The CIL Golfgreen Lawn Program
By George R. Blais
The perfect lawn should enhance your home and accentuate its better features while drawing attention away from some of the less desirable angles. Obviously the grass should be healthy and pest free and your motto should be green is gorgeous not a succulent, deep green, but a sturdy bright green carpet that can take traffic while it gobbles up dust, noise, heat, pollutant gases and even excess rainfall that can cause erosion.
With controlled feeding and watering, and a smart lookout for weeds, insects and other pests, you can cultivate the grass toyour needs.
First a word about feeding ... too much of the wrong kind of nitrogen can give you dark green juicy fcliage that won t stand up to the heat. Sometimes that too much can dehydrate the grass causing that ghastly yellow burn. What you need is enough controlled nitrogen (a little over 5 1b. actual per 1,000 sq. ft. per season) plus at least half as much potash. This will provide enough energy and conditioners to give you sturdy wear resistant grass that stays green right through the summer.
This is, of course, if you supply adequate moisture for the grass about 2" per week including rainfall and irrigation.
The CIL Golfgreen Lawn Program provides these important plant foods in the right proportion and at the right time:
Almost everyone knows about Crabgrass which is easily controlled with CIL Crab Grass Doctor 18-6-9, providing you spread it on early in the season before the Forsythia bloom ... you can simply substitute it for the first application mentioned above, because it contains a full complement of plant food as well as the Crabgrass preventer.
If, very early in the season, you see what you rhink is Crabgrass, it is probably a perennial grass such as Quackgrass or even Orchardgrass that has been there all winter and has come through before the annual Crabgrass seeds have had a chance to germinate. In this case you ll have to burn them off with Herbex and Weed-Rite, and after a few days remove the dead foliage and reseed. Next month we ll talk about weeds and otherpests.
Late Summer (Mid to late August as the nights begin to cool)
CIL Golfgreen 18-6-9
May 1978
Volume 5, Number 3
In this issue
Cover photo of woodland White Trillium, Trillium grandiflorum, by Dr. James S. Pringle, Taxonomist at the Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton.
Editorial/5
Trilliums/6
The Lawn in May/9
Photography in your Garden/12
The Personable Perennial/16
Ottawa Beauty Spots/18
Civic Garden Centre Functions: May and June/24
Publication Committee
Lawrence C. Sherk (Chairman), James Floyd, Richard Hook, Jerry MacCabe.
Editor: Fredrik Kirby
Graphics and Printing Drewmark Graphics, Toronto
General Information 1ssn 03801470
Trellis is published inthe monthsofJanuary, March, May, July, September, and November and distributed on or about the 15th of the month previous by the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Avenue East, Don Mills, Ontario 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.
For ideas . . . inspiration . . . information . . . join
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 gardening books. You save 10% on purchases in the new Garden and Book Shops, over $2. You enroll in members only special horticultural and flower arranging classes. Trellis magazine will be mailed to your home every two months.
Care for more details? Call 445-1552 now.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
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O Corporation
JOIN NOW
O Additional fainily weaikbor. - 260 Please make cheques payable to THE CIVIC GARDEN CENTRE request 777 Lawrence Avenue East DON MILLS, Ontario M3C 1P2
I wish to become a member as indicated above and enclose my cheque for $ ________. O Please accept the additional amount as a donation to the work of The Civic Garden Centre which you will acknowledge with an official receipt for income tax purposes (Reg. No. 0228114-56-13). (6)
Editorial
As the new editor of TRELLIS, your needs and wishes must guide our search for interesting and suitable material.
A questionnaire from Executive Director Clive E. Goodwinto members is expected to provide a valuable indication of the range of your horticultural and gardening interests, thereby giving direction to our quest for knowledgeable contributors.
We ll be on the lookout too, for the new and unusual, practical and novel advances, from rare perennials to the vegetable plot designed for beauty and abundance, to happy houseplants, and more.
Our thanks to former editor Sid Morris for his closing editorial of good wishes. We need the lift of good wishes and we welcome the contributions of readers either in editorial form or by verbal suggestions.
Under the leadership of the TRELLIS Publication Committee, we approach our assignment with enthusiasm and eagerness to make TRELLIS a leading publication in its field.
FREDRIK KIRBY
FOUR STEPS TOA BEAUTIFUL LAWN.
So-Green has developed an easy-to-follow, four-step program that will guarantee you a beautiful lawn. You can start now to improve your lawn.
® STEP2:LATE SPRING
In late Spring use So-Green Super All Purpose is available in SuperAll-Purpose 14-7-7 which a33'/3 bag which feeds5000 sq. ft. contains 25% Milorganite. Super Weed and Feed is availablein60, All-Purpose also contains Ironand 40,20and 5|bsizes. Applyat 10Ibs 18 additional plant nutrients to per 1000 sq. ft. guarantee you a deep, darkgreen lawn.
If weeds are a problem, use % e So-GreenWeedand Feed 10-5-10. n-BmE E It kills dandelions, plantain and e other broadleaf weeds while So-Green Division, F. Manley feeding you lawn. Corporation, Box 8780, Don Mills, Ontario.
Trilliums
by Dr. James S. Pringle RovalBotanical Gardens, Hamilton, Ontario
The White Trillium, the floral emblem of Ontario, is one of about fifty species in a genus native to much of temperate North America and eastern Asia. Plants of all Trillium species are herbaceous perennials, with one to several stems arising from a short, tuberlike rhizome. Normally, each stem of a mature plant bears a whorl of three large leaves (sometimes called bracts) at the summit, above which, at least on the larger stems, there is oneterminal flower. The flowers are typical of the Lily Family, being radially symmetrical, with all parts separate except for the united carpels. A trillium flower consists of three persistent green sepals, three petals, six stamens, and a single pistil ofthree united carpels, with three stigmas. The fruit is a severalseeded berry.
The genus Trillium comprises two distinct subgenera. The typical subgenus, which is the only one native to Canada, consists of the pedicellate-flowered species; that is, the flower is borne on a stalk that extends above the whorl of leaves. The other group, called subgenus Phyllantherum, comprises the sessile-flowered species, in which the upward-facing flower is borne directly above the whorl of leaves, with no stalk of its own.
Four species of Trillium are native to eastern Canada. The best known is the White or Largeflowered Trillium, T. grandiflorum (cover). This species is characterized by flowers that range to larger sizes than those of any other Canadian species. Its petals
Yellow Trillium, Trillium luteum
are 2.5-8 cm long, white (turning purplish-pink with age), proportionately broad and abruptly narrowed toward the tip, fluted along the margins, gradually arching upward and outward from the base. The leaves are broadly elliptic and sessile.
The Red or Purple Trillium, T. erectum, is a very different species from the White Trillium and, contrary to occasional assumptions, the two have never been known to interbreed. Its petals are dark purplish-red, gradually tapering toward the tip, not fluted, spreading abruptly from near the base. Its leaves are nearer to diamondshaped than elliptic. This species is unique among those in Canada in
having unpleasantly scented flowers.
The Painted Trillium, T. undulatum, is often considered to ' be the most attractive of these species. It tends to be smaller than the White and Red trilliums. Its white petals are more or less fluted like those ofthe White Trillium; each bears a purplish-red chevron near the base. The leaves are dark bronze-green, proportionately narrower than those of the other Canadian species, with an ovate blade and a short but distinct petiole. The fruits of the Painted Trillium are bright red, showier and possibly more regularly produced than those of the other species described here.
The rarest of the four is the Nodding Trillium, T. cernuum, in which the flower-stalk is deflexed . downward, so that the flower appears below the leaves. Its petals are relatively small, white, and strongly recurved. Its leaves are nearly round, with very short petioles.
All ofthese, along with most other Trillium species, have a number of ecological requirements in common. All grow in relatively mature forests, where the herbaceous and shrub layers of vegetation are not dense but where the canopy of trees overhead is nearly continuous. Trilliums are not found where they would be exposed to full sun in the summer, nor among the tall, dense herbs and shrubs of old-field succession. All grow in mesic habitats, that is, those that are neither very wet nor very dry. And all grow in fertile, well-structured soils, usually where organic matter from fallen leaves accumulates in quantity.
Each of the four eastern Canadian species, however, has its own unique combination of ecological requirements, which, in part, determines its geographic range. The White Trillium evidently requires soils near neutral in pH and relatively rich in calcium. Such soils occur extensively in those parts of Ontario underlain by sedimentary
Red Trillium, Trillium erectum
foot of the lawn. If the recommendation of the fertilizer manufacturer is for 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet of lawn area make sure you apply that amount, no more, no less. For spreading fertilizer on your lawn it pays to use the best spreader on the market.
What about the home gardener whose lawn is infested with both broadleaved weeds and crabgrass? In those circumstances I'd treat for the crabgrass the first ten days in May and wait until the first week in June to control the broadleaved weeds. In either case you ll be giving the lawna vital second or third feeding of the season.
Tips on mowing
Once May arrives the lawn will need mowing regularly. It s most important to start off the season with a mower whose blades or blade are sharp. Cutting with a dull blade usually results in a graying and subsequent browning of the leaf tips. Reel type mowers need a sharpening before the beginning of the lawn mowing season and again about the middle of July. The blades of rotary mowers will need sharpening once a month.
Lawns regularly cut with power mowers often develop a series of wave-like ridges running at right angles to the direction of mowing which creates a washboard effect. This can be prevented by regularly changing the direction of mowing, diagonal, right angles or in a circle.
Wet grass should be avoided as much as possible. Dry grass cuts more easily, doesn t ball up and clog the mower, and gives a much finer appearing lawn. Timing tests show that mowing when the grass is dry requires less time.
It should be remembered that mowers are not built for grading
purposes. Lawns containing bumps which are continually scalped, should be regraded in order that they can be mown correctly and to reduce wear and possible damage to the mower.
Most home gardeners base the height of cut for their lawn with the way golf greens are mowed at their golf club. This is a serious mistake because golf greens are planted to bentgrass which, when correctly fertilized and watered, is able to produce an adequate leaf surface at very low heights of cut, as low as 3/16th of an inch. The majority of home garden lawns are planted with Kentucky, Merion Kentucky, Baron, Nugget or Fylking bluegrass mixtures which should be cut from 1-1/2 to 2 inches high. If you cut lower, too much of the leaf surface is removed and the remaining leaves will not be able to provide the grass plants with enough usable food to sustain satisfactory growth.
How often should a lawn be mowed? Infrequent clipping allows the grass to grow so high that when you finally get around to mowing it you remove an excessive amount of leaf surface. At no time should mowing remove more than 1/4 to 1/3 of the total leaf surface at the one time. Removing more than this means that excessive clippings could smother the grass plants and provide the correct growing conditions for diseases and insects. Young and tender growth in early May will be soft and succulent. The moisture content will be much higher than later in the season. This means that such tender young grass must be cut with a sharp, welladjusted mower to avoid considerable damage to the grass plants. Because of high moisture and tenderness you ll need to cut twice a week during May and on into the first week in June. For the
first mowing in the spring, wait until the grass is three inches high.
Another important lawn chore to be done in May is to aerify it. What you're really doing is cultivating your lawn. An aerifier machine is one which is either powered or handdrawn and as it moves across your lawn it removes plugs of earth four inches long and a half inch wide. The plugs of soil are deposited on the surface of the lawn but need not be unsightly. All you need do afterwards is run a rake or a small wire rug over them and they ll easily crumble and fall in between the grass plants and be returned to the surface of the soil.
Meanwhile the holes created by the removal of the plugs will be letting vital oxygen reach the roots of the grass plants.
Just as soon as you finish with the . aerifier is an excellent time to give the lawn its May feeding with a complete lawn fertilizer high in nitrogen. Spread it over the lawn at the rate of 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet or the rate specified by the manufacturer. Then get out the hose and water it in so that the lawn food will reach the roots of the grass plants as quickly as possible.
Most home gardeners are now using fertilizer spreaders which do an excellent job of scattering the fertilizer evenly at the desired rate. Where trouble often develops is on the turns. Unless you shut off the spreader before you start making a turn, you ll place double the required amount of lawn food at the sides or ends of the lawn. Even if you water it in immediately afterwards the grass is often burned. It s the potash in the fertilizer that does the harm. This vital plant food which acts like vitamins do for you and me, is not readily soluble in water and so even a heavy soaking will not
prevent burning in many cases. What s the best thing to do with grass clippings? Many persons leave them on the lawn where they ll eventually decompose into valuable humus and be returned to the top inch or so of the soil. Now that we feed our lawns much more than in the past and with the general use of improved turf grasses, leaving the clippings on the lawn can be a mistake. It will usually mean a big build-up in the thatch or layer of dead grass leaves which congregates on the surface of the lawn. Eventually it can get so thick that rain, water from the hose and lawn food will find great difficulty in reaching the soil. This calls for dethatching with a power rake. You won t need to dethatch nearly as often if you consign the grass clippings to the home garden compost factory. Whatever you do, don t burn them or dispose ofthem in the garbage can. It took food and energy from the earth to produce them and if you get rid or burn them you ll have taken something from the soil that will never be returned unless you do it in the form of humus and fertilizer. Keep in mind also, that grass clippings from the average well-fed lawn will contain about 2-1/2% nitrogen, compared to 1-1/2% for barnyard manure.
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Photography in your Garden
by Betty Greenacre
As Summer fades into Autumn you may regretfully watch the last of your flowers fade and die. Fortunately photography can preserve the beauty ofyour garden, to be enjoyed during Winter and used as a handy reference through the years.
You can compare pictures of last year s garden with those ofthe year before. Your photography can be the means of keeping visual records of prize plants. Enjoy two hobbies right in your own back yard. When friends visit during the cold Winter evenings invite them to view your garden. Those glorious days will live again as the colour ofyour Spring bulbs, annuals and perennials unfolds on the screen or in your album.
Photograph your garden through the Seasons, take an overall picture, then select small areas. Take a whole plant, then a close-up of the flowers.
Equipment can be simple such as an instamatic camera, or the more complicated 35mm single lens reflex with interchangeable lens. Whatever you use the important thing is to know your equipment and its limitations. Close-ups may be taken by using a close-up lens which screws onto the front ofa camera lens like a filter. Extension tubes or bellows can be fitted betweenthelensandcamerabodyof asinglelens reflex oryoucanusea macro lens. For close-ups a single lens reflex camera is recommended
S0 you can see exactly what you will get in your picture.
With an adjustable camera you will get better results ifyou photograph your close-ups with a small lens opening such as F16 or F22. This will increase your zone of sharp focus but the equivalent shutter speed may be too slow to hand-hold your camera. By using a tripod you will be able to eliminate camera movement giving you a sharper picture, and you will be able to compose your picture carefully. Lighting is important. Observe your garden at different times of day. With the sun behind you the lighting is flat and uninteresting. Side or cross lightingbrings out texture and form. Back lighting (when you are looking at the sun) brings out the translucency of petals and leaves. Then there is the soft hazy quality of pictures made on overcast days. Cross-lighted and back lighted subjects usually require more exposure than front lighted subjects. As a general rule you Gazania
Goldie Dahlias should increase 1/2 stop for side lighted scenes and 1 stop for back lighted subjects.
The best way to deal with side and back lighted close-ups is to open up the shadowed areas with a reflector. This can be made by crumpling a piece of kitchen foil, then flattening it out and taping it to a piece of cardboard. 13 x 9 is a good size.
Backgrounds can be distracting and can spoil your subject whether it is a single flower or a group. Try a Spring Rockery
low angle using the sky or the foliage of alarge tree as natural backgrounds. Or you can underexpose the background by casting a shadow. Sometimes you will need another person to throw the shadow, or hold an umbrella to shade behind your subject.
Vertical or horizontal format? Usually if a subject is taller than it is wide, such as a single plant, take a vertical. A rockery or flowerbed would be better horizontal.
The film you use is your own choice. Slides are cheaper than prints and give pleasing colour. If you don t want to set up a projector they can be viewed in a small hand viewer.
Keep a notebook with the dates and names of your subjects. It is a good idea tojot down the exposure you used as this can be a help to improve your future photographs. Avoid windy days and hot humid days. Choose subjects in perfect conditions. Carefully remove wilted or damaged blooms and leaves. If you want instant dew on your flowers spray a little water on them, but don t overdo it.
Simple things like observation, lighting, exposure and some of the care steps we ve talked about can turn your good photos into great ones.
BLOSSOMER FOR AFRICAN VIOLETS
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? Haveyou ever met an African Violet enthusiast whodidn twantthe best 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 befed with more regularity and less possibility of fertilizer burn. The secret, however, lies in the minute but indispensible amounts of trace elementsfound 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? Clean and odorless / Mold and fungus
The Personable Perennial
by Lois Wilson
Perennials are the flowers that with good luck and good management, bloom in your garden year after year. They take a while to become large plants but when they do they are the exotic beauties, the prima donnas and the faithful flowery fillers you may depend on to make your garden lovely.
Some, like the bouncy peonies, need only proper siting and planting, with an occasional feeding; others, the handsome German iris is one, to be divided and re-planted every three or four years. But no matter what their habit or their needs, perennials once established are a long-time delight and all of them can be multiplied again and again with a little know-how. Besides our
cultivated perennials, many of our most cherished wildflowers are perennials and amenable to garden growing.
Most prefer to grow in full sun, some do well in shade. Most need good drainage, fertile soil, ample water; tall willowy and heavyheaded ones may need staking. Approximate heights, time of bloom, distance to plant apart and special needs are included in good nursery catalogues. Perennials can be grown from pre-started nursery plants or from seeds, which take longer to reach blooming size. Orders should be placed early for spring delivery. Container-grown plants from nurseries can be planted from spring to early fall.
SOME FAVOURITES ( S after the name means they will grow well in shade. F meansthey are fragrant. Measurements show expected height at maturity)
Early
Arabis 8
Bleeding heart 24 S
BluebellsVirginia 18 S
Candytuft 12
Columbine 30 S
Coral Bells 18
Doronicum 18
Iris, German & Siberian 2 -3
Lily-of-the-Valley 1 SF
Peony 3 F
Pink 4 -18 , some F
Primrose 67-12
Pulmonaria 12
Mid-Season
Astilbe 1-2 S
Bergamot 2°-3 F
Cornflower 2
Daisies (Boltonia, Gaillardia, Helenium, Heliopsis, Rudbeckia, Shasta) 3 -5
Daylily 2 -4 S some F
Delphinium 4 -5
Golden Glow 5
Phlox 2 -3'F
Oriental Poppy 3
Late
Aster 1 -5°
Chrysanthemum 1 -3
Japanese Anemone 2 -3
Monkshood 6
Michaelmas Daisies 2 -5
Snakeroot 3
Wildflowers
Black-eyed Susan 18
Goldenrod 3-4
Marsh Marigold 18
Trillium 12
The Personable Perennial
Recommended Reading
Perennials for your Garden by Alan Bloom (John Wiley & Sons)
Regular $10.95 now $3.95
Chatelaine s Garden Book by Lois Wilson (Maclean Hunter) $14.95
To borrow or buy these books, write or visit the Garden Library at the Civic Garden Centre, Edwards Gardens, 777 Lawrence Ave. E., Don Mills, Ont. M3C 1P2
From the How To Series Spring Flower & Garden Show
Lois Wilson, Garden Club of Toronto
CHATELAINE'S GARDENING BOOK
Lois Wilson
The complete Al/l-Canada quide to garden success. $17.95 ; illustrated
Available from your local bookstore or from Doubleday Canada Ltd. shipment prepaid.
Please send me copy(ies) of, CHATELAINE'S GARDENING BOOK at $17.95 per copy. (Price includes shipping and handling)
Name.
Street Province
Postal Code
Make cheque or money order payable to: elDOUBLEDAY Canada Limited
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Effects of Cold Water:
Don t forget the effect cold water has on your plants and seedlings. Water from the tap can be close to 32°F. It canreduce the height and weight of plants, since there is a definite relationship between soil temperature, plant growth and flowering. Water just a few degrees above freezing will produce plants with stems shorter than those that receive 65°F water. Tests show that a 60°F soil temperature dropped below 45° when near-freezing water was used. Water around 45° can drop the soil temperature to around 50° and to get it back to normal takes about 4 hours.
A good idea is to draw off a few pails ofwater and let them sit during the day to warm up. Then use this water for your plants. from Under Glass
Public Beauty Spots
About Ottawa: specialized plant care ranges from floral displays through golf courses to forest parks.
by Murray M. Outhet, B.Sc./Agr.
The horticultural practices followed by the National Capital Commission in Ottawa are varied in scope and intensity, for the Commission has the dubious honour of being the largest landowner in the Capital Region and must adjust its practices to suit the particular area.
The Commission is unique in the fact that it owns, designs, develops, operates, and maintains these lands including 30 mile Gatineau Park on the Quebec side, for the enjoyment of all Canadians and their visitors.
The forest cover in the Ottawa area marks the transition between the Great Lakes hardwood forest andthe boreal conifer forest of the north. In order to perpetuate the growth of forests in the Greenbelt around Ottawa the Commission entered into an agreement with the Ministry ofNatural Resources of Ontario to carry out forest management on over 4000 acres (1600 hectares) of this area. The Forest Resources Branch has reforested a large area, formerly blow sand and scrub, and has established a Greenbelt Forest.
In the Gatineau Park the Commission has carried out a reforestation program and has planted over 2 million conifer seedlings during the past 30 years.
The Commission owns and operates two 18-hole golf courses for the enjoyment ofthe public, the
Capital Golf course located in the Greenbelt and the Champlain Golf course in the municipality of Aylmer. The trained staff using modern techniques of turf maintenance provides the quality of turf desired by the professional golfer.
It should be mentioned that the Commission provides 4000 garden plots in 9 different locations which have proved very popular for the amateur gardener. The gardens are 25 x 50 (7m x 14m) and rent at a fee of $10.00 and produce bounteous crops for the diligent workers. Special raised garden plots are provided for the handicapped so they can work from their wheelchair without inconvenience. Ploughing and rototilling are carried out by the Commission which also supplies an irrigation system and a limited number of tool storage sheds.
A glimpse ofthe beauty for which Ottawa is famous can perhaps be captured when the daffodils are in bloom in the fields below the rock gardens in Rockcliffe. This naturalized planting of thousands of daffodils was planted on land donated by the Southam family in 1948. Although the formalized planting of tulips is impressive the naturalized planting of crocus and daffodils in some secluded glade often brings addedjoy to the visitor on a spring day.
The Capital has become known for its tulip displays, a program initiated in 1948 by a generous gift of tulip bulbs from Queen Juliana of the Netherlands following her stay in Canada during the years of the Second World War. The initial gift of 100,000 bulbs and subsequent gifts of 10,000 each year proved the tulip to be suitable for large plantings and we now plant over 250,000 bulbs annually.
Free flowing designs for the main flower beds are found to provide the best display for the tulips and the annuals. Care is taken to avoid straight lines between varieties and usually the division is a lazy S curve meeting the border at a right angle. Large blocks of colour . comprising more than 1,500 plants prove to be the most pleasing to the visitor who normally views the display from the comfort of his car travelling at 60 km/h while smaller designs can be used where displays are viewed by pedestrians who can stop and admire. Pure colours are the most effective for mixes tend to lose their impact from a distance.
The main beds are replanted every two years to ensure that they provide a desirable display during the latter part of May. The Ottawa climate is extremely severe and often the weather changes from winter to summer temperatures within a few days which proves disastrous to the best of plans. Practices have been introduced that have helped to overcome some of these difficulties with climate and although we cannot control the weather we believe the practices we follow eliminate some of the hazards and increase the chances for a good spring showing.
The best location for a flower bed is generally one sloping towards the south with trees and shrubs protecting the top and sides of the bed from the cold winds. The soil should bea first quality light sandy loam to provide good drainage and also provide sufficient nutrients for good growth. The preparation of the soil by rototilling to a depth of 12 (30 cm) makes planting much easier. The application of a 50/50 mix ofbone-meal and sludge at the Governor-General
s residence Rideau Hall with horticultural graduates at work in the gardens. Head gardener, Martha Thompson, is shown on right.
rate of 10 Ibs. per 1,000 sq. ft. (50g/m?2) is desirable before rototilling.
Once the bed is ready the bulbs are carefully placed on the ground at 6 (15 cm) spacing according to the plans, tightening up to 4 -5 (1013 cm) along the front of the bed and adjacent to the border of other varieties. The bulbs are then planted by hand using a hand-trowel. Care is taken to ensure the bulb is planted to the full depth ofthe trowel about 10 (26 cm), the base ofthe bulb being placed firmly into the soil at the bottom of the hole and the soil replaced and firmed, to ensure that no voids are left. In exposed areas brush is placed on the beds to help retain any blowing snow in the early part of winter thus providing needed insulation.
In spring the brush is removed as soon as possible and the flower bed cultivated by dutch hoeing. Care is taken to ensure that the new growth
is not damaged in this operation. Watering is important and is carried out as soon as possible. The additional water is necessary for the dryingwinds ofspringoften rob the bulbs of their required moisture
Raisedgardenplotsallowhandicappedpeople to cultivate vegetables and flowers.
which results in stunted plants and smaller flowers.
When tulips come into bloom other colours from previous plantings sometimes appear and it is found necessary to pluck off these blooms by hand. This practice is known as roguing and ensures that the planting bed presents a solid colour. Once the bloom comes to an end the seed pods are removed by hand to ensure that the strength of the plant is retained. The leaves and stem are allowed to die back naturally; however,as this sometimes interferes with the planting of annuals in the same bed they are cut back to a height of 2 -3 (5-8 cm) and the annuals planted alongside. As the depth of the tulips are much deeper than the planting of the annuals the damage to the bulbs is greatly reduced.
. Murray M. Outhet is Landscape Coordinator, National Capital Commission, Ottawa.
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CALVERT PARTY SERVICES
CATERIN
WEDDINGS COCKTAIL PARTIES BANQUETS BUFFET DINNERS PICNICS PLANT OPENINGS OPEN HOUSE
INTERNATIONAL CUISINE PLATTER STYLE HOT & COLD HORS D'OEUVRES COMPLETE SERVICE INCLUDING TABLES, CHAIRS, WAITRESSES, BAR STAFF, DISC JOCKEYS ETC.
WEDDING CAKES
A SPECIALTY
also: INDUSTRIAL CATERING
85 JONESVILLE CR
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.
FAIL-SAFE FLOWERS
FOR FIRST-TIME GARDENERS
A child s first garden should include sunflowers from seeds. The large seeds sprout quickly and dependably and the strong seedlings can push their way through crusted soil.
Ifyou are shooting for record sunflowers, your plants will need to top 20 feet in height with seed head diameters of 2 feet to be in the running.
TRIANON CATERING
Socials ® Meetings ® Shows
Call 223-1241 5.00 p.m.-10.00 p.m.
Operators of the SNACK BARN Edwards Gardens
Open April 15 to October 29
wants your business
So, Toronto Dominion did something to get your business.
TD No-Charge Chequing, for one thing. And lower rates on 36 month new-car loans, for another thing. Find out for yourself. TD wants your business.
TORONTO DOMINION
The bank where people make the difference.
STRAWBERRIES
by the Tubful!
Grow giant strawberries within 60 days of planting from 44 plants in a beautiful space-saving planter tub featuring a unique soil cover to keep fruit clean and an easy-watering irrigation tube. The most sensible way to grow strawberries ever. Save garden space. Send for FREE information today: TRt
Growers of Hardy Roses Evergreen ® Shrubs ® Trees Perennials ® Greenhouse Plants
Visit our exhibit at The Annual Rose Show June 24 & 25 @ Scarborough Civic Centre PINEHAVEN NURSERIES LTD. 475 Queensway W. Mississauga 277-2713
7- S - B ixrerprises L.
Willowdale, Richmond Hill, Thornhill
Japanese Landscape Architects and Horticulturists. Western and Japanese landscape design and construction.
Residential ® Commercial ® Industrial 225-7836
® Plantings: flowers, shrubs, trees
® Specialists in stonework, masonry, decks, patios, walls, driveways.
® [_andscape maintenance service
Members: Landscape Ontario and Toronto Homebuilders Association
The Trellis Shop
Visit the Civic Garden Centre Trellis Shop for your gardening needs, unusuals gifts, dried floral arrangements, handicrafts.
The Trellis Shop, on the lower level, is open to the public during Civic Garden Centre regular hours.
residential landscape design
m. j. stepinac
m. e. brennan 482-8395 call evenings 445-4735
students @ landscape architecture university of toronto
LTthe \ N on SPRING! %/////
For early vegetable garden growth use sunshine and sealed AIR BUBBLE INSULATION TO:
® Let warm sun bathe seedlings for strong and vigorous growth
e Keep seed bed warm on cool nights
e Let sunlight in
e Retain moisture and condensation for early and fast germination
Write for application bulletin A18-1 and details.
INSULPAC SPECIALTIES
NOW IS THE TIME
Spring clean-up ® pruning spraying @ fertilizing
Call Wayne Ray 463-5815
Custom Landscape Gardening Member: Landscape Ontario
CNB @ SOCIAL caterPlan CATERING
e STAFF e DISHES e FURNITURE, ETC.
e WEDDINGS ® BANQUETS ® CONVENTIONS
e BARB-Q'S ¢ LUNCHEONS e MEETINGS
e BUFFETS e COCKTAIL PARTIES
FLORADA CONSERVATORY GREENHOUSES
Features
® Heavy duty extruded aluminum.
¢ BRONZE baked enamel finish, to resist oxidizing & pitting.
® One piece aluminum curved frame for greater strength.
e C.P.Il doublestrength glass, Acrylic on curved sections. Easily assembled.
Stainless steel spring clips lock glass into neoprene.
® Hinged door seals air tight, Automatic closer included.
® Roof vent and side louvers standard on most models.
® 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
CENTRE FUNCTIONS May and June
MAY 12
SPRING PLANT SALE 10:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m.
As noted in our last insert, May 11 is set-up day and we depend on our members for the plants we will sell. Please help!
There will be two tours in May and one in June: MAY 17 NIAGARA BLOSSOM AND GREENHOUSE TOUR 9:00 a.m.
$16.00 ($18.00 non-members) includes a tour of the Niagara School of Horticulture and lunch at Queenston Heights.
MAY 24 LILACS, AND THE ROYAL BOTANICAL GARDENS 9:00a.m.
$15.00 ($17.00 non-members) includes lunch at Dundurn Castle and a tour of the Ben Veldhuis greenhouses.
JUNE 7 IRIS AND PEONIES ATTHER.B.G. 9:00 a.m.
Cost same as May 24, includes lunch and tour of Dundurn Castle.
Mail in early for reservations in these popular events!
The popular six-week PHOTOGRAPHY COURSE by John and Joan Powell begins May9at 8:00p.m. Fee$30.00members ($35.00non-members).
On JUNE 5 and 12 there will be two NEEDLEPOINT WORKSHOPS, on four-way Bargello and Pulled-thread embroideryrespectively. 10:00a.m. to 3 p.m. Fees $10.00 members ($12.00 non-members).
Also please note the RHODODENDRON SOCIETY SHOW on JUNE 4, and MILNE HOUSE CLUB' S MAGIC MOMENTS SHOW, JUNE 20.
Our 8:00a.m. ThursdayBird Walks continue, on May 11, 18, 25andJune 1.
NATURAL BUG CONTROLS
FOSSIL FLOWER
PURPLE MARTIN HOUSES
Natural Organic Bug Killers A Purple Martin eats 2,000 mosquitos aday. and repellants, made from Beneficial Insects also. DIATOMACEOUS EARTH
(Money Back Guarantee) Free brochures at many stores or from Fossil Flower, 5266-12 General Rd. Mississauga, Ontario L4W 127 (416) 624-0541
ForMOTHER SDAY THORNCRAFTEQUIPMENT
5451 YONGE ST., WILLOWDALE A Special SALES&SERVICE lasting Repairs to all makes oflawn care GIET < and snow thrower equipment o
ORCHID PLANT
222-3144
PRUNING SPECIALIST
International o All types of shrubs and trees
Orchid Centre pruned properly REMOVALS FULLY INSURED
167 Carlton St. Toronto, Ont. M5A 2K3 (416) 961-7335
BrianSinclair : Phone 762-5828 anytime
TRELLIS QUESTIONNAIRE
Will you help us please?
We would like to make both the Trellis and the Centre s programs serve you better, but to do this we need to know more about you and your interests. The questionnaire that follows is a way of doing this. Would you be good enough to spend a few minutes and check off the appropriate boxes and return the completed questionnaire to the Civic Garden Centre.
1. What do you value most in the Centre s programs? (Please try to number from one to nine in the order of their importance).
[ ] Courses
[] Members nights
[] Tours and outings
[] Specialty Group Meetings
[] Exhibits (eg. The Botanical Art Exhibit)
[] The Trellis
2. On Members nights, would you like:
[]To have them more often?
[ IMorefilms?
[ ]More information on the Centre s activities?
[] The Library and its borrowing privileges
(] Discounts at the Stores
[]Flower shows Are there other things you would like us to do?
[ ]Informative talks on horticulture?
[] Travelogues? What else?
3. What would you like most in the Trellis? (Please number in order of importance)
[]General horticultural articles
[[]News ofthe Centre
[]Book reviews
[ ]Short notes on horticultural topics
[JAdvertising ofappropriate items
[IProfiles on horticultural personalities and groups
[[]JCalendarofevents
[JInformation on places to visit
[]Articles on allied topics such as crafts, birds
[ISpecialized articles on particular plants or groups
[ J How to do it articles
[]Other topics?
4. What kind of courses do you favour most?
[ICrafts
[_IFlower arranging
[ JWorkshops on special techniques on plants
[(JHome gardening
[]Others?
6. What topics would be interesting to you?
[]Growing hardy grapes for wine making
[]Buying and constructing a home greenhouse
[]Orchid growing in the home and greenhouse
[JConstructing a nature garden
[]Small garden design with the . master s touch
5. What kind of course would appeal most to you?
[[]Weekday evenings
[JFriday nights Saturdays Weekdays
[JSundays
[[]One session only
[[] Courses 4-8 evenings long
[]Specialized 10 evening courses
[ ]1-2 hr. free evening programs for members only
[]Construction ofdecks and patios
[]Birds in the garden how to attract them.
(]Vegetable production for competition
[]Growing fruit trees
[[]Garden pests (disease, insects and the city environment)
[[] Others (please list)
7. Are you a member of the Centre now?
8. What is your Postal Code?
9. Name and address (optional)
Name (Please Print)
Address
Yes[] No[J
HILLVIEW
HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS
HILLVIEW FARMS LTD. R.R. No. 4, Woodstock, Ont. Toronto: 36 Smithwood Drive, Islington
MY SON SHAWN FOUND THE VARIETY OF PLANTS MOST INTERESTING
Mr. J. Wilson
Children ofall ages find Clargreen Gardens a fascinating place. In particular, they enjoy the thousands of strange shaped and coloured cactus plants. Ofinterest too, are the carnivorous plants. . . Venus Fly Traps, Cobra Lilies and Pitcher plants. When you visit Clargreen you ll experience a visit to another world. . . and now is the time to see our wide selection of Spring flowers and plants. ome and see us soon. and bring the kids!
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The Agincourt Beauty is one of more than 1200 plants listed in the new 1978 Sheridan Nurseries Catalogue.
Obtain your copy
It 's Canada s most complete gardening catalogue . . . 136 pages long, and packed with useful information for planning and maintaining your garden. In the 1978 Sheridan Catalogue you will find a truly extensive listing of trees, shrubs, ever-
With more than 1200 plants listed, hundreds of full colour pictures, numerous gardening hints regarding soils, fertilizing, pesticides, pruning etc., the Sheridan Catalogue is more than just a catalogue it s an invaluable gardening guide.
The Sheridan Catalogue is yours free with any purchase at a Sheridan Garden Centre. greens, roses, perennials and vines. All are from hardy, highly developed stock grown on Sheridan s own farms.