Trellis - V12, No9 - Nov 1985

Page 1


MESSAGE TO MEMBERS

As we go to press the excitement is building over our Centre s sponsorship of the Great Gardening Conference and registrant numbers are building quickly. In addition to appealing to enthusiasts all over Ontario, we have registered participants from Quebec, British Columbia, Nova Scotia, New York, New Jersey, Colorado, New Hampshire, Tennessee, Massachusetts.

Once again I want to congratulate all the committee members who have worked so hard in planning all the details associated with assembling such a fine group of speakers and all the auxiliary displays, meals and banquets.

Under the chairmanship of CGC s 2nd Vice-President Brian Bixley, who conceived the conference, the volunteer committee have been able to work through the planning and implementation of this event with an absolute minimum of staff involvement; basically only regarding physical resources and in the last month an added surge of backup publicity.

While all the last minute preparations are going on for Cornucopia and the conference, staff are planning ahead for courses beginning in January and preliminary work will soon begin on the 1986 budget.

This year we want to try to develop a substantially larger Christmas Plant Sale. Many members will remember the beautiful tree form poinsettias we had in the front lobby last year. This year s crop will be slightly shorter (about 3 ft.) and we are hoping to have a few of the white cultivars in addition to the beautiful red we had last year. We will take advance orders anytime now and I expect sample plants by the first week of December. As always we price our plants so they offer members exceptional value while still acting as a fund raising event for our non-profit organization.

To provide further incentive to come 3 ft. out to CGC in i Tree mid December when Form few of our User $40.00 groups hold regular meetings, we are sponsoring a special one day lecture/demonstration in two parts The Care and Feeding of Happy Holiday Houseplants and a demonstration of Simple, Inexpensive, fresh flower holiday arrangements.

DECEMBER

8th from 2 -4 p.m.

Fee: Members $1.00, Non-mem. $2.00 Advance registration requested For this event, you may register by phone so we can assess set-up needs call 445-1552, cont. pg. 10

Pine Ridge Nurseries

has a super........ CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEA (sent anywhere in Canada)

.. For the plant lover on your list! A collection of 10 unusual geraniums from our unique collection of 300 varieties

* zonals * scented * fancy leaf * miniatures

* jvies * regals

We ll send a gift card at Christmas, and the plants will follow in April. only $29.95 plus tax Order by phone: 683-5952 or drop in for a visit to our Christmas store. =

Nov. 10

The CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE

1985 PROGRAMME SCHEDULE

Toronto Gesneriad Society 2 - 4 p.m.

Norman Quillman speaking on Streptocarpus

10 S. Ontario OrchidSociety meeting 1 - 5 pm - Native Orchids of North East America

11 Toronto Bonsai Society meeting 7 p.m. A general workshop session on Ficus Benjamina

12 North Toronto Horticultural Society meeting 8 p.m. Mr. J.G. Smart will show slides of Gardens in Europe

13 Garden Therapy Group meeting 1:00 p.m. for handicapped people

16,17 THE GREAT GARDENING

CONFERENCE

23,24 IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL SHOW and Annual Exhibition 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days

This is the umbrella organization of all Japanese Flower Arr. Schools

24 York Rose and Garden Society meeting 2 p.m. A panel discussion on Roses

24 Geranium and Pelargonium Society meeting 2 p.m. Dr. Pat Harney Professor from University of Guelph on Research work & Hybridizing

27 Hobby Greenhouse meeting 8 p.m.

Dec. 1 S. Ontario Orchid Society meeting 1 - 5 p.m. Mimicry in Orchids by Terry Kennedy

3 Mens Garden Club meeting at 8 p.m. Rudy Lorra of the Rhododendron Society speaking on Rhododendrons & Azaleas

6 Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society - Christmas Party

8 Canadian Organic Growers Annual Meeting 2:30 p.m.

8 Toronto Gesneriad Society meeting 2 - 4 p.m. Christmas social

8 Happy Holiday Decorating Lecture/demonstration from 2 to 4 p.m. in two parts The Care & Feeding of your plants and a Demonstration of Simple, Inexpensive, fresh flower Holiday Arrangements

9 Toronto Bonsai Society meeting 7 p.m. regular meeting

11 Garden Therapy Group meeting 1:00 p.m. for handicapped people

11 Ikebana Internationalmeeting 7p.m.

12 VOLUNTEER CHRISTMAS PARTY 3 p.m.to 7 p.m.

14 Green Thumbs (Junior Garden Club) 9:30 am

15 Ontario Rock Garden Society meeting 2 p.m. Gordon Wick showing slides of Rock Garden Plants at Kew, Wisley, Cambridge and the Liverpool & Chelsea Garden Shows in England.

1986

Jan. 5 S. Ontario Orchid Society meeting 1 - 5 p.m. Auction of Orchids

7 Mens Garden Club 8 p.m.

8 Ikebana International meeting 7 p.m.

11 Green Thumbs (Junior Garden Club) 9.30 a.m.

12 T_orontq Gesneriad Society meeting 2 p.m.

13 Toronto Bonsai Society meeting 7 p.m.

14

North Toronto Horticultural Society meeting 8 p.m.

COMING EVENTS AT THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE

Art at the Centre

In the Link Gallery:

Nov. 9 - Nov. 14 - Raissa Costin oils, flowers and landscapes

Nov. 19 - Dec. 3 - Wanda Hicks watercolours & fabric collage landscapes & florals

Dec. 4 - Dec. 22 - Jack Hosier oils, landscapes

UPCOMING EVENTS

Specializes in dried and silk flower arrangements.

Arrangements for sale in The Trellis Shop or

Come to the Centre Mon. or Tues. 9.30 to 2 p.m.

Bring your favourite container or try one of ours, and give us your colour scheme and size requirements.

General Information

Volume 12 No. 9 ISSN 0380-1470

Editor: Gordon D. Wick, Exec. Dir.

Assistant Editor: Grace Tughan

Advertising Inform. (416) 445-1552

Trellis is published ten times per year as a member s newsletter, by the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave. East, Don Mills, Ontario M3C 1P2 Telephone (416)445-1552

The Centre is located in Edwards Gardens, at Leslie St. and Lawrence Avenue East, at the geographical centre of Metropolitan Toronto. It is a non-profit, volunteer based, gardening and floral arts information organization with open membership. Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre. Printed by Munns Press Ltd., Whitby, Ont.

ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS invites you to attend 1985 Christmas Creations Show & Sale 680 Plains Road West, Burlington FRI. NOV.22-10a.m. to 9:00 p.m. SAT. NOV.23-10a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission $1.00 Includes door prizes, displays & demo.

ALLAN GARDENS

Carlton & Jarvis Sts. 947-7286

This botanical showcase offers displays of native & exotic flowers & plants year round

Oct.-Nov.: Nov.-Dec.: Chrysanthemum display Xmas Poinsettias,Cherries Daily 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Free

IKEBANA INTERNATIONAL ANNUAL EXHIBITION on NOVEMBER 23 & 24, 1985 from 10 a.m. -4 p.m.

at The Civic Garden Centre

This is the umbrella organization of all Japanese Flower Arranging Schools.

Masters, teachers and students from these various schools will be displaying their arrangements.

Ikebana containersfor sale.

CGC OPERATING HOURS

WINTER HOURS

from Nov. 12th to April 30th

Trellis Shop and Library Mon. to Fri. 9:30 - 4 pm,Sat.Sun.12-4

CHRISTMAS CLOSING

SHOPS closed Dec. 24 to Jan. 6th for Inventory

Admin. Office Closed-Dec.24 - Jan. 2

Foundation PlantmgUgh'

Itseemstobe a well estabhshed tradltion in North America to plant a selection of low growing evergreens around the foundations of the house, using taller growing varieties to accentuate doorways and the corner walls.

Occasionally, to add interest and variety, a few variegated euonymus or some other broad leafed evergreen is placed between the conifers. I think that this practice must have originated in early pioneering days when field stone was commonly used as a foundation for the typical timber framed or brick house. As the field stone was often roughly placed, the owner used local low growing junipers and yew to hide the exposed stone work. Whatever the reason the cult of foundation planting is still flourishing and most nursery catalogues contain long lists of dwarf or unusually shaped or coloured evergreens which they recommend as being ideal for this type of planting.

This type of foundation planting, to my eyes, is a colossal waste of one of the best micro-climates in the garden. I can understand how owners who are not particularly interested in gardening treat the borders round their house in this unimaginative manner as it is comparatively easy to maintain but a keen gardener never!

Having criticized this long established landscape practice, I suppose I should explain how I think this valuable growing space should be utilized. I can do this best by describing some of the planting which I have established in one of the warm narrow borders

which surround my small house in Aurora.

The border along the western side of the house is in deep shade till about eleven o clock in the morning and for the rest of the day the clay soil is baked hard by the sun. In this border I have planted two shrubs, two vines and a wide range of hardy plants which vary in height from a few inches to several feet. Starting in the northwest corner growing against the wall is a well-established plant of Goldflame Honeysuckle Lonicera Goldflame which has showy clusters of pink and deep cream flowers, the fragrance of which permeates our bedroom on warm summer evenings. On the other side of the bedroom window I have another beautiful honeysuckle, Dropmore s Scarlet, which has long orange trumpet-like flowers which are frequently visited by humming birds. This variety is not fragrant but compensates for this by having a long flowering season.

Below the honeysuckles several Yellow Lady s-Slipper Cypripedium Calceolus parviflorum are taking up temporary residence until I have completed my new woodland bed. As a companion they have the stately, tall growing Allium aflatunense, a lovely onion specie from Northern Iran which produces its round globe of purple flowers in late June to be followed by straw coloured seed heads which are much in demand for flower arrangements. Adjoining these are several plants of Geranium pyrenaicum, a dainty little species with small delicate

magenta flowers. A small clump of early flowering dwarf Iris reticulata, whose 6 high purple flowers brace the wunpredictable April weather.

There are also the other species of iris in this location which I have grown from seed, Iris Korolkowii, which has unusual cream flowers, heavily veined with brown which make the exact tint difficult to describe, Iris tuberosa and Iris gueldenstaebiana have yet to flower as it sometimes takes several years for some plants to flower when grown from seed. Growing close by the specie iris are 5 different coloured cultivars of the dwarf bearded iris Iris pumila which flower about two weeks earlier than the large bearded iris. These when in flower are remarkable for the diversity of their perfume, from vanilla to old fashioned spicy coughdrops. To give a little permanent height in the border I have located in the centre a distinctive, bold foliaged shrub, Devil s Walking Stick Aralia

spinosa a well named plant because of it s long sharp thorns which are even born along the back edge of its long leaf stalks. In the shade of the Aralia the unusual yellow flowered Polemonium eximium flourished for a short while but after flowering the plant went to seed and promptly died. I suspect that this species unlike the common blue Jacob s-Ladder P. caeruleum is biennial rather than perennial. The blackberry lily Belamcanda chinensis) has always been a favourite of mine and last year my clump of five plants T produced masses of starry orange flowers in late summer above the iris-like foliage which is nicely contrasted against the feathery green\ foliage of a bright red tubular flowered Beard-tongue Penstemon barbatus. Growing against the Beard-tongue is Penstemon barbatus

SHERIDAN NURSERIES LIMITED Where Great

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Gardens

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LANDSCAPEDEPARTMENT:Metropolitan Toronto, Markham, MississaugaandOakville822-7575.

FOUNDATION PLANTING

single plant of White Beard-tongue P. albidus a prairie wild flower, and Gemander Teucrium Chamaedrys which is much loved as a low clipped edging plant by American gardeners.

Last year I managed to obtain seed of Lavatera cachemiriana and if my plant, which is planted close to the foundation walls to keep it warm, manages to survive the winter, I shall be graced by its beautiful soft pink mallow-like flowers. Graham Stuart Thomas, in his well known book on Perennial Garden Plants, describes this species as a remarkable stately plant with a long flowering season . I shall look forward to making its acquaintance when it flowers in mid-summer.

To give colour in the fall, I have a large clump of the single pink free flowering chrysanthemum C. xrubellum) which I much prefer to the tightly compacted pom-pom heads of the more modern varieties. Single chrysanthemums have an elegance which the modern varieties have lost.

In the Spring, the front of the border is a mass of low growing bulbs, mixed coloured crocus, two specie tulips, Tulipa tarda and T. urumiensis. Tulipa tarda comes from Turkestan and 7. urumiensis is a native of Asia Minor. Both these tulips only grow a few inches high and produce massesof golden yellow flowers in early Spring.

The main difference between these too closely related species is that T. tarda has cream tipped petals. The tulips are growing through a carpet of Dragons Blood Sedum spurium which produces its rich deep ink flowers in mid summer. I also have several other small drifts of bulbs located in the border, the large flowered Narcissus Armada which has a rich golden perianth and a tangerine orange cup. Tulipa gluck, a low growing scarlet variety with blue green mottled foliage, and the almost indestructible Star of Bethlehem Ornithogalum

montanum which produce hundreds flowers in late Spring.

never fails to of small white

I even have a patch of dandelion plants in this border, no it s not the common yellow one but the rare white flowered dandelion Taraxicum albidum grown from seed which a friend brought back from the Botanic Gardens in Denver, Colorado.

Hibiscus \7 syriacus

One other shrub is located at the southern end of the border, a pure white variety of the hardy Rose of Sharon Hibiscus syriacus which tends to get the tips of its branches killed back by the cold each year. As it flowers on its new wood in late August this natural pruning is probably beneficial. Other plants I have in this border are mint (which I have finally managed to keep under control by surrounding it with a deep underground skirt of polythene).

Cupid s dart

%Catananche caerulea

Catananche caerulea grows well producing long lasting corn flowered blue flowers which are long lasting & very effective in dry flower arrangements.

Dwarf Gaillardia, which were named after Gaillard de Marentonneau, a French lover of botany, arescattered here and there together with self sown Scotch Marigold Calendula officinalis and Tickseed Coreopsis grandiflora

which I weed out or allow to grow depending on their location. The bottom of the light-well to the basement window has provided a very definite micro-climate for the last three years for a large well established plant of Four O clock Mirabilis hybrida, a perennial plant in its native Peru but here it is normally grown as an annual.

This is just a selection of the wide range of interesting plants that I manage to successfully cultivate in my narrow eleven by one yard wide border. I have a similar but different collection of plants in the narrow borders along the southern and eastern sides of the house which in total contain over ninety different plant species, cultivars or varieties giving me a succession of interesting and often unusual flowers from early spring to the late fall.

' bdlland l ? l' Christmas Centres

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See us first for all your Christrnas Decorating needs. We're the Largest in Southem Ontario!

If you have a house surrounded by traditional foundation planting why not remove one or two conifers to start with and then purchase a few of the more unusual bulbs offered by Cruickshanks Ltd., Garden Imports, White Rose or some other nursery centre, or try some of the lesser known perennial plants which are beginning to appear on the market. We carry most of the bulbous plants in the C.G.C. shop but they sell out very early in the fall. Don t worry if you are not sure what the plants are or even what they look like, just follow the cultural directions given you by the nursery men, or better still, on your next visit to Edwards Gardens visit the Civic Garden Centre s Library and look it up and get detailed cultural directions from one of the many excellent reference books available.

I am sure that you are going to be in for some very pleasant horticultural surprises.

Th Trellis Shop

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Trellis Shop

Now is the time to start thinking about putting some extra security blankets on your newly planted trees and shrubs and your semi-hardy specimens. In order to give your susceptible plants protection (for they feel the cold dry winter air just as we do), it is a good idea to give them a burlap wrap especially your evergreens. Other areas that will need protection are the trees and shrubs that form hedges along the roads and receive so much salt in the winter. The salt spray from cars can travel much further than one may think.

The trunks of your trees that will be subject to the warm south-west sun during January and February should also be protected from freezing and thawing by a layer of burlap wrap to help insulate from this extreme temperature fluctuation.

Now is the time to protect your trees and shrubs from becoming a meal for mice and rabbits. SKOOT is a good product to use before temperatures drop below four degrees celcius. This product is very easy to use. Just paint it on areas that are susceptible to damage, mainly the trunks and twigs.

Now that the outdoors is in order it is time to visit the Trellis shop to purchase your amaryllis while we have a very good selection. We have amaryllis to suit all colour preferences, from white to rose to pink to orange to red with white stripes. Prices range between $4.95 for Pamela , a miniature amary.dis 16 in. high, to $8.75 for Loves Desire a coral pink.

We have a fair stock of books on the topics of our celebrated author/ lecturers. Buy now or place your order ahead to be sure we reserve enough copies so you can get your copy signed by the authors during the Y% hour periods after each morning and afternoon session when the authors will be at a table for this purpose and to meet members individually.

Remember, if you can t make up your mind or just the right gift item, we sell Gift Certificatesindenominations of your choice. In addition to using gift certificates for Trellis shop merchandise, they can be redeemed for ° memberships or course registration fees.

I am sure one or two of your friends would find that a gift membership in the Civic Garden Centre would be a very welcome gift.

MESSAGE TO MEMBERS cont.

We have found it very difficult to cope due to the absence of Dorothy Whiteman, our volunteer co-ordinator due to a very painful back problem sustained in August. More recently, Judy Boon, our full time assistant in the Trellis shop, has also had to take an indefinite leave, We are going to have tolook for a full time,temporary replacement, so if you know someone who has some retail experience, would enjoy working with volunteers, can work alternate weekends and is willing to learn the detailed book ordering and processing procedures, encourage them to come in and fill out a job application.

HAMILTON S GAGE PARK GREENHOUSES

CHRYSANTHEMUM SHOW

Nov. 2 to Nov. 17 9 am - 8 pm

Admission is free 526-4215

ETOBICOKE GREENHOUSES

from Dec. 8th Christmas Plants on Display

Elmcrest Rd. between Eglinton and Rathburn

Don t miss our feature exhibits this holiday season they will include a large natural Christmas Tree decorated in a Victorian theme including handcrafted dolls and other lace decorations. A display of Christmas plants including the poinsettia trees will also be featured and even if there is no snow outside before Christmas, we expect to have a man busy shovelling out the snowdrift in the lobby due to the actionsnowstorm scene.

YardenEestwal 86

in a great new location!

Flower & Garden Show

Pool & Spa Show

February 8th-16th, 1986

International Centre, Toronto

Five inter-connecting halls bring it alltogether the Flower & Garden Show, the Pool & Spa Show, lawn and gardening equipment, the Horticultural Marketplace,an expanded section of garden and pool-related crafts. . 240,000 square feet of attractionsto dazzle and delight you!

Adults $5.00, children 10 and under free, students (age 11-18) $2.00 and senior citizens $3.00

Proticed by % Southex exhibitions

Gardening Periodical Review

The Sept. issue of Flower & Garden magazine has an article on one of my favourite plants the Japanese Maple or Acer palmatum to all the horticulturists out there. This magnificent maple is named for the shape of its leaf; palmate or palm shaped, though with some of the more unusual cultivars (such as Acer palmatum Dissectum , it is hard to image a palm from such a fine cut delicate leaf.

Of particular note in this article by Pamela Harper is a number of maples that have coral coloured bark. Now Japanese maples can be a highlight of your landscape year round, with a wintertime display of vivid red branches beautifully highlighted by a background of green evergreens. These same evergreens will also serve as an excellent windbreak to protect your prized Japanese maple which is hardy to Zone 5 but would appreciate all the warmth possible (so would most of us too). This coral barked maple can be found by the name Acer Palmatum Sango kaku or Senkaki , the red colouring is only found on the younger branches so annual pruning is needed to keep the red branches more dominant than the older branches which turn brown.

The other Japanese Maple is called Acer japonicum and it can be identified by its larger leaves and smaller lobes. This tree can also grow to become a small upright tree with time.

Japanese maples can be found at the major nurseries serving this area, but unfortunately they carry only two or three cultivars, these being Acer palmatum Bloodgood , A. p. Atropurpureum and 4. p. Dissectum . To find some of the more unusual cultivars a source list has been prepared by the Flower and Garden Magazine and can be found in the Civic Garden Centre Library

Book Review

GREEN INHERITANCE

Anthony Huxley Foreword by David Attenborough

Plants are the foundation of all existence. They feed us, cure our ills, provide materials for Industry and enrich our lives. Without them, oxygen-breathing life could not have evolved and without them, it cannot hope to continue. The author, who is one of the world s best-known authorities on plant life, portrays the beauty, diversity and remarkable history of wild and cultivated plants and landscapes, and presents a striking picture of the reach of the wild into our lives.

This book arouses concern about the destruction that now threatens our plant heritage, about the slender genetic base of the world s staple crops, and about the dwindling last locations of wild resources. available in hard cover $24.95

EUROPEAN GIFTWARE

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GARDENING NOTEBOOK

NOVEMBER

This month we experience a few light frosts and it s just a matter of time before the garden is zapped by the killer frost! And another gardening year is over. Wouldn t it be nice if you could keep the garden going? Two favourite season-extenders, that are alternatives to an expensive greenhouse, are cloches and cold frames. They are ideal for growing leaf crops such as swiss chard, parsley, spinach and leaf lettuce. They have numerous other uses too. Check with the Trellis bookshop for information on building your own, use and maintenance.

This month is clean-up time. Garden furniture should be stored, and gardening tools greased and oiled where necessary.

Are you still raking those leaves?

GARDEN

The last of the chrysanthemums will have finished flowering mid-month. To promote healthy new shoot growth next spring, cut the flower stalksback to two inches above the ground.

After the ground freezes hard, bulb beds will benefit from a winter mulch. Two inches of straw will do the trick and it s advisable to mulch all other newly planted areas of the garden as well, particularly in the northern zones.

Now, for a bit of trivia! Did you know you can get an indication of the condition of your garden s soil by the type of weeds growing there? You ll find dock, sorrel and horsetail in acidic soil. Telltale signs of soil with poor drainage are white avens and hedge bindweed. Soil with low fertility is infested with fennel, sorrel and mayweed and you ll find purslane, 13

burdock, dandelion and lamb s quarter in fertile soil.

SHRUBS

Evergreens will require a thorough soaking before the ground freezes. This will help reduce winter damage caused by dehydration. The soil around your rose bushes should be mounded up to about 12 - 15 inches. After the ground has frozen, an extra covering of leaves or straw will be most beneficial. Top the covering with branches to hold it down through the rough months ahead.

HOUSEPLANTS

Water all houseplants sparingly allowing a few more days of dryness between waterings than you normally do. Cut out feeding completely until new shoots appear in the spring.

If you miss pottering about in the garden, this is a good time to go plant shopping. Treat yourself to a new plant or two. Breaking them in to their new environment will keep you busy until theChristmas season.

LOOK AFTER YOUR FEATHERED FRIENDS! Keep your bird feeding stations regularly stocked up. Rather than attempting to specifically cater to each bird s palate, your best bet is to buy the pre-mixed bags of wild bird seed mixtures which contain something for everyone. They ll also enjoy such table scraps as bread, cookies, cake and crackers.

Ruta Lovett is a Toronto journalist.

Mini Rose Nursery

Collector of Miniature Roses

For list and map Write Florence Gahagan

P.O. Box 873, Guelph, Ont. NIH 6M6

Fall Blooms

Anyone would think, looking at the gardens in my neighbourhood, that the only plants that bloom in Fall are Chrysanthemums and Asters. Now, I have nothing against these two stalwart perennials (in fact, I intend to get some), but a wealth of other plants flower in September and October.

The stars of the show are, without doubt, the Sedums. Sedum Autumn Joy is a fine plant for the perennial border, sending up a clump of sturdy stems a foot or more (30 cm. +) with firm, fresh green leaves. The flat flower-heads which start to form at the stem tops in late July, are pale green at first, but over the next couple of months they gradually turn pink. In September they are in full bloom, and as they age the color deepens until by October they are a brickish shade of pink and still very attractive.

There are smaller Sedums, and one suitable for the front of the border is S. Vera Jameson . It only grows about 6 inches (15cm.) high, with sprays of arching stems bearing small, fleshy, purple leaves. The pink flowerheads, nodding on the ends of the stems, are at their best in late August and through September. A gem for the rock-garden is Sedum cauticolum from Japan. It is more dwarf then S. Vera Jameson and has pinkedged, blue-grey leaves. The bright, reddish-pink flowers appeared in late September & lasted well into October on my plant which I only purchased in August. These Sedums die back to the ground in Winter, and spring up from the root next year. All like plenty of sun, and soil that is well-drained. They are useful for growing in conjunction with Summer-flowering bulbs, such as Allium and Ixiolirion, because the Sedums take over after the bulbs have died down.

Sedum spectabile

Miscanthus sinensis

Last Spring I was given seeds of an annual wildflower, Viguiera porteri. According to a book in the Civic Garden Centre s Library, this Viguiera is found on the lower slopes of the Rocky Mountains where it grows in dry, stony meadows. The flower was described as ordinary, yellow daisytype . Rather unimpressed, I planted out my seedlings in an out-of-the-way corner where they didn t get much sun or attention. Despite being nibbled by rabbits, they grew into wiry bushes about 18 inches (45cm.) high, with little, narrow leaves but no sign of any

WONDERLAND OF BULBS

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FALL BLOOMS

flowers all Summer. Finally, in late September they were in bud, and by mid-October they were attractively covered in dainty, yellow flowers more resembling buttercups than daisies. I then wished that I had planted them in a more visible instead ofdown the end of the garden, behind some bushes.

Last but no least, there is the giant perennial grass, Miscanthus sinensis Giganteus , which is the closest thing to a tall bamboo that we can grow here. The Fall before, mine failed to flower before the frosts killed it back, but it made up for that this year. A 7 ft. (2.3m.) fountain of silver-striped leaves on arrow straight ~stems, in October it errupted at the top into an abundance of silky, purplish plumes. I have a feeling that the plumes will be useful for flowerarranging, so I intend to try and save some before the Winter winds tear the display to bits.

DEAR VOLUNTEER,

Have I ever missed you! Thank you so much for your calls, flowers, cards and concern while I have been incapacitated . Hopefully before you even read this I ll have seen you at Cornucopia and will have had a chance to thank you personally.

The most important news I have is WE'RE HAVING A PARTY !!! especially for you to thank you for your help through the year. An open house on DECEMBER 12th from 3 to 7 p.m. Please, please come over even if you can only stay for half an hour. I know that it s a busy time but it will be nice to be able to sit and catch up on the news maybe swap a few ideas for Christmas gifts.

Please call to let me know that you are coming, I want to be sure to have enough of your favourite goodies. As always thank you for the continuing support of our Centre.

0Se

CRAFTAND

NURSERIES

Growers and

CIVIC + President Mrs. Camilla Dalglish

* 1st Vice - President Mr. Donald McLaren GARDEN % 2nd Vice - President Mr. Brian Bixley g

* Treasurer iz Mr. Charles Coffey

* Secretary - Mr. Gordon D. Wick CENTRE

Board ofDirectors: * Executive Committee

For 1985: Mr. Brian Bixley, Mr. Charles Coffey, Mrs. Rae Fowler, * Mr. Peter Hand, Mrs. Hazel Lyonde, Mr. Howard Stensson

For 1985, & 1986: Mr. Art Drysdale, Mr. Albert Fisher, Mrs. Sue Macaulay, Mrs. Katie May McCarthy, Mr. Donald G. McLaren, Mr. David Tomlinson, Mr. Harold Wakefield.

For 1985, 1986, & 1987: Mr. Wm. R. Aimers, Mrs. Camilla Dalglish, Mrs. Margaret Elliott, Mr. Andrew Osyany, Mrs. June Punnett, Mr. Robert Saunders, Mr. Peter Thomas, Mr. Robert G. Bundy.

Receipts issued for'tax deductions for all but the basic annual ! At the Civic Garden $10. members fee (Charitable Registration No.0228114-56-13) | Centre you ll be among friends, people who THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE, | share the same interests 777 LAWRENCE AVENUE EAST (at Leslie), you do in gardening Don Mills, Ontario M3C 1P2 & horticultural things.

As a member, you enjoy free borrowing priv- Basic Annual membership $10.00 ileges from our Hort.

Additional family member 2.50 %4 Library s 5,000 books.

Name

On regular priced merchandise over $2. you

Other Categories by annual subscription: save 10% in our Shop.

Sustaining Member

| You earn a discounted

$35.00 or more e : 3 tration fee when Contributing Member $50.00 or more e e;g, lf;; m our classes.

Supporting Member

$100.00or more

Donation to the Civic Garden Centre e

I wish to become a member of the Civic Garden Centre in the category marked. Renewal [ ]

Enclosed is my cheque for $..........ccueemade out to the Civic Garden Centre.

Please send my Trellis Newsletter to the following:

Trellis newsletter will be mailed to you 10 times per year.

| The Basic membership fee alone cannot meet I our total operating | costs. If you share our | commitment to pro. moting horticulture, we ask you to consider Iy Y 1 LR B S e A s ACAR el S B S e MR Ry e | other memmbership cates gories, which include

Address:.......ekt ss | tax deductible dantl Postal :Code:,il5oAPRONG

ions.

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