Explore the Kitchen Garder
TORONTO GARDENBOTANICAL
Anout Us
The Toronto Botanical Garden is a volunteer-based, charitable
organization whose purpose is to inspire passion, respect and understanding of gardening, horticulture, the natural landscape and a healthy environment. Since its inception in 1958, the Toronto Botanical Garden, formerly The Civic Garden Centre, has encouraged, stimulated and educated
countless Canadian gardeners. Almost 50 years later, the Toronto Botanical Garden has expanded its vision and set a goal to become aself-sustaining urban oasis while making Toronto the most horticulturallyenlightenedcityintheworld.
nursery and seed catalogues as well as a great selection of children s gardening books. Horticultural Information Services offers free gardening information year-round, and shop TBG has manyunique gifts, books and gardening supplies for sale. The
Teaching Garden has been created as a working garden to foster interest and educate people in the love and values of gardening and the natural world. As well, the TBG has a wide variety of banquet halls, meeting rooms and show space, with access to Edwards Gardens, one of Toronto s favourite garden spots.
3¢ Directory & Hours of Operation
777 Lawrence Ave. East Toronto, ON M3C 1P2
Administrative Offices: Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Library: Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
shopTBG: Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Library and shop TBG open for some special events and holidays: call 416-397-1340 to inquire.
Telephone: 416-397-1340; Fax: 416-397-1354
E-mail: info@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
Master Gardeners Info Line: 416-397-1345
Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, Sunday & Holidays noon to 3 p.m. or www.torontomastergardeners.ca
Communications: 416-397-1351 communication@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
Courses: 416-397-1362; programs@torontobotanicalgarden.ca Donation Inquiries: 416-397-1483
annualgiving@torontobotanicalgarden.ca Events: 416-397-1484 events@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
Executive Director: 416-397-1346 director@torontobotanicalgarden.ca Horticultural Services: 416-397-1358 horticulture@torontobotanicalgarden.ca Library: 416-397-1343; library@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
Rentals: 416-397-1349; rentals@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
Teaching Garden: 416-397-1355 teachinggarden@torontobotanicalgarden.ca shopTBG: 416-397-1357 shop@torontobotanicalgarden.ca Volunteer Co-ordinator: 416-397-4145 volunteers@torontobotanicalgarden.ca
3 Patrons
HONORARY PATRON: Adrienne Clarkson
BrianBixley, AwdreyClarke, Mark Cullen, Camilla Dalglish, Sondra Gotlieb, Marjorie Harris, Lorraine Johnson, Michele Landsberg, SusanMacauley, Helen Skinner
3% Board of Directors
PRESIDENT: Geoffrey Dyer
Marisa Bergagnini, Susan Burns, Dugald Cameron, Peter Cantley, Bob Crump, LindsayDale-Harris, Kathy Dembroski, Tony DiGiovanni, Heather Dickson, Suzanne Drinkwater, James E. Eckenwalder, Ralph Fernando, Mary Fisher, Colomba B. Fuller, Janet Greyson, Bill Harding, Marjorie Harris, Janet Karn, Sonia Leslie, Rosemary Phelan,Jean Read, Roberta Roberts, Dawn Scott
3¢
Staff Members
Executive Director
Director, Communications
Program Co-ordinator
Special Events Supervisor
Special Events Assistant
Director, Horticulture
Head Gardener
TaxonomicAssistant
Manager, shopTBG
Director of Development
Fundraising Assistant
Margo Welch
Jenny Rhodenizer
Graham Curry
Stephanie Chiang
Joanna Verano
Cathie Cox
David Leeman
Amanda King
Brad Keeling
Melanie Gaertner
Sarah Durnan
Children s Programs Supervisor Tobin Day
Children s Programs Co-ordinator Caley Baker
Facility Sales Co-ordinator Kristin Campbell
Maintenance Supervisor
Maintenance Officers
Volunteer Intern
Librarian
Receptionists
Accountant
Administrator
Walter Morassutti
Alvin Allen, Jack Speranza
Tanya Ziat
Leanne Hindmarch
Nancy Kostoff
Tanya Ziat
Joe Sabatino
Shirley Lyons
Volume 33 3% Number 5
EDITOR
Lorraine Flanigan
DESIGN
June Anderson
TRELLIS COMMITTEE
JennyRhodenizer
VOLUNTEER
EDITORIALASSISTANTS
T. Coombes, M. Magee
VOLUNTEER PROOFREADERS
M. Bruce, J. Campbell, P. Heinz, L. Hickey, K. Sundquist
ADVERTISING
Printed by Harmonj' Printing on recycled paper
Trellis is published six times a year as a members newsletter by the Toronto Bota Edwards Gardens.
No remuneration is Articles, manuscripts and advems ing material must be received by the first of the month to ensure publication eight weeks later. For example, material for the Nov./Dec. 2006, issue must be received by September 8, 2006. Opinions expressed in 7reliis do not necessarily reflect those of the TBG. Submissions mybe edited for style and clarlty
All rights reses in whole or in ited withoutwritten Charitable busi
from theTBG
by Margo Welch ¢ EXEcUTIVE DIRECTOR I
Sustainable landscapes
The American Public Gardens Association
(APGA) held its annual conference in San Francisco at the end of June with the theme, Sustainability: Walking the Talk.
Sustainability is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This concept has taken hold in the minds and actions of many citizens, and we now see more businesses and industry embracing the philosophy. The greening ofour urban areas is an important part of creating sustainable cities, and, as keynote speaker Paul Saffo stated, public gardens have a critical role to play in promoting and educating their communities in responsible gardening and nature preservation. He sees global gardening as a critical piece in countering the effects of pollution and environmental degradation due to human activity.
The conference addressed many subjects through a sustainability lens, from plant conservation to education, volunteerism to fundraising and ofcourse design. An inspiring session on the use of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environ-
mental Design) principles provided examples of recent projects. The TBG s own LEED-registered project stood up well in this company and reinforced the importance of showcasing this approach to development.
As LEED primarily addresses buildings, forward thinkers in the communities of public gardens and landscape architecture have taken the principles and guidelines of sustainability and begun to apply them to landscape development. Still in the early stages, SITESS (Systems Integration Tool for Environmentally Sustainable Sites) is developing measurements and guidelines for the landscape industry in the United States. Once in place, these guidelines will be enormously helpful in setting the standards for the best in green design.
The TBG is committed to environmental responsibility, and we strive to incorporate this value in all we do. The new gardens and building addition stand as great examples. We are demonstrating that wonderful design and low environmental impact are compatible, and we hope that people will come to see what s possible and apply what they learn at home and work.®@
CELEBRATING A 50-YEAR COLLABORATION
This year the Garden Club ofToronto is celebrating its 60th anniversary of community involvement with a flower festival to be held at St. Anne s Anglican Church on Saturday, September 30, and Sunday, October 1. St. Anne s is a national historic site that features Byzantine architecture and interior decoration by the Group of Seven. The Garden Club is decorating the church and renovating the front garden. Open to the public, the festival promises to be a highlight of the fall calendar. The Garden Club ofToronto has an almost 50-year history of partnership with the TBG and was responsible for creating our organization, which started asThe Civic Garden Centre in 1958. Throughout the decades the Garden Club has actively supported the TBG with memberships (all Garden Club members are members of theTBG), fundraising and participation in our development. Its most recent contribution is the Entry Garden Walk and Arrival Courtyard that welcomes visitors to our renovated building. We congratulate the Garden Club on its wonderful record of community involvement and look forward to another 50 years of collaboration!
Friends of the Toronto Botanical Garden
Thank you to the following Friends for providing generous support towards our programs and services. Our Friends are fundamental to the TBG s ability to educate and provide the community with the most valuable and up-to-date information on gardening and horticulture. The following individuals made donations to the Friends Program from May 6 to June 30, 2006.
DIRECTOR S CIRCLE ($2500+) FRIENDS (5140 - $299)
Janet Greyson Anonymous (2)
Rosemary Phelan
SPONSORS
($600 - $999)
Mona Campbell
Wendy Crean
SUSTAINING MEMBERS
($300 - $599)
Heather & George Dickson
Tony DiGiovanni (Landscape
FRIENDS PROGRAM
Mildred Alexander
Katy Anderson
Janet Ballantyne
Jennifer Bloomfield
Ruth Bolt
Mary Lou Carter
John Cartmell
Louise Golding
Patricia Godson Gray Ontario)
Jim Harbell
Frances & Julia Johnson
Carolyn Kearns
Marion Lambert
Janet Marsh-Frosst
Barbara Murchie
Joan Williams
Caterina Kruitwagen
Kathleen Lackie
Mary Lee Laing
John McColl
Brenda & William Robinson
Maureen Simpson
Barbara Stephen
Valerie Story
Gilbert & Marion Warburton
Margo Welch
Thank you to all our current and past Friends. We appreciate and value your support. If you haven t become a Friend, now is the time! We have revised our Friends program to provide significant benefits to you and your family. For example, we have created a new $5,000+ level called the President s Circle, which includes special benefits such as an exclusive behind-thescenes tour of the TBG Gardens with a Master Gardener as well as reserved seating at all Edwards Lectures. The new benefits are effective June 30, 2006. Friends who joined before this date will receive the benefits designated at the time of their enrolment. (For example, a Sustaining Member who joined on June 29, 2006 will still receive two tickets to Through the Garden Gate in 2007.) There is no change to TBG membership benefits. Should you have any questions regarding these new benefits, please contact Melanie Gaertner, Director of Development, at 416-397-1372 or development @torontobotanicalgarden.ca.
Designed to educate and inspire, the Toronto Botanical Garden invites the public to tour its new building and stunning array of contemporary
gardens spanning nearly four acres.
GARDEN OPENING CELEBRATIONS
Saturday, September 16, 2006
10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Ceremony, 11:30 a.m.
Architect & Landscape Architect Talks
Ask an Expert in Each of 12 Themed Gardens Interactive Programs & Demonstrations for
Adults and Children
Toronto Botanical Garden
777 Lawrence Avenue East (at Leslie)
Toronto M3C 1P2
Information: 416-397-1340; www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca
A harvest of kid-friendly veggies
LIKE MOST GARDENERS, we start each winter trying to imagine what the Teaching Garden will look like the next season. Unlike most gardeners, we need to find plants that will not just look beautiful but that will have some quality (smell, colour or texture) that will hold a child s interest. The Teaching Garden includes demonstration gardens with educational and whimsical themes as well as hands-on plots that are planted and cared for by children.
The hands-on plots are filled mainly with vegetables, a few fruits (strawberries made an appearance this year) and some extras that are favourites of the kids who visit, including giant sunflowers and morning glory vines. In addition to making the garden fun and interesting for kids, we have other important considerations when planning what we will grow. From June to October, most of the garden s vegetables are harvested and donated to the North York Harvest Food Bank, so we plant a variety of vegetables that will produce continuing crops throughout the spring and summer. The vegetables also must be relatively easy for kids to harvest (with a little help) this means a lot of bean and pea plants but no hot peppers! When spring school
programs start, it s always our first day of planting. Nearly all of the classes that visit the Teaching Garden get a chance to sow seeds. This year, our first spring school program was held very early, on April 18. Planting this early means that we need seeds that grow happily in cool wet ground, such as peas.
The seeds of nearly all of the vegetables are sown directly into the garden, which is the easiest way to plant with large groups of children.
Beyond these considerations, we want to make the garden a place that kids really want to visit. The attention-getting vegetables planted in the Teaching Garden this summer included those with unusual colouring such as Violet Queen (purple) and Cheddar (orange) cauliflowers, Russian Blue potatoes, Purple Haze carrots, and Chocolate Beauty sweet bell peppers. We also planted Eight Ball summer squash, which produces perfectly round, billiard ball-sized fruit, and Turk s Turban gourds. Some plants were chosen for their quirky, kid-friendly names such as Mister Red and Rat s Tail radishes, Intimidator cucumbers, Frisky corn, Mr. Stripey tomatoes and Baby Boo pumpkins.
Kids love to taste anything that they have helped plant, care for or harvest, including things that are often considered kid-unfriendly like raw zucchini and cauliflower. And if working in the garden means an opportunity to get wet and dirty, kids are more than happy to help out.®
1 Marjorie Harris our Editor-at-Large answers your gardening questions.
Ideas and Inspiration
Design solutions for condo terraces and backyards big and small plus easy-to-do garden projects
3 Information
Learn the secrets of good garden design plus lessons from garden makeovers.
4 What to Buy
What you need in plants, tools and garden accessories.
Outdoor Decor Solutions
Learn how to bring beauty and style to your outdoor living space.
The Secret Life of the TBG
by Kristin Campbell, Facility Sales Co-ordinator
FOR MANY MEMBERS,
the Toronto Botanical Garden is a great place to learn about gardening but our building has another, secret, life.
Year-round we host events ofall kinds everything from the horticultural society meetings to a wide range of social and business gatherings. Our pretty patios and newly renovated building have made us a coveted location for weddings, and our calendar is full of brides and grooms almost every weekend from spring to winter!
The Westview Terrace is a popular venue for weddings.
Cancer Centre holds its annual Dimensions of Cancer lecture program here, which attracts over * 300 attendees. The Bedford Park Parents Association held a fundraiser that featureda live band and a retro theme that transformed the Floral Hall. Another group, called Man to Man, has held regular meetings here for over 10 years, providing information and support to men with prostate and related cancers.
We have hosted beautiful Hindu weddings, complete with mehndi parties, at which the women of the family decorate their hands and feet with henna designs, and the traditional mandap, or canopy, under which the marriage ceremony takes place. One bride and groom held their ceremony on our newly planted Westview Terrace, where they spoke their vows in front of the picturesque waterfall and water channel. Yet another couple arrived in a doubledecker bus, a salute to the bride s British parents. Every wedding at the TBG is unique, but there is one common element all of the couples want to incorporate the outdoors into their weddings and welcome their guests into a pretty garden. Sometimes they do that by inviting guests to tour the gardens before the reception, but sometimes it simply means a jazz trio plays on the patio of the Floral Hall during a cocktail reception.
We also host all sorts of business events through the week. In July, Rogers daytime toronto was broadcast live from our Floral Hall and patios. We also proudly host many events for non-profit organizations that benefit from our reasonable rental rates. Sunnybrook Regional
The North York Astronomical Association meets at the TBG monthly, as do Ontario Nature, the Osteoporosis Society, Landscape Ontario and many other organizations and associations. Some of our rental clients have brought in the most interesting speakers, such as an association for probation and parole officers who invited Phan Thi Kim Phic, the child captured in the iconic photograph taken as she fled a napalm attack during the Vietnam war. Amazingly, Kim spoke about forgiveness and healing.
Naturally, we are also home to horticultural societies, which sponsor interesting speakers and hold plant sales of unusual and rare plants. In February, we host the Southern Ontario Orchid Society s annual show and sale, which attracts thousands of visitors who come to see the exotic blooms. The Society of Ontario Nut Growers holds its tree auction each year in our Garden Hall, and the price and variety of trees available make it a mustsee for any budding arborist!
If you or someone you know are planning a meeting or special event, please mention our name you ll be doing a favour for both them and the TBG! For more information, contact 416397-1349 or rentals@torontobotanicalgarden.ca.
Plots of Paradise
Lorraine Huntervisits the Leslie StreetAllotment Gardens and discovers a community as diverse as theflowers and vegetables itgrows.
1. A raised garden
2. A river of blue glass pebbles flows through this desert garden
3. A white picket fence frames this charming cottage garden
THERE IS A PATCHWORK QUILT of gardens at the foot of Leslie Street where gardeners of all ages and nationalities work side by side creating their own versions of Eden.
People may differ on what they plant in their individual plots flowers, vegetables, cacti, herbs, sweet grass but when the City ofToronto recently wanted to shear off several plots to expand a bike path (part of the Martin Goodman Trail) running past the gardens, these gardeners banded together to sign a petition ofprotest. The
result? They got the path moved to a shadier stretch across the road on the west side of Leslie Street and saved the gardens. The allotment gardeners had actually been responsible for establishing the bike path in the first place as a way to ride to their plots. So it s not surprising that many of the cyclists who actually use the path, some of whom also have garden plots, signed the petition to save the gardens.
We re a community, says Kate Middleton, representative of all the communities in the
city. Kate has been tending her plot for some 20 years, often riding her bike along the path from her home in the Beach to get there. We re all ages, of many different ethnic origins, she explained as we meandered through the site on a recent summer afternoon.
As ifon cue, Marie Silveri, who lives in a condo, looks up from weeding her peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, mesclun and arugula. I'm of Italian background, she says. My parents gardened. [ feel close to them when I am out here.
Many families bring their kids down here to teach them how to garden, to learn aboutwildlife and the names of birds, Kate said, pointing out a pair of mockingbirds. There is a groundhog hole on my plot. We also have lots of raccoons, rabbits and coyotes. A pond on one site could not be filled with water this spring because there was a robin s nest in it and the gardener had to wait til the babies hatched and took off.
Touring the site, I spotted separate patches of potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, Jerusalem cherries, onions, beets, rainbow chard, giant cabbages, many different kinds of lettuces, peas, radishes, melons, herbs such as oregano, marjoram, and chamomile and even grapes.
And the flowers! Tall delphiniums, lupines, blanket flowers, evening primroses, poppies, daisies, alliums, daylilies, phlox. Not to mention such sweetly scented climbers as roses, clematis and honeysuckle clambering over all manner of trellises wood, metal, plastic.
Some of the plots are neatly laid out with wooden, stone or brick pathways with strategically placed garden chairs or benches. Many have raised beds; some are planted with vegetables in the square-foot or three square-foot style, a popular method for growing a lot of vegetables in a small area. One plot is like a miniversion ofthe Living Desert with several sedum, colourful blooming cacti, hens and chicks and other succulents accented with a river of blue glass pebbles running through it.
Plants grow so well here because we have great soil, says Kate, setting up her portable hose and sprinkler. It consists of lakefill and ash from the Ashbridges Bay incinerator. Toronto Parks brought in compost and people add their
own as well. There are no herbicides or pesticides allowed here.
Kate grows sweet grass, sage, catnip, hyssop and other herbs. For the past three years she has been taking sweet grass, a plant sacred to native North Americans used in healing rituals, to the Six Nations Council Fire. Kate became interested in native lore as a child when she went to Camp Big Canoe in Muskoka and local First Nations people took the kids to their island by canoe to teach them about native ways.
The Leslie Street Allotment Gardens became the first non-building to take part in Doors Open Toronto this spring when it invited the public in to see how dedicated residents can create a lasting effect on their community. Located on two acres behind a locked fence at the foot of Leslie Street, the gardens were created in March 1974 by seven residents of the Beach who wanted to provide a gardening area for people living in constant shade in the heavily treed neighbourhood.
Today, the site is a fantasy world of well over 200 small gardens. What started primarily as a fruit and vegetable site has grown to include garden plots with plant materials from around the world, punctuated by purple martin houses and sculptures.®
Lorraine Hunter is a garden writer and chair of the Trellis Committee.
ALLOTMENT AND COMMUNITY GARDENS
The rental fee for each plot at the Leslie Street Allotment Gardens is $53.50 per year (May 1 to October 15) and there is a long waiting list. There are other allotment and community gardens all over the city, however. Each year new requests are booked starting February 1 and allotted if plots become available ona first-come, first-served basis. For more information, see www.toronto.ca/parks/ programs/community.htm or call 416-392-8188.
CHRYSANTHEMUMS
. \\
Growers are working hard, saysJudyHernandez, to produce robust, reliably hardygarden mums.
GARDEN MUMS, writes Jim Kohut of Manitoba s Northscaping, can stand alone as the last bastion of summer colour before the killing frosts hit. These familiar fall flowers have undergone a revolution in the last few decades, though their cultivation has been ongoing for almost 3,000 years. Mum culture started in China before Confucius and in Europe and the United States during the late 1700s.
Today, chrysanthemums are designated as either greenhouse or garden mums. Greenhouse mums include potted houseplants and cut flowers (spray mums). These mums, also called florist s mums, are forced into bloom year-round, and the potted ones are usually discarded after blooming.
Some gardeners have planted potted mums in the hope of expanding their perennial collections, but these plants were not bred for hardiness and typically die in winter. The greenhouse group also includes mums bred for display at innumerable chrysanthemum shows worldwide.
The second group of mums is the garden varieties of Chrysanthemum x morifolium, the so-called hardy ones. Not all hardy mums have been reliably hardy in southern Ontario gardens. However, mum growers are revolutionizing the hardy-mum industry by producing more robust cultivars. As well, they are working feverishly to produce cultivars that satisfy gardeners desire for a riot of fall colour in the
Tigertail
Photos: Courtesy leffries Nurseries
Firestorm
garden. An ever-growing number of truly hardy mums are available from breeders like Jeffries Nurseries of Manitoba (including Chrysanthemum x morifolium Firestorm and C. x morifolium Tigertail ) and at the Morden Research Centre in Morden, Manitoba (including Morden Delight and Morden Canary ). Also, Yoder Canada has been developing reliably hardy cultivars and expects to introduce its new Igloo Series in 2007 in Canada and the United States. When buying mums, be aware that in the 1990s the genus Chrysanthemum was reclassified into a number of genera, including Dendranthema, Ajania, Leucanthemum andArgyranthemum, but to keep things simple, the new genera were eventually reclassified as
Chrysanthemum. Consequently, mums are sold under different names.
Garden mums thrive in well-drained, rich, organic soil; they prefer regular watering and most prefer full sun. For maximum chances of winter survival, these mums should be planted in spring to facilitate good root development by the fall. Unlike older cultivars, more recent ones don t require pinching to produce a bushy growth habit. Also, some new cultivars, like Morden Canary , start blooming as early as August long, long before the killing frosts hit.@
Judy Hernandez is a freelance garden writer, amateur plant photographer, and long-time member ofthe TBG.
eFall Chrysanthemum Showse
CNE GARDEN SHOW
Chrysanthemum Show, September 2 to 4 Heritage Court, Exhibition Place 416-263-3856
HAMILTON & DISTRICT CHRYSANTHEMUM & DAHLIA SOCIETY
Blooms Extraordinaire, September 9 to 10 Dundas Lions Memorial Community Centre 10 Market St. S., Dundas 905-575-3941
CANADIAN CHRYSANTHEMUM & DAHLIA SOCIETY
Mini Chrysanthemum Show, September 16 First Markham Place, Markham Main Chrysanthemum Show, September 23 Agincourt Mall, Scarborough
November 5 to 26 151 Elmcrest Rd., Etobicoke 416-394-8543
CITY OF HAMILTON, 86TH ANNUAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW
A Walk in the Woods, October 20 to 29 Gage Park, Gage Ave. & Lawrence Rd. 905-546-2424 x 4179
NIAGARA PARKS FLORAL SHOWHOUSE (formerly Niagara Parks Greenhouse)
Chrysanthemum Show, early November to mid-December 7145 Niagara River Parkway, Niagara Falls 877-642-7275 905-686-2834
ALLAN GARDENS CONSERVATORY,TORONTO
Fall Chrysanthemum Show, October 3 to mid-November Carleton and Jarvis Sts. 416-392-7288
CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVATORY,TORONTO Fall Chrysanthemum Show (garden mums), October 3 to 29
Japanese Chrysanthemum Show,
Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society
Learn more about mums by joining the Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society. Eight membership meetings a year at theToronto Botanical Garden, fourthThursday of the month, 8 p.m. (no meetings in July, September, November) annual general meeting and potluck supper in December, monthly bulletins and a yearbook; membership dues: $20 information, membership secretary: Janet McWilliam, 905-686-2834
Flora International
Carol Gardner discovers a breathtakinggarden show in OldMontreal.
f there s one thing that Montrealers underIstand, it' s passion. So, when International Flora Montreal opened a garden show that focuses on new ideas and a passion for gardening [ had to go. Considering that it s the first year (of a planned ten-year project), I wasn t expecting much. I was wrong. Flora, situated on the former Mosaiculture site in Montreal s historic Old Port, is breathtaking.
This year, over 40 designers, including representatives from Australia, France and England, have created gardens that stir the heart. Three Ontario designers are participating: Charles Hunter of the Niagara Parks Commission, Janet Rosenberg & Associates and Martin Wade Landscape Architects. The Niagara Parks garden features the attractions of the Niagara area, symbolized by oversized grapevine spheres. Rosenberg s garden a study in silver is called Sfumato after the Renaissance painting technique that focuses on the blending of one subtle tone into another. Despite the historic reference, it s totally modern and features oversized silver balls that can be seen from anywhere on the site.
Martin Wade is a name familiar to TBG members. His firm, along with Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, created the TBG s new Entry Garden Walk, so I wasn t surprised that his Filter garden at Flora was inventive and beautiful. In Wade s interpretation of a sensuous, urban retreat, tall, translucent purple and blue sails stand in the middle of a garden surrounded by plants. The sails, placed so that they mirror the opening of the petals ofthe passion flower (Passiflora), symbolize the role of plants in filtering air and water.
The most striking thing about Flora is the way that art, gardening, ecology and symbolism have been combined into a darned-near-perfect whole. But it s not all serious and philosophical! There s humour and whimsy galore. The Small Office Garden, created by British designers
ontreal 2006
Martin Wade s Filter Garden at International Flora.
Lizzie Taylor and Dawn Isaac, is based on a wireless office. Itwon a Silver Gilt award at the 2005 Chelsea Flower Show. A favourite garden of many attendees, I Spy from Quebec designers Williams, Asselin, Ackaoui et Associés, explores the subtle voyeurism of city life by placing spies (dressed in dark glasses, trench coats etc.) among the plants in a walled garden. And one of the garden beds is, well, a bed.
When [ visited, the plantings had just been completed, so the displays will improve as the summer progresses. But there are plants galore. There s a native plant showcase, alpine plants, a xeriscape garden, an organic vegetable garden, a hydroponic garden, green roofs and much more. No matter what your gardening interests, you'll find something to rave about at Flora. Go! And, while you re at it, eat a few frites, drink a little wine and buy a new pair of shoes. After all, it is Montreal!®@
P LIS LIS LRSS C R C S
Carol Gardner is an award-winning garden writer and member ofthe Trellis Committee.
check the Web site at www.viarail.ca/garden. Flora runs until October 9, 2006, and will reopen next June. For more information, visit the Web site at www.floramontreal.ca o -866 55 FLORA
__The Kitchen Garden
Growing a harvest ofJapanese vegetables
by Cathie Cox, Director, Horticulture
esigned as a traditional English kitchen D garden, the Kitchen Garden at the TBG has a framework of espaliered fruit trees, grape vines and currant, raspberryand gooseberry bushes sheltered and supported by a tall fence (instead of the more traditional brick wall). The fruit trees are underplanted with European and English culinary herbs, strawberries and rhubarb.
Within this traditional framework, the vegetables in the central beds will be chosen to reflect our city s cultural and culinary diversity. The theme of this area will change eachyear, which fits nicely with the cycle of care of most vegetables, which are annuals and need to be replanted every year. Not only will we try to plant the whole gamut of vegetables that would be eaten by a single culture or country, but we also hope to grow or train them in the particular manner in which they would grow in their native country. We also plan to demonstrate how these vegetables should be cooked and eaten. At the end of the season, the harvested vegetables will be donated to the Food Bank. Given the wide range of backgrounds of the people who live in Toronto, it will take manyyears to thoroughly explore the entire cultural diversity of our city.
I have always grown vegetables and find the work rewarding and relaxing. I was taught at
TBGvelunteer
Kay Takaoka checks out'a . patch of greens.
school at the age of five how to grow broad beans and radishes and now rent a couple of allotments where [ grow tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers and that staple of the British diet, scarlet runner beans! In the allotments where I garden, most of the other gardeners are from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Japan, China, South Africa, Italy and the Caribbean. Once I have weeded, hoed and harvested my plot I find nothing more pleasant than walking around and seeing what everyone else has planted and how they are growing it. We readily trade vegetables and recipes.
This year, at the TBG s Kitchen Garden, we decided to grow the ingredients of the cuisine of Japan. To help us, we developed a group of advisers on the advice ofJames Heron, executive director of the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre. Collectively, the group had knowledge ofJapanese garden design, of the traditional vegetables that have been eaten in Japan since the early part of this century and of the ways to prepare them. Ms Sue Nishiyama, Ms Nobuka Horada, Ms Lily Yamamota and Mr Scott Fujita advised us on what to grow and how to prepare the vegetables for consumption. They also generously volunteered to help demonstrate how to cook them.
We found a Japanese seed company, Kitazawa Seed Co., and placed an order for many varieties
of leafy vegetables, radishes, onions, pumpkins, squash, cucumbers and beans.
Our biggest challenge was waiting until June when the garden would be ready to plant, and the second was determining the germination rate ofeach vegetable [ had no idea! On the surface, this may not seem a big problem but most vegetable gardeners have a general understanding and innate knowledge that guides them in how and when to plant seeds. For instance, peas and carrots don t germinate well in hot temperatures so when planting in June, you would plant twice as much seed as you would if planting in the cooler month of April. Accordingly, because the growing season was fairly advanced, we decided to plant nearly double the amount that common sense would otherwise dictate.
We planted everything on a Monday. Four days later, we stared in amazement at the forest of tiny seedlings that had pushed their way into the world! A month later, we were still fascinated by the variety oflush, healthy plants thatwere growing in straight tidy rows. Each had taken on its own characteristics and all were well on their way to producing a healthy and rewarding harvest. Yuki Ishikawa, a student fromJapan, has cared for the garden, keeping it weed free and applying compost and fertilizers when needed.
We planted leafy vegetables, including lacyleaved mizuna and mibuna (Brassica rapa Mizuna Group) which can be eaten raw in a salad or lightly steamed as a side dish. Mustard greens (Brassica juncea) are also popular in Japan and are represented in the garden by chirimen hakarashi (B.j. Head Mustard Group) andhatakena (B.j. LeafMustard Group), which can be eaten raw, cooked in a stir-fry or pickled. Pickling is a popular method of preserving a variety of veggies from komatsuna (Brassica rapa Perviridis Group), a member of the turnip family, to daikon radishes (Raphanus sativus), which grow larger or longer than the radishes that may be more familiar to us. Tokinashi, with its pungent, spicy white flesh, is the most popular daikon. It is harvested at 25 to 40 centimetres (10 to 16 inches) long and can be eaten in a salad or grated and mixed with soy sauce to make a dipping sauce for tempura. Sakurajima
mammoth is known as the largest radish in the world and can grow to 100 pounds. This could make for an interesting harvest! Green and red perillas (Perilla frutescens var. crispa), also called shiso, are grown for salads, to wrap sushi, as a garnish for sashimi or to colour pickled ginger. Shiso seeds are one of the seven essential spices of Japanese cooking and date back more than 700 years.
Perhaps the most important vegetable family in the Japanese diet is the cucurbit (Cucurbitaceae). These include cucumber, pumpkin, bitter melon and gourds. Unique forms developed in Japan because of its geographic and political isolation up until the mid-nineteenth century. Chirimen (Cucurbita maxima), a flattened globular winter squash with a green warty skin, has moist yellow flesh, and the shishigatani pumpkin (Cucurbita moschata), which is eaten by Buddhist priests, has dark green wrinkled skin and light brown flesh. Gourds have manyuses and also come in different shapes and colours. Bitter melon (Momordica charantia) has edible shoots, leaves and fruit that become increasingly bitter as the plant matures. It's used most commonly in stir-fries.
Yomogi or Japanese mugwort (Artemisia princeps) is a strong-tasting herb traditionally eaten in the form of dumplings with rice. A little of this can go a long way, whether boiled, stewed or eaten raw. Mitsuba (Cryptotaenia Jjaponica), or Japanese parsley, is used to decorate dishes at Japanese weddings because it s thought to bring good luck. Chrysanthemum greens (Glebionis coronaria) are popular Japanese vegetables rich in vitamin B and minerals. They are used in tempura and sukiyaki, and, along with the flowers, in salads and soups. The flowers are also dipped in sake at the beginning of a meal for good health and a long life.
Growing Japanese vegetables has expanded our knowledge and awareness of a different culture and cuisine. We look forward to an interesting harvest, tasting and learning how to cook all of these various vegetables.
Next year we hope to grow Thai vegetables and welcome anyone with an interest in or knowledge of how to grow them.®
Meet TBG Head Gardener DAVID LEEMAN
by Carol Gardner
THE TBG S HEAD gardener, David Leeman, doesn t let the grass grow under his feet. He came to the TBG in April via his hometown of Barrie, through Nigeria and Swaziland and then back to Toronto. Gardening is in his blood; as a child he had a vegetable garden and, by the time he was a teenager, he had planted a native plant garden in his family s backyard.
TBG Head Gardener, David Leeman, takes a rare break.
David studied environmental engineering (plants, trees, ecosystems and engineering) and worked for five years with Barrie s Municipal Department of Engineering and Public Works. He and a partner had a business, The Hardy Plant Boys, importing plants from the United Kingdom and Canada s west coast. He then did a complete about-face and travelled to Africa, spending a couple of years with non-governmental agencies in Nigeria and Swaziland, working at a refugee camp, on a child immunization initiative and on water sanitation programs. That experience, he says, was amazing and gave him more respect for all the things we have here .
Returning to Canada, he decided to pursue his first love gardening. He moved to Toronto and joined all the horticultural societies and started his own design-build landscaping business. That brought him to work with David Tomlinson of Merlin s Hollow whom he considers his mentor.
After seven years, he gave up running his own business to work for the TBG. Why? He had been a TBG (and Civic Garden Centre) member for a long time and was aware of the planned changes and, he explains, I wanted to be in on the beginning of it all, working with a blank canvas and putting the right plants in the right place. He also knew that his engineering
background would be an advantage in working alongside the renovators.
The day I met him, David was planting, preceded by a group of volunteers who were madly weeding to make room. It simply couldn t be done without the volunteers, he says, and we could use more ! He also has great praise for the Landscape Ontario members who planted the trees and shrubs and for Sheridan Nurseries who donated much of the plant material. And he says that it s a pleasure working with TBG horticulturist Cathie Cox.
Like a good parent refusing to favour one child over another, David insists that he has no favourite garden bed or plant. However, I did notice that he has a particular fondness for a couple ofthings: the collection of hellebores that he brought back from Wales himself, and the redbud (Cercis canadensis) garden which features a number of different specimens, including a weeping variety (Cercis canadensis Lavender Twist Covey ).
What s next? He was awaiting with delight the installation of the automated watering system; until then, it s a matter of hand watering the garden no small proposition when you consider the heat of late spring and early summer. There are, ofcourse, small problems, not the least ofwhich is the lily leafbeetles (Lilioceris lilii) that insist on making a meal of the Fritillaria. But when you ve been where he s been, it s easy to keep your perspective. Perhaps that s why he seems like just the right person, in the right place, at the right time. @
Carol Gardner is an award-winning garden writer and member ofthe Trellis Committee.
Western Australia
September 25-Ottober 11,2007 * LandCost: US$3650 (Apprm\) e way.
Leader: Vonnie Cave.Vonmcis a well known garden writer and *hnt bhotographerin g 2 her native New Zealand. Vonnie has led more than a dozen wildflower tours to this area.
Sichuan & Yunnan
Leader: Peter Cunnington. Peter is an experienced and very popular leader who has accompanied numerous trips, including ourvery successful wildflower trips to the mountains ofChina and Europe.
Bulbs for Fall Planting
At shopTBG, says manager Brad Keeling, you' llfind an enticing assortment oftulips, crocuses and daffodils.
Welcome spring with crocuses
e Early bunching snow crocus, Crocus chrysanthus
Prins Claus , features large white flowers with a dark blue oval blotch. 30 bulbs, $7.99
You ll want to grow the bicoloured mauve and dove grey petals of giant crocus C. Vanguard front and centre at the edge of the border. 20 bulbs, $9.99
Dig into the fall gardening season with Watson s botanically correct gloves. eGreen rubber coated palm, seamless, breathable knit cotton back. Sizes from extra small to extra large, $7.95 pair.
5
Couftesy International Flower Bulb Information Center.
Dreamy early spring tulips
o Tulipa Apricot Dream is a single early bloomer that grows 25 to 45 centimetres (10 to 18 inches) tall and features deep yellowy orange petals flushed with pink. 10 bulbs, $7.99
e The ivory petals of 7. Shirley s Dream are edged with bright violet-purple wow! Grows 45 centimetres (18 inches) tall. 10 bulbs, $9.99
Mid-spring flowering Triumph tulips
o T. Cracker stands 40 centimetres (16 inches) tall and features royal purple petals with a pristine white edge. 10 bulbs, $8.99
e The fiery red blooms of 7. El Cid are rimmed with yellow and mature to a rich purple edged in gold. Growsa stately 50 to 56 centimetres (20 to 22 inches) tall. 10 bulbs, $10.99
REMEMBER, TBG MEMBERS RECEIVE A 10-PER-CENT DISCOUNT ON ALL PURCHASES.
A feathery parrot tulip
Like all of the parrot tulips, 7. Super Parrot makes a spectacular show in the " garden. White petals are feathered in green. Grows 25 centimetres (10 inches) tall. 10 bulbs, $9.99
It s easy to be true to Fidelity daffodils
e Light yellow petals surround the large pink trumpet ofNarcissus Fidelity . Grows 25 to 50 centimetres (10 to 20 inches) tall. 5 bulbs, $11.99
OVER THE SUMMER the Kitchen Garden and theTeaching Garden were plagued by Japanese beetles. Before they stripped the well-tended crops, Head Gardener David Leeman and Horticulturist Cathie Cox put their heads together to find a way of combatting them. What they found was a better beetle trap. The Japanese Beetle Trap by Safer s is a natural way of controlling these insects by luring females into a bag with a floral scent and enticing male beetles with pheromones. Leeman attests that the trap works the first time he put it out, in minutes his hat was covered with beetles making a beeline to the lures. Japanese BeetleTrap available at shopTBG, $19.99.
Thursday, September 14, 2006 at the Toronto Botanical Garden Tickets $350
AnEveningofEnchantment Enjoycocktails in the newlyinstalledgardens, adinnep4 and temptingdessertsbymoorflig
Contact SarahDurna: annualgiving@torontoh©, @ r details.
by Anna Leggatt
Eremurus - foxtail lily, desert candle
EREMURUS (e-ree-murus) is the superstar of the spring and early summer garden. Dense spires bearing small lily-like flowers push out of the ground, surprising neighbours as they rapidly reach as much as three metres (nine feet) in height. The bold floral spikes ofEremurus, commonly known as foxtail lilies or desert candles, are formed of hundreds of downward-facing individual flowers that cover the top third of the stem, and they can measure as much as one metre (three feet) long.
There are 41 species of Eremurus, which grow in the wild in grasslands stretching from the Crimea and Iran to Afghanistan and the Himalayas. Only four species and their hybrids can be easily found in nurseries and mail-order catalogues: Eremurus himalaicus which has white flowers and grows to about 1.5 metres (five feet); the aptly named pale pinkE. robustus which leaps to 3.5 metres (11 feet); the dwarf E. stenophyllus which grows less than a metre (three feet) high with flowers that are soft yellow deepening to pale orange as they mature; andE. x isabellinus Ruiter and Shelford Hybrids, which bloom in a variety of colours, including white, cream, yellow, orange, rose or pinky peach. My favourite is E. x isabellinus Cleopatra with soft salmon-orange flowers. The Ruiter and Shelford Hybrids are shorter than most other foxtail lilies, usually growing only to about one metre (three feet) tall. E. himalaicus and E. robustus are hardy to Zone 5, but the E. isabellinus cultivars,E. stenophyllus and Ruiter and Shelford Hybrids are hardy only to Zone 6. The tall varieties look best at the back of a flower bed, placed against a background of evergreens. They do not like being moved and will grow happily for up to 15 years. Sometimes they exhaust themseves with overflowering. Avon Bulbs in the United Kingdom suggests that shaded roots during the summer reduces flowering.
This may be true here in 3¢5 Ontario as my shaded S¥% 4 plants did not live for Sk more than four years.
The dormant roots of Eremurus can be found * for sale in the fall, along %% with bulbs and corms C; (although theyare neither, ps> § but simply swollen roots). " Theirrootsradiate fromthe dormant crown up to as 'Z',\ much as 36 centimetres(14 inches) across, reminding me of brown octopuses. Plant them in a sunny place in rich, well-draining soil. Dig a hole 40 centimetres wide by 20 centimetres deep (16 inches by 8 inches) and mix in %\ some compost or manure. Make a cone in % the middle of the hole and place the root over it so that the buds sit a scant 10 centimetres (four inches) below the soil s surface. These plants hate being moved, so choose your spot wisely. Mulch over the winter with evergreen boughs, oak leaves or compost, and be sure to protect emerging buds from spring frosts. In the spring, tufts of thin long leaves will appear, then die down as the flower stalks appear.
Growing Eremurus from seed requires patience. Plant in small pots in the fall and keep outdoors. Germination may be slow; seedlings may reach flowering size in about three years, but more commonly take up to six years.®
Please consider collecting Eremurus seeds for the Toronto Botanical Garden 2007 Seed Exchange. See page 24 for details.
Anna Leggatt is a Master Gardener and tireless TBG volunteer.
lllustration: Jocelyn Mann
The Garden Club of Toronto Celebrates its 60th Anniversary of Community Involvement
at St Anne s Anglican Church
This National Historic Site is Canada s only Byzantine Anglican church and houses the sole collection of religious art by members of the renowned Group of Seven. The front garden will be restored to complement St. Anne's unique design and a Floral Carpet will lead you into this beautiful church where floral artistry will enhance the rich interior. The church will be open to the public on:
Saturday September 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday October 1st, from 11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. St. Anne s is located at 270 Gladstone Avenue near Dufferin and Dundas. Admission is free. For more information telephone Roy Schatz 416-922-44185; St. Anne s 416-536-3160; Garden Club of Toronto 416-447-5218 or visit www.stannes.on.ca.
TBG Café MENU
SANDWICHES From $4.82
Ham & Cheese ® Tuna
Veggie & Cheese ® Brie & Apple
Hummus ¢ Chicken Melt ® Asparagus
Ask about our Sandwich of the Week!
SALADS From $4.38
Mozzarella ® Chicken ¢ Greek DESSERTS ¢ SNACKS DRINKS ¢ ICE CREAM 00000
Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Saturday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
647-297-7416
. THE 2007 ' EXCHANGE by October 25!
The success of the TBG Seed Exchange depends on your generous donations of seed collected from your gardens over the summer. It s a wonderful way to acquire new plants and to learn about growing from seed.
To submit, please send cleaned seeds in a well-sealed paper envelope. (Make sure the seed doesn t leak out of the corners.) Label the envelope with the scientific and common name, the type of plant (e.g., annual, perennial, bulb, vine), flower colour, bloom time, height (in centimetres) and any notes of interest. Also include a complete list of seeds that you are donating. Remember, donors orders are filled first!
Send seeds by October 25 to: Cathie Cox, Director, Horticulture
Toronto Botanical Garden
777 Lawrence Ave. E. Toronto M3C 1P2
(If your seeds ripen late, please send a note to indicate which seeds will be coming.)
A jet of water gets rid of aphids.
Q Aphids are devouring my beautiful threeyear-old honeysuckle vine (Lonicera x brownii Dropmore Scarlet ). It was just about to flower and is now shrivelling up. Should I prune it right down to the ground, or can I use some kind of environmentally friendly solution?
A Its amazing what damage such an innocuouslooking insect can do.To control aphids, start by taking out your hose and giving the entire plant a vigorous blast of water, making sure to reach tops and bottoms of leaves and stem joins. Aphids are a soft-bodied insect easily dislodged from the host plant. In some cases this treatment alone, done regularly, is sufficient. An insecticidal soap applied according to the directions on the container is also effective. For more information about controlling aphids, see the Toronto Master Gardener fact sheet at www.torontobotanicalgarden.ca/mastergardener/ Aphids.shtml.
Q What is the best method for mulching all my oak leaves? I hesitate to purchase one of those horrible noise-polluting leaf blowers unless I'm convinced it works as a mulcher. I previously used a giant food processor type mulcher. It worked like a charm until the motor burned out! The garden loved it it made lovely black leaf mould which I dug into the garden in the
spring. And I had no weeds either! The acid nature of the oak did not seem to bother the plants at all.
A 1It's wonderful that you are using your leaves for mulch. Lots of plants will thrive with oak leaf mulch, and many need it to grow well. Dried leaves make some of the best soil conditioners, and best of all they're free. Oak leaves are very tough and break down slowly if composted whole, so it s best to chop them up before applying them to the garden.There are leaf blowers that will suck up leaves, mulch them and deposit the mulch into a collection bag. They are noisy, but they are fast. You can rake the leaves into a pile and then suck them up, cutting down the time the machine is on. You can also mow the leaves with a lawn mower some have a mulching setting. Don t forget to wear ear, eye and foot protection when using this type of machinery, and happy mulching!
Shredding a bag full of leaves is easy with modern tools.
Do you have a question about gardening? Contact the Toronto Master Gardener s Info Line at 416-397-1345 or log on to www.torontomas tergardeners.ca andAsk a Master Gardener!
lllustrations: Vivien Jenkinson
by Leanne Hindmarch e Librarian
Connecting in California
THE ANNUAL MEETING of the Council on Botanical and Horticultural Libraries (CBHL), which took place in Los Angeles in May, provided the TBG Library with a unique opportunity to make connections with other horticultural libraries from around the world. CBHL is the leading professional organization in the field of botanical and horticultural information services. Its members come from all over North Americaas well as some from Europe. The TBG s Library has been involved with CBHL for many years The Civic Garden Centre hosted the annual meeting in 1973. It was a wonderful experience to continue this tradition and build connections with colleagues!
The week was one of learning as well as connecting. At the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Bart O Brien, senior staff research associate, talked about his specialty California native plants. His mention of the unfamiliar word chaparral sparked my interest. Upon my return | did some research and found that chaparral is the name for a common plant community in southern California (and other areas in the southwest United States). It refers to an area of thorny shrubs or stunted trees that grow in a dense, almost impenetrable thicket. The plants are well adapted to little water and high temperatures. Many of these plant species require fire (in the form of heat, smoke or charredwood) in order to germinate. The frequent fires that run through chaparral actually permit the vegetation to survive over the long term.
On the final day of the conference, at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, a number of garden writers and editors took part in a panel discussion on the challenges they face as researchers of garden literature and on the value of libraries for their work. One of the things they value
about libraries is our ability to save them time; by consulting libraries they can avoid wasting hours wading through information on the Internet, much of which is inaccurate. Libraries also allow easy comparison of texts; at the library you can sit at a table and open any number of books in order to compare information as you research, a task that is much more cumbersome on the Internet. The panel suggested that one thing they would appreciate more of from garden libraries is news and current information provided directly to them at home. I suspect that it is not just writers and editors who would find such a service valuable that s why the TBG Library is working to create services that do just that. Currently we have a What s New? section on our Web site, where bits of news are posted about the Library and about gardening and plants. Be sure to check this site for updates on library services as we add them!
The most important thing that I took away from the conference is that we have a wonderful horticultural resource here at the TBG. Few libraries accomplish as much as ours, have the support of so many incredible volunteers or create such a welcoming gathering place for all members of the garden-loving community. Ifyou haven t visited the Library in its new space, please stop by during our garden opening celebration on September 16.2
Book REVIEWS
The Allotment Book
By Andi Clevely
London: HarperCollins UK, 2006; 224 pages, $39.95
ALLOTMENT GARDENS (that is, a rented portion of grounds with specific conditions of tenure and use) were inspired by the need for access to other people s land by those with none of their own. This practice has been in existence steadily from the Middle Ages onward, primarily in Britain.
The Allotment Book is a guide to planning your plot, choosing what to grow and cultivation techniques. The handy allotment calendar indicates when to plant, what s in season and what needs doing. Lavishly illustrated with gorgeous photographs, this book is a veritable bible for allotment gardeners.
Andi Clevely has been a working gardener for years. He has always grown as much ofhis family s food as possible and is presently reclaiming a grassyallotment. He has written over 20 gardening books and numerous articles for which he has won recognition and awards from the Garden Writers Guild. He is a regular TV presenter.
Garden Plants and Flowers: A-Z Guide to the Best Plantsfor Your Garden
By Ian Spence
Canadian edition edited by Lorraine Johnson Toronto: Tourmaline Editions, 20006; 420 pages, $50
THE CANADIAN EDITION of this book shows you how to select the best plants for your garden and how to grow them successfully. It contains a pictorial guide to over 2,500 garden plants and flowers together with their growing habits and suitability for Canadian hardiness zones.
Include perennials, bulbs, tress, shrubs and climbers. Basic plant care is illustrated with step-by-step photographs and useful lists make it possible to choose the best plants for any site, including exposed seaside plots and gardens on steep slopes.
This indispensable reference tool will enable you to achieve year-round interest, regardless of where you garden or your level of expertise.
Reviewed byMadge Bruce
Bold and Brilliant Edwards Lectures 2006
SPEAKER: Stephen Lacey
Topric: Fragrance in the Garden
WHEN: Tuesday, October 3, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Floral Hall
According to Stephen Lacey, scent is the most potent and bewitching substance in the gardener s repertory and yet it is the most neglected and least understood. In this lecture, he will tell us about the many trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs and roses that provide fragrance in the garden.
Stephen Lacey is well known in the United Kingdom as a television personality and an authoritative garden columnist for the
MASTEg GARDEN_R
Wild, Woody & Captured!
Toronto Master Gardeners Technical Update Conference
Saturday, October 21
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Toronto Botanical Garden
Anna Leggatt: Great Plants that Spread
Marion Jarvie: Small Trees with Big Impact
Pat Anderson: Digital Garden Photography
Registration: $25, public; $20, Master Gardeners Optional Lunch, $17
Registration & Information: Pat deValence 416-383-1648, pat.devalence@rogers.com
Daily Telegraph. He is the author of The Startling Jungle, Scent in Your Garden, Real Gardening and Gardens ofthe National Trust. Free to TBG members; public $15 Door sales only; limited seating.
SPEAKER: Ken Parker
Toric: Gardening with Native Plants
WHEN: Tuesday, October 17, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Floral Hall
Learn how to incorporate native plant species in the home landscape. This presentation offers ecological solutions and an introduction to the culinary, medicinal and spiritual uses of indigenous North American flora. Native perennials, grasses, trees and shrubs suitable for clay, sandy soil, wet sites and shady gardens will be covered.
Founder and co-owner of Sweet Grass Gardens, Ken Parker has been growing, installing and promoting the indigenous flora of North America for many years. He has been featured on HGTV, Citytv, TV Ontario and W Network s Gardening Gamble as well as in the Globe andMail, the Toronto Star, Canadian Gardening and on numerous radio programs.
Free to TBG members; public $15 Door sales only; limited seating.
STEPHENIACEYA, ie N
Visions of the Toronto Botanical Garden
TO REFLECT the visual transformation of the Civic Garden Centre into the Toronto Botanical Garden, the programs department has been working behind the scenes to broaden our own vision.
In the spring of 2006, the TBG programs staff and Program Committee invited the Program Advisory Group, a collection of professionals from various sectors, including media, landscaping firms, science teachers and others, to share their perceptions and visions ofthe TBG and to identify areas that should be explored for future programs.
With the help of facilitator Kathy Wiele, Director, City of Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation, the group assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the TBG s current programming. Participants were also asked to discuss opportunities and partnerships for improving program offerings and broadening membership.
Not surprisingly, the results indicated that the strengths of our programs lie in the expertise of our speakers and the hands-on format, demonstrations and practical advice that our courses offer. The Edwards Lectures, which presents internationally renowned speakers, was applauded as a highly visible and wellknown educational program.
Many participants cited the excellent services offered by our volunteer tour guides who provide free or low-cost tours of the Music Garden, Allan Gardens and the TBG and Edwards Gardens. This public program is viewed as an excellent service for the City of Toronto and exposes the TBG to new audiences.
As the group turned a more critical eye to areas that need attention, we learned that we must build partnerships with other organizations, reach out to more communities and find ways to connect the TBG with tourist destinations such as the Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum.
The group also recommended offering more in-depth courses over longer periods aimed at people with varying levels of expertise. Making available accredited or certified courses should be researched as it could establish a long-lasting connection with local universities and colleges. The group also felt that we should capitalize on our green building and roof with programs on environmental sustainability.
As I reviewed this insightful report, I felt assured that the TBG is on the right path with our fall programming. We have an excellent track record with the Edwards Lectures, and to reflect the importance of sustainable environmental practices, our upcoming programs will feature speakers such as Ken Parker on gardening with native species and the Ontario Urban Forest Council with a seminar on Securing the Future of Heritage Trees. As well, the City of Torontowill be holdingawater-efficientgardening seminar. We will also offer new courses on birding, including a lecture on Garden Spaces for Bird Conservation.
To reach a downtown audience, we are currently partnering with the Continuing Education Department of George Brown City College to offer horticultural programs. This fall, Frank Kershaw will offer a condensed version of his George Brown course, Urban Garden Design, at the TBG. Ryerson University will also be offering courses here as part of its Certificate Program in Landscape Design.
More research and meetings with program advisory groups will take place in the future as we refine our vision and programs, develop outreach programs to communities with limited access to our location and build bridges between the TBG and other organizations.
We are Toronto s botanical garden and we have a grand future ahead of us.®
EvemsCalenar
I=" gll What's on atthe Toronto Botanical Garden]|
SEPTEMBER
2
Toronto Judging Centre ofthe
American Orchid Society
Judging, Studio 1, 1 p.m.
Open to the public; Information: www.soos.ca
3
Southern Ontario Orchid Society Meeting
Floral Hall, 12:30 to 4 p.m.
Information: www.soos.ca
9
North York Horticultural Society
Annual flower show
Studios 1, 2 & 3, 2 to 6 p.m.
Information: www.gardenontario.org/site.php/northyork
10
North Toronto Horticultural Society
Annual flower show
Studios 1, 2 & 3, 1 to 4 p.m.
Free admission; Information: 416-488-3368
Ontario Rock Garden Society
Plant sale & flower show
Speaker: John T. Lonsdale
Topic: Cyclamens & other choice bulbs
Floral Hall: sale, 12:30 p.m.; speaker, 1:30 p.m.
Information: www.onrockgarden.com
Ontario Hosta Society
Meeting; Garden Hall, noon
Information: www.ontariohostasociety.com
11
Toronto Bonsai Society
Speaker: Reiner Goebel
Topic: Mugho pine bonsai
Garden Hall, 7 p.m. www.torontobonsai.org
14
TBG Gala in the Garden SOLD OUT!
Information: 416-397-1483
16
TBG Garden Opening Celebrations
10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Information: 416-397-1340
19
Toronto Cactus & Succulent Club
Silent and not-so-silent auction
Studio 1, 7 to 10 p.m.
Information: torontocactus.tripod.com
24
Toronto Region Rhododendron & Horticultural Society
Speaker: Bob Patterson
Topic: Creating an azalea bonsai
Seminar: Propagation and winterizing rhodos Garden Hall, noon; Information: onrhodos.com
Toronto Branch Sogetsu Ikebana Meeting
Conference Room, 10 a.m.
Information: 416-536-4795
Toronto African Violet Society
Open house & plant sale
Studios 1, 2 & 3, 1 to 4 p.m.
Information: www.geocities.com/tavsca/tavs.html
25
Mycological Society of Toronto Meeting; Studio 1, 7 p.m.
Information: www.myctor.org
30
TorontoJudging Centre ofthe American Orchid Society
Judging, Studio 1, 1 p.m.
0 CTOBTER
1
Southern Ontario Orchid Society Meeting
Floral Hall, 12:30 p.m.
Information: www.soos.ca
3
Edwards Lecture
Speaker: Stephen Lacey
Topic: Fragrance in the Garden
Floral Hall, 7:30 p.m.
TBG members free; public $15
10
North Toronto Horticultural Society
Speaker: Anna Leggatt
Topic: Autumn in the garden
Studios 1,2 & 3
Information: 416-488-3368
16
Toronto Bonsai Society
Meeting & workshop
Garden Hall, 7 p.m.
Information: www.torontobonsai.org
Mycological Society of Toronto Meeting
Studios 1 & 2, 7:45 p.m.
Information: www.myctor.org
17
Toronto Cactus & Succulent Club
Mesembryanthemaceae show: living stones and other related South African plants
Studio 1, 7 p.m.
Information: torontocactus.tripod.com
Edwards Lecture
Speaker: Ken Parker
Topic: Gardening with native plants
Floral Hall, 7:30 p.m.
TBG members free; public $15
19
Ontario Urban Forest Council
Annual conference, Floral Hall
Information: www.oufc.org
22
Ontario Water Garden Society
Annual conference; Floral Hall, noon
Information: www.onwatergarden.com
23
Mycological Society of Toronto
Mycological Monday - ID Clinic
Studio 1, 7 p.m.
Information: www.myctor.org
26
Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society Meeting
Studio 1, 8 p.m.
Information: 905-686-8058; icangarden.com/club/CCDS
IN & AROUND TORONTO
SEPTEMBER
2104
CNE GARDEN SHOW
Chrysanthemum Show
Heritage Court, Exhibition Place 416-263-3856
9,10
HAMILTON & DISTRICT CHRYSANTHEMUM & DAHLIA SOCIETY
Blooms Extraordinaire
Dundas Lions Memorial Community Centre
10 Market St. S., Dundas 005-575-3941
16
CANADIAN CHRYSANTHEMUM & DAHLIA SOCIETY
Mini Chrysanthemum Show
First Markham Place, Markham contd
IN & AROUND TORONTO contd
23
CANADIAN CHRYSANTHEMUM & DAHLIA SOCIETY
Chrysanthemum Show
Agincourt Mall, Scarborough
Information: 905-686-2834
23, 24
JARVIE OPEN GARDEN
37 Thornheights Rd., Thornhill
10 a.m. to 4 p.m., rain or shine
Plants available for sale
30 1O OCTOBER 1
GARDEN CLUB OF TORONTO
60th Anniversary Flower Festival
St. Anne s Anglican Church Information 416-922-4415; Www.stannes.on.ca
OCTOBER 3 TO MID-NOVEMBER
CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW
Allan Gardens Conservatory
Information: 416-392-7288
3 10 29
CENTENNIAL PARK CONSERVATORY
Fall Chrysanthemum Show
Information: 416-394-8543
20 10 29
City oOF HAMILTON, 86TH ANNUAL CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW
Gage Park
Information: 905-546-2424 x 4179