A noun. A verb. A blog.
Take a close look at the mottled colour on this hosta leaf, a pattern known as inkbleed. It’s one of the first signs that a hosta has been infected by Hosta Virus X (HVX), for which there is no cure. Photos of other telltale symptoms of this disease – which has become a silent epidemic […]
Our little 0.0018 acre looks a whole lot neater than it did last year. If you were reading Toronto Gardens then, you might recall our very late start in July 2009 as brand new plot owners at the East York Community Garden. Earlier this year, I described how Mr. TG created raised beds using cedar […]
Pretty, isn’t it? Tamarix ramosissima, also known as tamarisk or saltcedar, is blooming with extra vigor here and there around the city. When not in bloom, it looks unassuming, and sparsely feathered – as if a shrub had disguised itself as asparagus fern. Don’t be fooled. I used to wonder why it wasn’t more widely […]
The Japanese umbrella pine isn’t a pine; it’s Sciadopitys verticillata, and like the ginkgo tree it has a prehistoric history. You can read all about it in this article from the University of Arkansas and this article from Conifers.org. What it is, though, is stop-in-your-tracks gorgeous. Yes, that’s the correct botanical term. Those crazy upside-down […]
Nip your lily leaf beetle problem in the bud, or in the egg, by squishing this pest’s red, shiny ova before they hatch. Here’s what they look like… laid in a line, on the underside of lily leaves. Oriental and Asiatic lilies are particularly yummy to the lily leaf beetle, and the three successive generations […]
Hello, I’m a Red Admiral butterfly, and I’ll be your host on May 15, 2010 for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day. As you can see, I’m enjoying the last of the lilac nectar this sunny morning. Now that I’m a butterfly, it’s one of my favourite foods. (When I was just a caterpillar, I preferred eating […]
Rust! I have rust. For the first time ever, rust on my roses. Not on my tough-as-old-boots Rosa ‘New Dawn’, but on my I-had-such-high-hopes-but-it-seems-they’re-coming-to-naught David Austin rose, R. ‘William Morris.’ Rust is a fungal disease, which spreads by spores. Sometimes, rust on roses is co-hosted by junipers, so I’ll have to inspect the tree in […]
Set in the Arboretum of Burlington’s Royal Botanical Gardens, the Lilac Dell is bursting with early blooms in 2010, due to the unseasonably warm spring. The RBG boasts the largest collection of lilacs in the world, 800 species and varieties from around the world. At dusk, apparently the best time to bring your nose to […]
Mother’s Day weekend is proving to be windy and cold. Hope you weren’t fooled by the recent Floridian weather into planting too soon. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are among those pre-started plants that must be protected, especially overnight, when temps dip to near zero, as they could tonight and tomorrow. Certain vegetable seeds, including beans, […]
I feel virtuous about spending at the Toronto Botanical Garden plant sale (which remains on till Sunday). Virtuous because what I bought* was tomato plants, mostly heritage ones at that. Three of them will find a home at my allotment in the community garden. One will probably stay home with mamma, churning out cherry tomatoes. […]
You can add texture to your garden in many ways. Here, we have a tulip with fringed petals, one of the many forms (or textures) available in hybrid tulips today. Imagine having two tulip varieties blooming together in the same colour, but with different textures – simple but dramatic. Or try contrast. I don’t know […]
At the Toronto Botanical Garden on Sunday, we visited the Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society plant sale. Wow. Wall-to-wall plants and people make for a floral feeding frenzy. Considering the temptations, Sarah & I were restrained, coming home with only three and two plants. (The members’ preview for the TBG’s own plant sale […]