tea in the Café.
Admission $5.00
Free parking!
Volume 25, Number 6
Notes from the Board
By Helen Shaw, president, Civic Garden Centre Board
InSeptember, 80 volunteers attended the fall volunteerbarbeque. We were delightedtohaveMr. andMrs. Milnesharetheirinsightintotheparkandleadus on a very informative Walk in the Park.
Thank you to the staff and volunteers who planned the event and to the sponsors: Loblaws at 301 Moore Drive, Dominion Store at Don Mills and McDonald s at 1787 Bayview Avenue.
Over1,000childrenhavebeeninvolvedinprogramsattheTeachingGarden and we have bookings into next spring. More than 250 people attended the Patrick Lima lecture in September.
Join us for our 40th anniversary on November 18. Julie Moir Messervy will speak on the Music Garden, and everyone can share the fun reminiscing and eating thebirthday cake.
In December we are introducing a new event. Home for the Holidays is a tour of a holiday-decorated house' ale. The committee members are busy making the final arrangene there! Best wishes for a happy holidav season. > Coner ed
CGC 40th anniversary
Edwards Foundation Memorial Lecture
Date: Wednesday, November 18, 7:30 p.m.
Speaker: Julie Moir Messervy
Topic: The Music Garden
Celebrated author and landscape designer Julie Moir Messervy will speak on the development ofthe Music Garden on Spadina Quay.
The collaboration between Julie Moir Messervy and cellist Yo-Yo Ma will createtheworld sfirstinteractivemusicgarden. Visitorswillstrollthroughthe gardentothesoumdofBach sFirstCelloSuite.Theuniquegardenwillopenin the summer of 1999.
Admission to the memorial lecture is free. Join us for refreshments and book signing.
Volunteers invited to holiday celebration
The CGC board and staff invite all volunteers to a volunteer recognition party to celebrate the holiday season.
Date: Thursday, December 10 ">
Time: Beginning at 4:00 p.m.
Sale ofChrlstmas Plants
Set the stage for your holiday festivities.
#. Choose from an extensive K* selection of gorgeous seasonal plants: poinsettias azaleas cyclamen Christmas cacti plus fresh mistletoe, wreaths and assorted greenery
Friday, December 4 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday, December 5 and 6 noon to 4:00 p.m.
Members receive 10% off purchases over $10
Master Gardeners and CGC horticulturists on site
Details: (416) 397-1358
SllkeS populartomato recipe
Peel tomatoes and put in oven-proof casserole dishwith the cut side down. Add generous amount of extra-virginolive oil. Top with fresh basil and choppedblack olives. Add salt and pepper. Bake at350° F for one hour.
Remove from oven and add a splash ofbalsamic vinegar. Cool. Add more freshbasil leaves. Serve at room temperature.
TRELLIS
Volume 25, Number 6
Editor: IrisHossé Phillips
Editorial co-ordinator: Leslie Lynch
Proofreader: Mara Arndt
Telephone: (416) 397-1340
Books in review
Available in the library and at The Trellis Shop
The Magic Land
Designing Your Own Enchanted Garden
By Julie Moir Messervy, Macmillan, U.S.A., 1998
Reviewed by Barbara E. Stevenson, library staff
A magic land does not come with a particular size or configuration. It may be as intimate as a terrarium or as immense as a rain forest, as tiny as a bonsai or as huge as a redwood tree. from TheMagic Land.
Learnhowtocreategardensthatenvelopoursensesinsights, sounds, scents and feel'mgs of a beautiful place. Also learn how to bring gardens into your homeusingcolours, water,plants and movement.
Julie Moir Messervy and Yo-Yo Ma are turning Bach' s First Suitefor UnaccompaniedCello into a music gardeninToronto. Thisbookwill showyouhow to create your own dream garden.
Mrs. Greenthumbs Plows Ahead
(Five Steps to the Drop-Dead Gorgeous Garden ofYour Dreams)
By Cassandra Danz, Crown Publishers, 1998
Reviewed byAllison Lynn, library staff
Have you ever wondered how the Sistine Chapel could enhance your garden, orhow digging ahole is like dancing? No? Thenletme introduce you to Mrs. Greenthumbs: a women who is dead-serious about gardening, but not at all solemn about it. She dispenses practical, no-nonsense advice with an exuberant, enjoy-the-nonsense attitude.
Givenher way, Mrs. Greenthumbs will leaveyou with ahead full ofknowledge, a garden full offlowers and a very well-tickled funny bone.
&
New books in the Trellis Shop
Treat the gardener inyou or gardening friends onyour Christmas gift list.
¢ MargaretBennet-Alder. The Toronto Gardener sJournal and Sourcebook, 1999 edition
Brian Bixley. Essays on Gardening in a Cold Climate
Molly Dannenmaier. A Child s Garden
Cassandra Danz. Mrs. Greenthumbs Plows Ahead
Tracy DiSabato-Aust. The Well-Tended Perennial Garden
AllanLacy. The Inviting Garden
Christopher Lloyd. Gardener Cook
Janet Marinelli. Stalking the Wild Amaranth
Julie Moir Messervy. The Magic Land
Emily Whaley and William Baldwin. Mrs. Whaley and her Charleston Garden &,
Thank you library donors
By Mara Arndt, librarian
Wewould like to extend our gratitude to those generous CGC members who havemademonetary donationstoenhanceourcollectionorgivenusedbooks and magazines whose sale also has funded some of the new titles purchased in 1998.
2 65 3 53 3
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Questions and answers with the Master Gardeners
Q. My magnolia tree has scale. What can 1do?
IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL Toronto Chapter 208 ot Flower Show
A. Magnolia scale is one ofthe largest scale insects, and can kill a tree within FhEE ot Beanty otFoavars T Celebrating Ikenobo Toronto Chapter two years if left untreated. Its principal hosts are the star, cucumber tree and 395 Anbeinaney saucer magnolias. Mould fungi grow on the syrup excreted by the insect.
Since magnolia scales overwinter asnymphs (crawlers)on theundersides Saturday,November21, 199811:30am-5:00pm of the one- and two-year-old twigs, the mostimportant control is an applica- Suncey,HovetieS2. 001 L0 tionofdormantoilinearlyspring. Thisshouldbedonebeforetheflowerbuds A o begin to open and on a calm day when the temperature will be above freezing SaturdayandSunday 2:00pm foratleast24hours.Inthemorning,sprayallpartsoftheplant twigs,branches PROFESSORMASAKOYATSUHASHI and trunk justto the pointofrun-off. s
Carefullyobserveyourtreeforsignsofthedarkpurpleadultfemalescales | _ . if:; ffgt; sf(jar:ssg?rggg S covered by a white powdery layer of wax. If any are seen by the end ofJune, thoroughly spray with Malathion in late August when the new crawlers have Admission: $8.00inadvance emerged. Spray on a calm morning and take appropriate precautions. Spray $10.00atthedoor again the following spring with dormant oil.
To reduce any further stress on the tree, fertilize in the spring and provide deep watering during dry periods.
Coming events
November 5-8
For more information, please call (416) 920-0775 or (416) 225-5749
Art in The Link
Cosmo LoPatriello
* Mistletoe Magic, Thursday and Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; Saturday B Koy S and Sunday: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission $5. November 23 to December 7 18
¢ CGC 40th anniversary Edwards Foundation Memorial Lecture. 7:30 p.m.
December1-3 ConeelQo 4 .
* Home for the Holidays. Seasonally de ed Rosedale mansion. Day and evening tours. Shuttle bus available. Call (416) 397-1340 forinformation, times and tickets.
Birdwatchingand WildflowerTours. Point Pelee, Algonquin Park, Rideau Trail, Cape Breton, Bermuda. For free 4-6
¢ Christmas Plant Sale, Friday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturday and ?zfl ::)er, C;;lufseiigl(z?ggflggaztzl\lOar a;: Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m. 800 371-71'; 79 4
10 ;
¢ CGC Christmas party forvolunteers, 4:00 p.m.
Visitors from thepastjoin a Walkin the Parkat the volunteerBBQ. John BromleyandElsa
Young led the walk dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Milne. Amicus Productions provided the costumes.
Plant portrait: Magnolia Elizabeth
ByAnna Leggatt
It seems strange to be thinking of planting trees when winter has not officiallystarted.Nowistimetothink about past successes and failures, to planchangesandtostartresearching in catalogues. Ifyou have a good local nursery, it may not be too late to givethemawishlistfornextspring. (IorderedsomeplantsfortheOntario Rock Garden Society in September. Wewill getthem inApril.)
One of my favourite groups of large shrubs to small trees are the magnolias. Their cultural requirements aresimple. Theyneed reasonably deep fertile soil, good drainage and plenty of moisture. Most grow inpartialshadetofullsun.Thosethat flower early need protection from strong winds and late frosts. We do occasionally get frosted buds. However, this is more of a problem furthersouth.Theyaretolerantofheavy clay soil and will grow in polluted city air. Some will grow in alkaline soils (Magnolia x loebneri) but they prefer, as most plants do, a slightly acidic soil. They all have large flowers ranging from whites through creams and yellows to pinks and plumreds.Manyhavecucumber-like fruits opening to show red seeds.
Whenever I go to Stratford, I look to see if the native cucumber tree
(Magnoliaacuminata)onthemainstreet is stillhealthy. Thishas greenish flowers and is alarge size. Itis aCarolinian species, growing in the woods along the north shore of Lake Erie and is on the Ontario endangered list.
Elizabeth is one of my favourites. It has large, primrose yellow, gobletshaped flowers. It is a vigourous grower with large, long oval leaves. Theflowersdonotallcomeoutatonce butintwo orthree waves. In the summer, the plant makes a good backgroundforvariousperennials. Thetan brown fall leaves emphasize some of thebrilliantmaplesnearby. I am pruning my specimen to make a small tree. If I had kept the lower branches, it wouldbe a shrub.
I found most of my magnolias at Royal Botanical Gardens (Hamilton) sales inearly May. Good selections are available locally. One I nearly bought is Yellow Lantern whichhasbrighter coloured flowers, but smaller than Elizabeth .
Betty has plum red petals which are pale inside. It flowers later than Elizabeth . RoyalStar is a cultivar of early flowering Magnolia stellata. The flowers have small strap-shaped petals,makingastar. RoyalStar haspale pinkbuds, opening to pink.
Look for others in the Magnolia
stellatagroup,others,like Betty inthe Girlseries,Magnoliaxloebneri"Leonard Messel and Merrill , some of the formsoftheusualsaucermagnolia M. xsoulangiana Alexandrina or Rustica Rubra .
In general, magnolias are trouble free. However, there is a serious scale parts of the Toronto area. Check new plantscarefully. Ifitarriveshere, Iwill forget my no spray policy!
Followup: Thelastplantfeatured,Polemonium caeruleum Brise d Anjou , hated the hot dry summer. It died down, but is coming back. Mine had too much sun; plus I was away.
Anna Leggatt is a Toronto Master Gardener, a member ofGarden Writers Association ofAmerica and a mad rock gardener.
All welcome to Master Gardeners Seminar at the CGC Sunday, November 29, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Admission: $20 at the door
Speakers: Henry Koch, Biodiversity; Terry Mclintee, Stokes seed selection and new varieties; John Valleau, Heritage Perennials, New and unusual plants Bring your lunch. Beverages and dessert provided.