|
1400 FLOWERS & VEGETABLES
Exotte Tudoov & tdoo
Complete Cultural Instructions RAFPID
sioeue FREE CATALOGUE
Whether you have a balcony, border garden or grow commercially, you ll find everything you need in Stokes Free catalogue. It s virtually a garden encyclopedia with it s complete instructions for each species. Discover many grower s secrets in these detailed directions which also let you know whether you ll want to try that exotic new variety. Not every tomato is the best ever developed and Stokes descriptions recognize this. Each description tells you both the pluses and minuses of varieties . . . we want you to have the best success with your garden so you ll reorder next year. Write today for your Free copy, It s the Grower s Bible. 3088 Stokes Bldg., St. Catharines Ont. L2R6R6
This Month s Articles
Editorial/5
How Does Your Garden Measure Up?/6 Programme/9
It s Flower Show Time Again!/16
Feeding Birds in Winter/17
Book Review/22
The Front Cover
Spring Flower & Garden Show
Photo courtesy Garden Club of Toronto
Publication Committee for Trellis
Lawrence C. Sherk (Chairman), James Floyd, Richard Hook, Jerry Maccabe.
Editor Sid Morris
Graphics and Printing Drewmark Graphics, Toronto
General Information 1ssn03801470
" Trellis is published in the months ofJanuary, March, May, July, September, and November and distributed on or about the 15th ofthe month previous by the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, Don Mills, Ontario b M3C 1P2. The Centre is located in Edwards Gardens, at Leslie Street and Lawrence Avenue East, the geographical centre of Metropolitan Toronto. It is a non-profit gardening and floral arts information organization with open membership. Subscriptions to Trellis are only available through Centre membership ($10 per year). Opinions expressed within do not necessarily reflect those of the Centre. This is Volume 5, Number 1.
The CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE
How to keep houseplants happy? Gardens glowing? Shrubs scintillating? Lawns luxurious? Join us and find out all this and more. At The Civic Garden Centre you ll be among friends, people who share the same interests you do in gardening and horticultural things.
As a Civic Garden Centre member, you enjoy free borrowing privileges in the new Horticultural Library s over 3,000 gardeningbooks. You save 10% on purchases in the new Garden and Book Shops, over $2. You enroll in members only special horticultural and flower arrangingclasses. You receivesix issuesof Trellis magazine mailed to your home each year.
Care for more details? Call 445-1552 now.
Registration & Membership Application
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP JO]N NOW
[m] Reg;lar Lo $10.00
O Additiona . Please make cheques payable to family member .. 2.50
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE
O Corporation...... upon request 777 Lawrence Avenue East DON MILLS, Ontario M3C 1P2
Seed Distribution
If you wish to obtain some of the listed seeds mail or bring your needs to the Civic Garden Centre. Please mark on your request your membership number, as only members will receive the seeds. The seed in most cases has been collected in the wild so cross pollination has taken place.
Herbaceous Plants
Cypripedium pubescens (yellow lady slipper). A handsome, hardy native orchid. The flowers are yellow and brown.
Lunaria biennis alba (Honesty, Silver Dollar). Is a biennial to three feet. Sow in June or July to produce flat silvery pods the second year, which maybe used in dried winter bouquets.
Shrub and Tree Seeds
Celastrus scandens (American Bittersweet). A very ornamental native vine, climbing by turning. The fruit is in terminal clusters, which are yellow at first then open to display a bright orange-red berry
WE NEED YOU
More volunteers are needed.
inside. The berries makes very attractive winter bouquets.
llex verticillata (Winterberry). Is a deciduous holly that has large bright red fruit on the female plants. As there are male and female plants they should be planted in groups to ensure fruit. An ideal plant for naturalizing on moist sites.
Malus RedJade (Red Jade crab apple). The parent of this seed is the only form of crab apple that has pendulous branches. The parent has white flowers in profusion, followed by masses of scarlet-red fruit which remain on wel into the winter. The parent has green foliage. The seed, however, will produce various forms from a regular branching form to a pendulous form. The fruit will vary in their colouring from red to yellow.
Quercus alba (white oak). It is a native oak which is slow growing but will eventually need a fair amount of room. This oak produces a broad round head, wide spreading branches and glossy green leaves that turn a purplish-red in autumn.
Volunteers are needed to work at the Centre s Flower Show exhibit in March and at other Centre exhibits during the coming year. Volunteers are needed to help organize the bus tours. Volunteers are also needed from time to time for the routine functions of the Centre. If you have specialized skills you may be able to play a particularly valuable part in our programme. Please call 445-1552 if you can help.
And many thanks to:
® the volunteers, both members of the Centre and others, who worked so hard to make our September fashion show a success.
® the volunteers who prepared and sold the bouquets for the Winter Bouquet Sale.
® And to the many other volunteers who work in the stores, the library and with the Centre s many groups. Without you, the Centre would not have a programme.
The Centre also gratefully acknowledges the gifts of French fragrances given out during the fashion show. We were unable to list these in the programme, but the evening gifts were 'Interdit, Givenchy 111, Monsieur de Givenchy and Givenchy Gentleman, all courtesy of Parfums Givenchy. The afternoon gifts were Tabu, Canoe of New York, Paris and Toronto.
How Does Your Gardenp Measure Up
Jim Floyd
To the amateur gardener the task of surveying a piece of land can be frustrating indeed. To make a planis important. But a good plan involves much more thanjust pushing around a bunch of facts and figures. Good design brings together one s personal feelings and one s appreciation of the site. Of course, exact details are necessary, but they can be gathered any time up to the final planning stages.
However, gardeners are dedicated people, and most would spend time in measuring their properties. But if they simply paced out their properties instead of scaling them in standard measures, the planning would be considerably easier.
Pacing a garden is dividing it into small design modules . Although modules are useful for a design, all too often they have turned into inflexible standards and standardized units have imposed themselves on us to take over our way of living. Think, for example, how the 22-foot garage space, designed to hold two parked cars, has dictated the placement of an apartment s support columns and walls, thereby making every apartment in the building similar in layout. Why should Detroit s impose itself so on our lives?
If we accurately survey a property to calculate its perimeter and its square footage of sod, if we read the bylaws on setbacks and fence heights, we encumber our thinking
with theoretical standards. I believe, for the first plans, it is best to make up our own modules. Don t confuse me with facts unless they intuitively relate to me and my way of life.
How do we prepare a plan without doing a survey? First, look over your deed survey s plot plan. Most home owners have one of these stashed away in a desk file somewhere. This small drawing gives useful, although deceptive, information about the distances from the house walls to the property limits and street line. But beware! The plan is probably machinecopied, so its scale is incorrect. Then, too, you ll find that the front yard usually falls about 10 feet short of the sidewalk, which means you do not own all the grass you cut, nor do you own all the driveway you shovel. This visual deception is the result of a century-old surveying standard called a chain . The chain is a 66-foot-wide right-ofway of municipal land, which includes the paved road, the boulevard, the sidewalk and, for old time s sake, a part of your front lawn. Nonetheless, the little photocopied deed plan will serve to help you draft your first garden plan. When you start your survey, forget chains, rods, yards, feet even metres. As a standard of measurement your body is more realistic than an outdated imperial foot or a decimal fraction of a global meridian. The garden is being designed for you and yours. So
e & L Lea -Tors Pace / i G it PACE - BASED -GRID-PLAN
look at the garden in relation to your own body when you start your design.
Walking is the most common activity in any garden. So | suggest that you measure your garden by the length of your stride, in paces. Walk from your house to the edge of your property in each direction, counting and recording the number of paces. Then, on a good sized piece ofpaper prepare a grid or squared graph. (Use a scale in which one square equals one pace.)
Pace off all the important features and plot them on the grid. A partial checkKlist of such features would include trees, driveway, poles, ground floor windows, doors, chimneys, areaways and all projections and connections between house and garden. Plot everything that you think may influence the use or appearance of your garden. While this pacingis going on, you have an opportunity to observe and to think clearly about your property. Take the time to make notes to yourself. Perhaps take Polaroid photographs to reinforce the mental images. (How does your property look in the winter, in the summer?) Learn about the befores to guide future changes. Don t be a stickler. Don t ask yourself: Is this tree 10% or 103 paces away? Instead ask: What
difference will 6 make in my garden ten years from now?
Try walking the maintenance routes the paths you take when pushing a lawn mower, hefting refuse cans, moving snow, storing raked leaves. Try the everyday trails the door to car, door to garbage bin, door to street. Pacing your property, silently counting off the distances, allows your mind to be free for creative endeavours.
While pacing about, touching your earth, you are bound to notice and analyze things both in and beyond your garden. On a typical survey you may spot a neighbour s window, which you may want to block out; or perhaps you may notice a pleasant view of a neighbour s child at play in a sandbox, which you may want to retain. You may discover extra warm areas bathed in sunlight for the lizard members of your family to loll about tanning themselves, or wet areas that do not drain as quickly as the rest ofthe property. There will be cool areas of shadow which can be traced through the daily arc of the sun, lengthening and shortening with the seasons as your house mimics the gnomon of a sundial.
As a variation you could think small and have a child pace off the distances for your plan. The smaller-
lower you are, the bigger the space appears. In aworm s eye view most of the garden is sky. That is why, from the inside of a swimming pool, a suburban lot takes on estate proportions. Ifyou think small and select dwarf plants, you can create curious illusions in the scale of an otherwise ordinary yard. It is not easy to designwith small modules, but with the help ofa child, some things can be done which only little people will really appreciate.
Now stand up and think about what s at your eye level. Most Canadian gardens are at or below eye level; they have a kind of foundation planting extended throughout the yard, backdropped by a fence.
Thinking height is important to the plan. Because your plan is laid out to your pace, converting it to the scale of a standing adult is so easy that it s almost intuitive. Take four paces across the room right now. Reach up. Imagine you have just crossed your patio. Listen to your feelings. Do you want to see more sky? Or is this the place to plant a tree? Trees make nice canopies. Why not have a natural roof on your garden?
If you propose to have a fence, will its gate be standard? too wide for you and too narrow for atractor mower? One fascinating primitive culture builds huts with humanscale keyhole openings. These doorways are round and wide at the top so someone can pass through with an armful of wood and are straight and narrow at the bottom. I can think of some other good body shapes for gates. A second, less personal, entrance can be planned for equipment.
If you were thinking of fencing off the front yard to give junior and the pup a sunny and safe play space,
you might take a tailor s inseam measure of your postman s leg. Then gaps could be planned in the fence where the postman could step over comfortably, without opening a gate and releasingthe dog.
When you are doing your paced survey, grades and vertical changes may become obvious. Some lines of walking pick up energy (going down a slope) and some require more effort (going up a grade). Watch a child on the same route and notice the extra effort needed by small legs when they churn up a slope. With these discoveries about the gradients of your land in mind, you can then select the routes that are the most comfortable. The route from the city sidewalk to your front door can angle across the grade so you can take it at a leisurely pace. [ am not suggesting switchback mountain roads, but the idea is the same. Realize that there are no rules that state that a front walk must be parallel to the drivewayor that it should even go in a straight line.
The maintenance routes are also important to think about, not only because drudgery increases as the grade climbs, but also because these routes are often of such limited interest. If indeed you plan to grow a lawn, why not design one with a good view to add pleasure when you are mowing. The choice is yours.
It is in the final stage that the survey for accuracy of quantities, cuts and fills and the realities of unit prices will be done. By this time you will know what you want. Contact a landscape technologist to help in accurately quantifying details. This is the best way to price the garden for this year or to phase it through several years. A garden grows with you and you should plan it to fit.
Jim Floyd is a landscape architect
This is your program for the next
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE, EDWARDS GARDENS 777 Lawrence Ave. East., Don Mills M3C 1P2
PROGRAM SCHEDULE JANUARY-JUNE 1978
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR ALL CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE
Please use the form provided on p.4 & mail proper remittance
WE REGRET NO CONFIRMATION OF REGISTRATION CAN BE SENT THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
FLOWER SHOWS AND SPECIAL EVENTS
May 3
Rhododendron Society of Canada: Plant Auction 8:00pn{
6 Ron Miller Portraits Showing (fromSat. thru to followingThurs.)
7 Natanya Chapter, Hadassah Craft Show
12 Civic Garden Centre: Plant Sale 10:00am 9:pm
26
Toronto African Violet Society: International Show
27 Toronto African Violet Society: International Show 10:00am >5pm
June 10 Canadian Irish Society: Show 2:00 6:00pm
11 Toronto Bonsai Society: Show and Display
18 Paintings by Morris Shack: Art Exhibition
25 Canadian Rose Society: Annual Show
WORKSHOPS AND COURSES
Jan. 6 RugHooking 8 week course on Fridays from 10:00am 2:00pm
Fee: $32.00 Members
$36.00 Non-Members
Jan.11 Botanical Art 10 week course on Wednesdays
Fee: $40.00 Members
$50.00 Non-Members
Jan. 23 Needlepoint (Intermediate) 5 week course on Mon. 1:30 & 8:00 pm
Jan. 24 Crewel (Beginners) 5 week course on Tues. 1:30 pm
Feb.27 Needlepoint (Beginners) 5 week course on Mon. 1:30 & 8:00 pm
Fees: $20.00 Members (cach )
$25.00Non-Members 81 course
Mar. 9 Brass Rubbing Workshop 1:30 & 7:30 p.m.
Fee: $8.00 Members
$10.00 Non-Members
Mar. 14 Crewel (Intermediate) 5 week course on Mon. 1:30 p.m.
Apr.24 Needlepoint (Advanced) 5 week course on Mon. 1:30& 8:00p.m.
Fees: $20.00 Members feach )
$25.00Non-Members \ach course
Apr. 3,10, 24,May1 Winter Bouquet Workshops 1:30 & 8:00 p.m.
Application formwill givedetails of each session
Registration necessary prior to events.
Fee: $2.50 per session Members
$7.00 for 3 sessions
Fee: $3.00 per session Non-Members
$8.00for 3 sessions
Apr. D Crochet forBeginners 5week courses on Wed. 1:30p.m.
Fee: $20.00Members
$25.00 Non-Members
Apr24 Nori-Zome 10week series on Mon. 1:30p.m. Fee: $40.00 Members
$50.00Non-Members
FLOWER ARRANGING
Jan. 25 Teachers Demonstration and Display, A is for Arranging Tickets $2.00, Call 445-1552 for reservations. 1:30 & 8:00 p.m.
Mar. 15
Basic Course 1 for beginners, 6 weeks Wed. 1:30& 8:00 p.m.
Mar. 16 Basic Course 1 for beginners, 6 weeks Thurs. 1:30& 8:00pm
Apr. 26 Basic Course 1 for beginners, 6weeks Wed. 1:30 & 8:00 p.m. Fees: $12.00 Members only.
i Elower Arranaing Worksh
May 4 pecial Flower Arranging Workshops 10:00 am 3:00 pm
May 11 Call 445-1552 for application forms.
ABOUT SOME NEW PROGRAMMES
Ifyou ever have wished youcoulddraworpaintflowers, thenthenewcourseon BotanicalArt (10 sessions starting in January) is for you.
Most of us admire the exquisite patterns of kimonos and Japanese fabrics. An expert in the traditional Japanese methods of fabric dyeing, called Nori-Zome, will be presenting a 10-week course startingin April. Class sizes in both courses are limited, so be sure to enrol at once.
Flower arrangerswill be particularly interestedin the Teachers Demonstration and Display on January 25. Come to find our some of the tricks ofthe trade!
The Decoupeurs Guild of Ontario will sponsor a course jointly with the Centre in the spring if there is enough interest in this subject. The course would run for 5 to 8 weeks. If you would be interested in participating, please phone the Centre at 445-1552.
This springwe hope to have three Members Nights. On February 22 there will be a film night, featuring in particular the Garden Club of Toronto s new film, The Flower Show . On March 15 the Centre s Botanical Art Showwill open, and the meetingwill be devoted to talks on that subject. Then on April 19 Tommy Thompson will talk about Africa.
Starting in March the Centre will again be offering tours to places of interest in Ontario to gardeners. A greenhouse tour and a visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens are among those being discussed. With the coming of springwe also plan to schedule nature walks in Edwards Gardens on a regular basis.
One of our objectives in the new year will be to make the Centre a more interesting place to visit. A series of displays on horticultural topics is being considered, and we plan to provide displays that will not only be attractive, but useful and informative as well.
And more courses are being planned. We cannot give details of our horticultural courses at the time of going to press because we are arranging a different and new format this year. Watch Trellis and its inserts for further information on all these programmes.
SPECIAL GARDEN CLINIC (Soils, Pests and the
Environment)
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE 7.30 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday MARCH 29 & 30, 1978
As part of their ongoing program of special events for members the Civic Garden Centre has organized a plant clinic with a difference.
Anytime after the first of March telephone your garden questions to the Civic Garden Centre office 445-1552 and leave your own phone number so we can follow up for further details. The Garden Clinic program will be built around these questions with slides and practical demonstrations being used to illustrate the answers. Any questions that are not covered during the two evening Clinic will be answered by telephone. The pane! will be conducted by Dr. Peter Rice, Pathologist from the Royal Botanical Garden and Dean Richard Hook, of Humber College.
(It is proposed that the Clinic will run concurrently with the publishing of an article on Insect and Disease Prevention and a diagnosis chart published in the March issue of Trellis .)
BLOSSOMER FOR AFRICAN VIOLETS
LANT DE ¥mn g gg
OLETTEQ AFRICAINES
5y 57 ML
NOURRILURE M f TUS PLANEES BTINBERIES
the show
Whether you show your African Violets or not, you do want them looking their best. After all, isn t their delicately beautiful appearance why you like them so much? Have you ever met an African Violet enthusiastwho didn t want thebest for their plants?
Now from Clarel Laboratories, Granny s Bloomers and Jungle Juice make possible noticeably healthier looking and showier African Violets! Professional growers claim more and larger blooms, more often and more vibrantly hued than ever before. Researchers boast of longer lasting blooms and better overall bouquets. Granny s Bloomers and Jungle Juice each feature a low analysis N-P-K (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) count balanced to achieve best results. Low analysis means plants can be fed with more regularity and less possibility of fertilizer burn. The secret, however, lies in the minute but indispensible amounts oftraceelementsfound in these two products.
After 19 years of university re-
search by Glenn Elliott, a respected horticultural researcher, the best combination of trace elements, plant hormones and chelating agents was developed. Trace elements, properly proportioned are now recognized as essential to maximize healthy growth and flowering of plants. Other manufacturers have rushed to add these items to their products. When the controversy settles down, Clarel Labs is confident all the research generated in this area will show Granny s Bloomers and Jungle Juice to be the best products our technology can now offer.
Try Granny s Bloomers and Jungle Juice and see if your African Violets don 't become Show-stoppers, too. Both are concentrated so a capful makes about a quart.
Granny s Bloomers and Jungle Juice are now arriving at your favorite garden center. If you don t see them, insist your dealer stock them. Don t be shy. Take home an extra one of each Four to go, eh?
THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE : 777 Lawrence Avenue East, Don Mills, Ontario - 445-1552 ; :
ACTIVITIES IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY
If you ever wanted to draw or paint flowers, now is your chance to Jearn how! Enclosed is an application form for the BOTANICAL ART COURSE, starting January 11. SIGN UP AT ONCE - SPACES ARE LIMITED.
There's no limit to the number of participants on the BIRD OUTING on JANUARY 28. Just show up at the Centre in warm clothing and footwear, bring a pair of binoculars, and your Executive Director will do the rest. This is a morning trip in conjunction with the Toronto Field Naturalists, and we leave at 9.30 a.m.
Toronto is fortunate in the numbers of its trees, and the University of Toronto Faculty of Forestry has been counting our city trees and assessing the health of the urban forest. Intrigued? Then make a point of looking at the DISPLAY ON TORONTO'S FOREST opening JANUARY 11 in the Tower Tink at the Centre. It tells the story of the study, with some fascinating photographs. The show will run for a month, but we hope to use the Lower Link (a rather neglected area) regularly for exhibits of this type in future, so make a point of checking it when you are in the Centre.
SRLE - SAEE -2 SALE" 108
IN THE TRELLIS SHOP, JANUARY 23-29. Come in and find some bargains.
The programme is still not guite firm, but there will be a MEMBER'S NIGHT on FEBRUARY 22 at 8.00 p.m. (also on March 15 and April 19). Probably some excellent films on plants, but there is just a chance we will be able to line up an exciting speaker from overseas, so check nearer the date. : i Mark the other two dates on your calendar - details on these in the next
. ALSO COMING UP...More Tours, starting in March. A Disease and Pest Clinic for members only, and a programme offering advice on garden layout and landscaping. And new Craft courses. And more Exhibits.
(we hope to feature a series on Flowering branches).
KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE CENTRE
" THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE
777 LAWRENCE AVE. EAST
DON MILLS M3C 1P2, ONT. 445-1552
A COURSE IN BOTANICAL ART
The Civic Garden Centre is introducing a 10 week course in Botanical Art. It is scheduled at 8.00 p.m. on: WEDNESDAYS JAN. 11, 18, 25, FEB. 1, (skip 8), 15, 22, 7 MARCH 1, 8, 15th and 22nd, 1978
~T e instructor will be MR. HOMER MOELCHERT
The class will be handled flexibly, allowing everyone to pursue their own particular ~ interests and to work with whatever medium suits them most.
~ Subject matter will include:
1. Discussion of available media and plant models. A look at original werks andka short historical review of examples in reproduction using slides and books.
Discussion of movement and composition.
Demonstration of the use of pencil as a medium and discussion of materials (papers, pencils).
Demonstration of the use of ink as a medium. Discussion of original and reproduced including engraving, etching and wood cut.
Demonstration of watercolour.
Discussion of the importance of an understanding of plant structure and three dimensional form.
A work night with the use of ink with brush and pen.
A work night with watercolour.
Demonstration of matting and framing procedures.
0. Individual work while the instructor meets with each person for a discussion of directions his work might take in the future.
N.B. THE CLASS WILL BE LIMITED TO 15 APPLICANTS. CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE MEMBERS WILL BE GIVEN PREFERENCE.
EEE: $40.00 MEMBERS $50.00 non-members
-1 wish to enrol in the botanical art course for 10 Weeks starting Wednesday January 11th, 1978 - The instructor will be Mr. Homer Moelchert.
R R U SO e PR
Please make cheque payable to ADDRESS: 4 v disaiie SRR B A PR RE e
PRONESE o Sl S0 i e b I s
The Civic Garden Centre
BEE: ofcoviait Lty (enclosed) MEMBER:: .t iiiass NON-MEMBER. . evvennnnns
CLUB AND SPECIALTY GROUP MEETINGS
*Canadian Chrysanthemum & Dahlia Society, Starts at 8:00 p.m. on: January 26, February 23, March 23, April 27, May 25 and June 22.
Canadian Rose Society, SpringmeetingApril 13.
Garden Clubs of Ontario, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on April 3 and June 5.
*Highrise Gardeners ofToronto, Startsat8:00p.m.ondJanuary4,February 1 March 1, April 3, May 3 and June 7.
* Hobby GreenhouseGroup, Starts at8:00p.m.AuditoriumWednesdays, January 25, February 22, March 22, April 26, May 24, June 28, September 27, October 25, November 15, December 27.
*Indoor Light GardeningSociety,Startsat8:00p.m. ondJanuary 11,February 1, March 8, April 12, May 10 and June 14.
xJunior Garden Clubs: Enthusiasts: 9:45 a.m. to 12:00noon onJanuary21, February 18,March 18, April 22, May 20, and June 17. Green Thumbs: 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon on January 14, February 11, March 11, April 8, May 13 and June 13.
*Men s Garden Club, Starts at 8:00p.m. ondJanuary3,February 14,March7, April 4, May 2 and June 6.
Milne House Garden Club, January 17, February 21, March 21, May 16 and June 20.
On April 18 the club hasa trip planned to Niagara.
*Rhododendron Society of Canada, May 20.
Southern Ontario OrchidSociety, 1:00to 5:00p.m. onJanuary 8,February5, April 2, May 7, and June 4.
Southern Ontario Unit ofthe Herb Society ofAmerica. Annual Meeting June 21.
* Toronto Bonsai Society, Starts at 7:30 p.m. on January 9, February 13, March 13, April 10, May 8, and June 12.
Toronto Flower ArrangingJudgesSeminar, 9:00a.m. to 4:00p.m. on May 10.
Toronto Gesneriad Society, 2:00 4:00 p.m. on January 8, February 12, April 9, May 14, and June 11.
On March 19 there will be a meeting during the Society s show.
OthergroupsmeetingattheCentrearetheGardenClubofTorontoandthe Garden Therapy Group. Non-members are welcomed to meetings of the groups asterisked.
IT'S FLOWER SHOW TIME AGAIN!
The big, airy Automotive Building at the C.N.E. will again be the stage for Canada s finest Spring Flower and Garden Show the 24th put on by The Garden Club of Toronto. There will be the glory and fragrance of thousands of sweetscented flowers great beds of hyacinths to greet you at the door, a time-telling flower clock and more than thirty gardens filled withleafy green and flowering trees and shrubs and dozens of varieties of new and favorite plants.
Ideas Galore
Hundreds of ideas to take home for everybody s garden will be there, whether they are small or large, bal cony or patio, country or city or indoor plantings. A wildflower wood filled with trilliums and violets, marsh marigolds and ferns is always a favorite and for gourmet cooks there will be a herb garden to copy and a kitchen garden filled with succulent vegetables.
The Prima Donna
The prima donna of the Show is to be an International Flower Arrangement class sponsored by Canadian Club , with fifteen award winning arrangers being invited from England, Ireland, the United States, Australia, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, France, Monaco, Kenya, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Trinidad and Mexico. They are being asked to do arrangements with containers, accessories and flowers representative of their country and the winner will be judged by a team of top Canadian judges.
Flower Bouquets to See
Since the theme of the whole Show is A Time for Flowers , competitive classes for Garden
Club members all have the word time in their titles A Time to Economize ; The Time of Your Life ; It s About Time and so on There will be more than a hundred arrangements during the Show, so visitors will always see something fresh and new.
House Plants to See
Competitive house plant classes will show orchids, begonias, cactus, coleus, the fast growing hobby miniature roses, and a special class, always fascinating, or rare and unusual plants.
Famous Canadian Plantsmen
Intriguing exhibits will honour some of Canada s famous plantsmen: Catherine Parr Traill, author of the fascinating 19th century books about Canadian wildflowers; John Mclntosh, also of the 1800s, whose apple named for him, is still a first favorite; Percy Wright of Saskatchewan, breeder of hardy roses for Canada s prairies; Ernest Fisher of African violet fame; [sabella Preston of Ottawa, the sensitive developer of lovely lilacs and iris, and Leslie Hancock, a brilliant propagator and breeder of hardy rhododendrons and azaleas for eastern Canada.
As well, there will betwo theatres, one for films and one for garden how-to talks; a flowery park and bandstand with lots of benches; snack bars and a restaurant; plenty of flowers and plants and good garden books to take home; and lots of parking and easy public transportation via Bathurst street cars.
Proceeds, as they have in the past, will assist in a project for all citizens of Metropolitan Toronto this year, a wildflower sanctuary in Sunnybrook Park.
The dates: March 1-5, 1978
Hours: 10a.m. to 10p.m.
Wed. to Sat.
10a.m. to 5p.m.
Sunday
Open Classesfor AnyonetoEnter
Flower Arrangements:
Never a Dull Moment : for details Mrs. H. L. Cantlon 23 Granlea Rd., Willowdale 223-0056
A Church Arrangement : non-competitive, for details
Ms. Vera Holdsworth 1398 Islington Ave., Toronto 231-8132
House Plants: five classes for house plants; six classes for speciment plants, two classes for hanging plants and herbs; a class each for terrariums and bottle gardens. Details from Mrs. J. A. Mclntyre, 504 St. Clair Ave. East, Toronto, 489-4474
NATURALBUG CONTROLS
FOSSIL FLOWER
Admission: $3.50 for adults; $2.50 for students; $1 for children under12 (under 5, free);
Senior citizens $2.50 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday only.
Mail-in Open Classes: (filled in the past with entries from all over Canada) Time Goes By , an oldfashioned-type design using natural materials; A Time for All Seasons , a collage of a contemporary design using natural materials; Time to Remember , three greeting cards using natural materials. Details from Mrs. W. K. Kerr, 21 Dale Avenue, Toronto, 923-8377
Junior Gardeners Open Classes: for all children and teenagers: for 6-11s, Time to Think Small ; Time to Play ; Time to be Free and Time to Grow for 1214s, Time to Love ; Time to Care ; and Time to Party Details from Mrs. E. S. Scott, 400 Avenue Rd., Toronto, 922-5632
PURPLE MARTIN HOUSES UNFAIR1OBUGS
Natural Organic Bug Killers A Purple Martin eats 2,000 mosquitosaday. and repellants, made from Beneficial Insects also.
DIATOMACEOUS EARTH Free brochures at many stores or from (Money Back Guarantee) Fossil Flower, 5266-12 General Rd. Mississauga, Ontario L4W 127 Visit us at the Spring Flower and GardenShow in March. (416) 624-0541
k Kathleen Wasserfall
Feeding Birds in Wipter
Clive Goodwin, Executive Director Civic Garden Centre
Canadians have been feeding winter birds ever since the pioneers threw crumbs outside their doors for the juncos to eat. Of course, many people still throw out kitchen scraps for the birds, but bird feeding has now become more sophisticated. The feeder enthusiast may invest in several different kinds offeeders and a varied range of food, and will spend several dollars over the year.
Birds do provide colour and life to a garden that can otherwise be very drab between November and March. In many ways attracting birds is very similar to gardening, because the opportunities are often limited by the position of the garden, its size and surroundings, but with planning and moderate expenditures a garden s ability to attract a diversity of birds can be much improved.
Let s assume that you are one of the crumb-throwers, and you are now intrigued by the birds that you have succeeded in attracting, and you would like to attract more. How should you go about it?
First of all, it is useful to know something about the birds you are going to try to attract. In Southern Ontario the most common birds in cities are house sparrows, starlings and domestic pigeons, which are descendants of the wild rock dove. If your garden is in the urban core and you do not have much shrubby vegetation in the vicinity, it is quite possible that these are the only birds you are likely to see with any regularity; and regardless of where you live in the city they are probably the ones that have been consuming most of your food. All three are city residents the year round. They were introduced into North America, and depend on mankind for both food and shelter. These birds will probably continue to
dominate your winter flock unless you take special measure to prevent it. However, almost all the other birds you are likely to attract will be native Canadians that have always spent the winter in our latitude, and they will use your feeder supplies as a useful supplement to the wild food which is often scarce at this time of year.
Apart from water birds and the predators such as hawks and owls, our winter birds depend on two main food sources: wild seeds and fruits of various kinds, and dormant insects hiding in crevices, under bark or in similar places. Although some birds are specialists in their feeding habits and may be difficult to attract (such as the crossbills which have bills specially adapted to removing seeds from pine cones), most winter birds have evolved rather versatile feeding habits in order to survive. Still, their usual food gives a clue to the fare that should be provided for them.
Several different kinds of seeds are used in commercially prepared mixtures which can be purchased in the stores for bird feeders. Alternatively, you may prefer to purchase your feed in bulk, and indeed as your patronage builds up you may find that purchasing feed in small quantities can be very expensive. Cut corn is one staple food used by most feeder operators, because it will be eaten by most seed-eating birds and is less expensive than sunflower seeds and millet, although these seeds are commonly provided as well. Millet is favoured by our native sparrows, and sunflower seed is the first choice of winter finches, cardinals, bluejays, and in fact, a very large number of the birds that you might like to attract. Birds that prefer an insect diet can be provided for by being offered raw suet, which is particularly attractive to woodpeckers. There are also varieties of suet and seed
cakes that can either be made or purchased. The range of useable seed types is wide indeed. | have never had much success with wheat, but raw peanuts can be a major attraction!
Some feed operators like to offer water, and specially designed heaters can be purchased which will keep the water in bird baths open during the cold weather. Take care in selecting the bath because some are not suitable for use in extremely cold weather. The complexities of selecting suitable outside wiring, heating elements and water containers are enough to discourage most people from trying to provide water at their feeders. On the other hand, the enthusiasts claim that it will attract some species to a feeding station that would otherwise only pay a brief visit, or not come at all.
The reason for all this effort is to attract a more diverse group of birds, and to attract them in greater numbers. Most feeder owners tire of feeding nothing but house sparrows, starlings and pigeons and indeed, may come to resent the amount of food these commonplace birds consume. These persons look for colourful and interesting birds such as cardinals, bluejays and chickadees, as well as the wandering groups of finches, such as evening grosbeaks, purple finches and redpolls. The availability of a wide range of food is more likely to attract a broader mix of birds.
Another way of providing for a large number of different kinds of birds simultaneously is to use different kinds of feeders. Again, the easiest form of feeding is simply to throw the food out on the ground, and let the birds feed there. However, some species are reluctant to take food from the ground. The first snow will cover the food anyway, so it is better to erect a bird feeder. A large number of different shapes and sizes of feeders are available in stores or you can build one yourself. They range from nothing more than a simple shelf, which can be easily attached to a window sill, to elaborate and costly structures, which, however, do not necessarily attract more birds. In our climate it is a good idea to put
some kind of roof over the feeder, and unless you wish to be constantly running out to replenish the food some form of grain reservoir is also useful. Many feeders are designed with a central hopper which allows the seed to disperse onto the feeding tray. There are several different kinds of small plastic hanging feeders which can be suspended from a clothesline or a wire; these may be difficult for larger birds to cope with, but they are easy for small, attractive species such as chickadees. These small birds can then find food even when the main feeding tray itself is dominated by bigger species. Suet logs can be made by drilling holes in short lengths of tree trunk or other pieces of wood, and these can be then suspended by wire with raw suet pressed into the holes. Another method is to place the suet in a net bag which can then be suspended in a similar manner.
Feeder owners are constantly trying to improve their facilities, and the more enthusiastic will have several different kinds of feeders in their gardens, all complementing one another. My own arrangement consists of a large hopper feeder at some distance from the house. It contains cut corn together with some sunflower seed and other mixed seeds. This is used by almost all the birds that visit the garden, and in busy periods it can have a dozen or more birds lining up for position on the two shelves. There are two hanging plastic feeders which are filled with sunflower seeds, and two suet logs. A feeding tray in a sheltered location closer to the house, with three of its sides enclosed, provides a reserve supply of food for the birds in particularly bad weather when access to the main feeder may be difficult. Finally there is a clear area on the ground where cut corn and millet is spread, attracting sparrows and ground-feeding birds such as pheasants. A fair amount of feed also falls to the ground from the other feeders, so food is often scattered in several locations around the garden. This is useful in a garden that has a high population of squirrels, as mine does, because it gives the ground-feeding birds access to food even when the main feeding areas are dominated by gray and
black squirrels. The squirrels are kept off the feeding tables by inverted metal cones mounted on the posts carrying the feeders.
The reward for all this effort and expenditure the owner of a very successful feeder can spend $200 or more each year in seed is the diversity and constant flow of life brought into the garden. Over the winter a well-stocked feeder can attract about 25 different species of birds, and you can have as many as a dozen present at once. If you have more than a passing interest in the birds themselves there is always the possibility of a rare species arriving, but the comings and goings of even common birds at the feeders are a constant source of interest and delight and it is not difficult to understand why people become hooked on bird-feeding.
You can become involved in a small way by purchasing one of the little feeders and suspending it from a suitable object, but you are unlikely to attract a great deal of life in the first winter, particularly if you are only starting in January. Feeding station customers tend to build up over the years.
It is best to start feeding birds in the late fall because at that time many of the birds that remain during the winter are searching out winter territories and establishing movement patterns. Usually they only change these patterns after the food supply runs out or following a big storm, which may have made their supply difficult to reach.
Like other matters in the garden feeding takes some planning and if you are really interested in attracting birds the feeder operation can be a yearround one. Many of the plants in your garden can be directed towards encouraging bird life as well. Feeders are not usually very successful in bare gardens that do not have cover for birds to use when escaping from predators, so ajudicious planting of shrubs and evergreen trees is important if you take birdfeeding seriously. One thing that could be ascertained during the first winter is the direction of the prevailing winds. The areas of shelter in the garden
March
1-5, 1978
Spring Flower and Garden Show
Time for Flowers
presented by
The Garden Club of Toronto at the Automotive Building, Exhibition Place, Toronto.
Tickets available at the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave. E., Don Mills, Ont. Tel. (416) 445-1552
? 5 GARDEN
o o ENTERPRISES LTD.
WILLOWDALE & THORNHILL, ONTARIO
Design and construction by Japanese Landscape Architects and Horticulturists.
Residential, Commercial, Industrial 225-7836
* WESTERN JAPANESE LANDSCAPE DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
* PATIOS. DRIVES, WALLS, STONEWORK
¢ LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE SERVICE
¢ SNOW REMOVAL. SERVICE
Member of Landscape Ontario and Torontc Home Builders Association.
Distlefink Feeder
] - e Penndyteania Duten)
A feeder that will delight both amateur and professional ornithologists. Attracts droves of colorful goldfinches, purple finches, redpolls and saucy siskins! Especially cesigned to con- serve seed because £ it restricts birds to . picking out one seed at a time rather than scattering it on the ground. (A little bit of Thistle Seed goes a long way.) Wooden perches provide protection. Feeder and Thistle Seed available at Gift Shop, Civic Garden Centre. Distributed in Canada by Yule- Hyde Associates Ltd., 15 EImbank Rd., Thorn- hill, Ont. L4J 286.
should be noted too. And you can always, if you want, acquire some feeder plans and build a feeder yourself, as larger feeders which are able to provide for a fair number of birds at once are expensive to buy.
A few cautions are in order. Always remember that you decided to feed the birds; the birds did not ask to be fed. If you establish a feeding station you will attract birds that are normally quite capable of fending for themselves in the average Canadian winter. Perhaps you might even encourage one or two that were heading South to stay behind. All these birds then become dependent upon your feeding station for food, and congregate in much larger numbers than they would naturally. Having attracted them in this manner, you cannot, in the middle of winter, decide the whole project is too expensive or too cold to continue. If you decide to phase out your feeders, or if you expect to be going away and will not be able to make arrangements for them to be maintained, then cut the food down gradually over a period to encourage the birds you attracted to move elsewhere. But really you should stop in the spring, and then not start again next year.
A second caution is that the concentration of birds that you will attract if you are successful will also attract predators such as shrikes, hawks and owls; and they attack and kill the birds at your feeder. A few years ago we awoke to look out at a well fed sawwhet owl sitting in one of our spruce trees, and the remains of one of our favourite cardinals on the ground below. When you see the tenants of your feeder being attacked by a predator it can sometimes be disturbing, and some misguided feeder owners have gone so far as to destroy predators in an effort to protect their birds. But it is important to understand that the predators are important parts of nature too. They depend upon the winter birds for food to survive themselves, and indirectly the winter birds depend upon them to maintain the strong healthy populations and natural balance that are so important. Ironically, all predators today are under very heavy pressure from
mankind, and they are far more in need of help than the small birds. So when a shrike flies in and picks off your favourite chickadee try to regard it an exciting part of the natural scene and not something that demands an attack on the shrike.
Finally, feeding birds does involve some trade-offs with the rest of your garden. You may lose some of the flower buds on your forsythia, your lawn may not like the heavy accumulation of sunflower seed hulls, and you may find more weeds sprouting next spring than you would like. But these minor difficulties are some of the costs of five months of colour and fascination; but they are well worth it.
FLORADA CONSERVATORY GREENHOUSES
Features
e Heavy duty extruded aluminum
o BRONZE baked enamel finish, to resist oxidizing & pitting.
® One piece aluminum curved frame for greater strength
e C.P.I double strength glass, Acrylic on curved sections.
e FEasily assembled.
® Stainless steel spring clips lock glass into neoprene
e Hinged door seals air tight, Automatic closer included.
e Roof vent and side louvers standard on most models.
e Curved eaves do not allow snow build up and seal tight for easier year round heating.
SMART in appearance, more head room than most other Greenhouses. . These many features make this series, for sure, the Greenhouse you've been waiting for
See them now at (indoor showroom)
English Aluminium Greenhouses Ltd. 506 McNicoll Ave., Willowdale, Ont. (416) 493-7773
This fall, when all yourplants are wiltingoutdoors, build up a collection of indoorgreenery. Small trees and flowering plants in unusual pots and baskets make a lovely backdrop for entertaining. And it s always great to have that perfect little plant on hand when you receive an unexpected dinner invitation. Get yourcollection growing today at Clargreen.
CHRIS CATERING
Having A Party? Be Your Own Guest!
COMPLETE CATERING ARRANGEMENTS FOR ALL OCCASIONS
e BUFFET SERVICE HOT & COLD BUFFETS AND SMORGASBORD
¢ PATIO & POOL BAR-B-QUES
e COCKTAIL PARTIES HORS D OEUVRES e BAR SERVICE e LIQUORS HOT OR COLD
e FASHIONABLE WEDDING BUFFETS
¢ OPEN HOUSE HOME, OFFICE ORPLANT
OUR INDUSTRIAL REPRESENTATIVE IS AVAILABLE FOR CONSULTATION IN YOUR OFFICE OR OURS
® We Offer One of the Most Complete CateringServices WITHIN THE Toronto, Scarborough, Ajax, Oshawa, Whitby, Pickering, Brooklin and Vicinity
FREE!
Send today for Sears-McConnell latest, all-color Garden Catalog featuring top-quality Nursery Stock, Seeds and Supplies. For your free catalog write to:
THE McCONNELL NURSERY CO. LTD. PORT BURWELL, ONTARIO N0J 1T0
Phone 519-874-4405
APRIL 2nd 1978
45TH HEADMASTER SENEI IKENOBO
will demonstrate Ikebana at the 15th Anniversary Flower Show ofthe Toronto lkenobo Society Japanese Cultural Centre.
THIS WILL BE A RARETREAT WHICH NO ONE SHOULD MISS
' DO IT NOW!
SAVE 30% OF GREENHOUSE HEATING COSTS!
Apply AirCap® solar heating panels just like wallpaper or attach with Transfer Film Sticky Tape. Use AirCap® for cold frames, storm windows, heating duct insulation etc.
Available in dispenser boxes, rolls or in complete kits.
*Literature available at the Civic Garden Centre, Edwards Gardens MACIVER INDUSTRIAL SALES CO., LTD. P.O. Box 281, Agincourt, Ont. (416) 291-4999
Book Review A New Cook Book for Herb Lovers
\/ The Herb Cook Book is for people who not only like to cook, but like to try something different. It s a book for people who like to use the good things that grow in the good earth; for people who savour the richness and delicacy of natural flavours.
Most good cooks wish at times that new kinds of meat, fish, vegetables and fruit could be invented. The recipes in this book give familiar foods a new and refreshing taste. Possible variations are endless. Special diets become less of a problem: for here are a number of recipes for salt-free, lowcalorie, and low-cholesterol dishes that taste great.
In order to provide for the transition to metric from the former measures, both types of measurement are given in each recipe. The over two hundred recipes and hints have been contributed by members of the Southern Ontario Unit of the Herb Society of America, who have been growing their own herbs and developing their recipes for many years.Now they share their experience.
The Herb CookBook is edited by Beatrice Jeanneret and is illustrated by Susan Hamilton. $4.95; plus postage and packing $5.58. (For U.S. funds, add 50¢) P.O. Box 141, King City, Ontario LOG 1KO.
INTERNATIONAL ORCHID CENTRE
167 CARLTON ST., TORONTO (416) 961-7335
EXOTIC ORCHID PLANTS & POTTING MEDIA
WED. SUN. 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
WEDDINGS
COCKTAIL PARTIES
BANQUETS
BUFFET DINNERS
PIGNICS
PLANT OPENINGS OPEN HOUSE
INTERNATIONAL CUISINE PLATTER STYLE HOT & COLD HORS D'OEUVRES
COMPLETE SERVICE INCLUDING TABLES, CHAIRS, WAITRESSES, BAR STAFF, DISC JOCKEYS ETC. S
WEDDING CAKES eI on A SPECIALTY also: INDUSTRIAL s CATERING METRO-WIDE SERVICE
For more information call our representative at 755-5244 for an appointment to fill you in on details and give you a typed out estimate.
HILLVIEW FARMS LTD. R.R. No. 4, Woodstock, Ont. Toronto: 36 Smithwood Drive, Islington
Carel Deutekom, dscape Manager