MULCHES AND OTHER MATTERS

Garden care, Christmas origins, 

events of the month and more

Don Harron’s alter ego Charlie Farquharson, the farmer from Parry Sound, author and philosopher, is prone to wish everyone a “Merry Christmas and a Preposterous New Year.” First though before we commence conjuring up visions of Old Father Thyme; certain outdoor activities await attention.  These days, there is much ado about mulches. And rightly so. A good mulch is a thing of beauty and, even more-important, practicality. Milder winters may be our fate in the future but, meanwhile, it is Toronto’s famed, lack of snow, Mayor Mel notwithstanding, that can cause havoc.

Snow is nature’s natural mulch. This is why, ironically, that gardeners up in Barrie, where snow cover is better guaranteed, may have more success over wintering perennials and bulbs. Down in the Big Smoke and outlying areas, hearty mulch must be applied as soon as the ground freezes. Straw, compost or shredded leaves are, all highly recommended, in at least a 3-inch thick layer.

The idea is to keep the soil frozen all winter. It is the cycles of freeze-thaw-freeze-thaw in the top fraction of an inch that cause’ havoc. This frost heaving pushes up the delicate crowns of various perennials, leaving them vulnerable to desiccation.  The peak time for this frost heaving is in the so-called “January thaw” and then, again, when the frost is coming out of the ground in March. The lesson: don’t be in too much of a hurry to remove the mulch next spring.

If you haven’t found time yet to cut back and earth up HT, Floribunda and Grandiflora rose bushes, why not take this opportunity while mulching elsewhere.  Tips on how may be found in last month’s City Gardening. Check the same issue on how to similarly protect evergreens from wet snow and ice, and street-side hedges from salt damage.

Everybody seems to want to get in on the tree act, expressing concern about the fate of urban trees. Even politicians are scurrying like squirrels to join in. Since most city trees are-growing in something more than akin to a desert, water and nutrients are in short supply. Professional foresters often choose to apply fertilizer this month to trees in our area. This ensures it is there, available when deciduous trees especially; most need it, first thing in spring, before the trees leaf out.

Specifically formulated fertilizers are preferred but almost anything in the general line may have to be resorted to. Garden centers seem to be eons behind modern trends when it comes to stocking needs. If completely stumped, check with neighbors. There is usually at least one gardening fanatic on each block, bless them!

Still on or, at least about trees and specifically maples: Our national tree “bleeds" copiously if pruned in spring, not much less so most of the rest of the growing season. Many experienced arborists prefer then to undertake any necessary cutting up to the middle of December.  Homeowner’s benefit by usually paying lower rates in this off-season. Please note though, we recommend professional, trained arborists. Climbing up trees is skilled work. Falling out of them is not. We would like to keep you a fan of City Gardening.  And of course of the Rittenhouse web site, www.rittenhouse.ca home to many a novel and nifty gift selection.

Finally, as W.C. Fields once wrote to a friend traveling from sunny California to colder climes, “Keep your plumbing warm on your trip east and return home-soon and safely.”  Thanks to all you thousands of gardening addicts who visit this feature every month and your enthusiasm. See you in 2002!

 CITY GARDENING

A Monthly Newsletter for Toronto Gardeners

Published by Wes -Porter, Horticultural Consultant

Distributed free to those enrolled in gardening courses and seminars; faxed to dedicated fax lines and machines or mailed to those supplying, self-addressed, stamped number ten envelopes.

More gardening at “Magazine”

www.rittenhouse.ca

Address all correspondence to:

714-255 Main St, Toronto, Ontario M4C 4X2

Malak Karsh Will Be Missed 

Malak Karsh is dead at the age of 86. He died in an Ottawa hospital in the city that he had made his home since emigrating from Turkey to Canada in 1937. His brother, Yousuf, had arrived in Canada’s capital first, and was later to become famed international as a portrait photographer known simply as ‘Karsh of Ottawa.’

His flower-fascinated brother was no less esteemed in the horticultural world for his exquisite studies. Those that are privileged to own one invariably hang it a prominent place. This writer had one, for example, as one of his earliest used to promote Dutch bulbs in his office.

It was in fact, according to his own account, it was tulips that set Malak Karsh on the road to professional photography. Fascinated by the exquisite blooms he encountered around Ottawa, he produced many photographic studies of them.

Shortly after World War II, Malak helped found the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa, bringing colour and glamour to an otherwise at that time a city notoriously gray in both its architectural and bureaucratic complexion. The Festival celebrates its fiftieth anniversary next May and much was planned to celebrate Malak’s contribution. Just this past summer, Canada Post issued a stamp commemorating this. 

Although the Canadian dollar bill is a thing of the past, many will recall, but perhaps not realize the source of the illustration on its reverse: logs floating in the Ottawa River with Parliament Hill in the background. It is doubtful if too many photographers’ work has been reproduced as many times as this: 3.5 billion. For whatever reason, Malak Karsh will be sorely missed. 

Daylily Rust Hits Here

Back in the summers, we warned that the daylily rust, Puccinia hereocallidis, had been detected in the Southern United States. It was firmly identified there in December 2000.  During the past year it had spread very rapidly to include at least 20 states and also the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

According to Jennifer Llewellyn, writing in the Bulletin of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (Horticulture Review, November, 200l p.34), this rapid spread of the disease can be attributed to:

1) Wide trading of Hemerocallis plants, and

2) The biology of the fungus

It is, she reports, undetectable in the spore stage so that even if phytosanitary inspections are undertaken, daylily rust would succeed in arriving in this country on imported stock, even if those in a dormant condition.

The life cycle of the disease is less than two weeks under summer conditions, when the spores are easily spread by wind. It is, checked only by the arrival of frosts. The rust pustules are quite distinctive and should be easily recognized. Check out the, site www.ncf.ca/!ah748/comparerust.html for photographic comparisons of this and other daylily diseases. Confirmation may be. Obtained by forwarding samples to the Pest Diagnosis Clinic at the University of Guelph (519-767-6256).

In the home garden, there is no effective chemical control. Llewellynn advises placing the infected crowns in a plastic bag and cutting off the infected foliage, keeping this within the bag and then either burning it -- an unlikely possibility in the city -- or disposing of it by “deep burial”.  Under no circumstances should infected plants be composted, as this will merely assist the rust’s future spread.

Llewelynn suggest refraining also from planting very susceptible selections, such as: Pardon Me, Ming Toy, Lemon Yellow, Quannah, Pandora’s Box, Little Gypsy Vagabond, Karie Ann, Colonel Scarborough, Couble, Buttercup, Irish Ice, Russian Rhapsody, Imperial Guard. Those “moderately susceptible” include Stella D’Oro, Happy Returns, Butterflake, Prelude to Love, Gertrude, Condon, Joan Senior, Wilson’s Yellow; Star Struck, Crystal Tide, Attribution, Egyptian Queen, Known to have A “low susceptibility” includes: Mac the Knife, Yangtze, Butterscotch Ruffles, Holy Spirit.

Whence the Christmas tree?

By no means the first, nor we suspect, the last to campaign against the now ubiquitous. Christmas tree was Greek grinch and would-be presidential candidate Dimosthenes Vergis. His plank was simply to eliminate the Christmas tree when he ran in the April 2000,Greek elections. He lost.

While tree worship is a very ancient and world-wide phenomena, the Christmas tree custom seems to have spread from l8th-century Germany with the arrival of the Hanoverian kings to the British throne. The use did not become widespread for around another century though. Whether or not it was Prince Albert who imported the idea, the fashion was certainly encouraged when, in 1848, The Illustrated London News published an engraving of the royal family gathered around one such evergreen for a Windsor Christmas. 

Three years earlier, however, the same magazine had noted the ‘“German Christmas Tree or Tree of Love” celebrated the eve of the birth of Christ. It was, the magazine said, “loaded with a profusion of flowers and fruit,” along with presents from the family members “intended for those they love best.”

The next decade, saw both increasing use of natural fir trees and the arrival the first artificial trees, and in particular a palm with foliage of green calico recommended by The Lady’s Newspaper in 1855 for those who wanted to be different.

Candles were used in an appallingly dangerous practice to illuminate the Christmas tree from very early times. Safety arrived only with electricity in the late 18OOs, although cost dictated such lights be limited to the well-to-do until the mid-20^th century. It was also not until post-Second World War years that almost all could afford a real Christmas tree with the emergence of specialized farms for raising ‘them by the millions. Prior to that time, most were derived from estate thinning, to expensive for the lower classes. Instead the poor made do with artificial trees made by toilet brush manufacturers. Alas they lacked the sophistication similarly found in another artificial product, Santa’s beard -supplied, at least until recently, by the tails of Tibetan yaks.

Easy-to-Make Kissing Rings and Other Traditions

Mistletoe hoops were an old tradition in parts of England at least as far back as the opening years of last century, perhaps long prior to that. Two old hoops from a barrel were fastened together at right angles to each other. These were wrapped with fragrant cedar or other evergreens including, perhaps, red-berried holly. A generous bunch of mistletoe was suspended from the hoops and the whole hung in the entrance hall or some other well-used access point.

Mistletoe, that strange parasitic plant, has a history stretching back to at least to the Celts of western Europe. Their priests cut it from its host oak with a golden sickle and caught it in a wool sheet lest it touch the ground. Somewhere along the way the unsanitary custom, of kissing became connected with the herb and, hence the excuse for a ‘Kissing Ring.’

Wire coat-hangers can conveniently substitute for barrel hoops, bent into circles then fastened together. Covered with cedar rope, decorated with fir cones, holly berries and ribbons, with mistletoe hung inside, such would bring gasps of admiration from even Martha Stewart. To be on the safe side it is recommended that only artificial holly berries and mistletoe be used; the real things are poisonous if eaten.

Those disturbed by osculation under the mistletoe might wish instead to make a Christmas log as a table center piece. A small birch log, perhaps 3-inches in diameter and a foot or so long, is laid diagonally across a thin board. Plaster-of-Paris is then used to imitate snow around and over the log. A candle is pushed into the plaster while it is still damp and other decorations added as and if required: artificial birds, sprigs of holly or red bows are all popular additions.

Outside the front door, dress up that heavy, now-empty planter by inserting colorful red dogwood branches along, perhaps, with those of corkscrew hazel or willow. Cover their base with pine branches laid flat and add a red bow. You can make these, and other seasonal cut greenery last longer by spraying with an antidessicant.

Horticultural Happenings

Allan Gardens and Centennial Park Conservatory Floral Displays

Christmas Poinsettia Show -- First Sunday in December to mid-January. Allan Gardens is open Monday to Friday 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. For more information call 392-7288

Toronto Field Naturalist Outings & Talks

Free guided walks; children welcome but please no pets; all are TTC accessible; dress according to weather, bring beverage, camera, notebook and binoculars.

2 Dec. TFN Meeting at Victoria University’s Northrop Frye Hall: talk ‘Colonial Water-birds of the Great Lakes’ is proceeded at 2 p.m. by a silent auction of water-colors by Geraldine Goodwin; also a sale of pottery decorated with animals by Elizabeth Block; 73 Queen’s Pk. Cres. E.

6 Dec. Vale of Avoca Nature Walk: meet lo:30 a.m. s/s St. Clair Ave E, at subway station entrance; morning only.

8 Dec. Humber Valley Nature Walk: meet 10 a.m. at Old Mill subway station; walk to Lambton Woods and back; morning only.

9 Dec. Eglinton Flats Nature Walk: meet 1 p.m. SW corner Jane St and Eglinton Ave W.

11 Dec. Humber Bay Park East Winter Waterfowl: meet lo:30 a.m. at park entrance Lake Shore Blvd West opposite Parklawn Rd.; bring lunch and binoculars.

16 Dec. Mud Creek Heritage Walk: meet 1 p.m. n/e corner Avenue Rd and Lytton Blvd.; a joint outing with the North Toronto Green Community and leader Ian Wheal.

19 Dec. Eastern Beaches/Glen Stewart Ravine Nature Walk: meet lo:30 a.m. SW corner Queen E. and Lee-Ave; bring lunch.

30 Dec. Pine Hill Cemetery Nature Walk: meet 10 a.m. nw comer St. Clair E and Kennedy Rd.; morning only.

Ontario Rock Garden Society

9 Dec. Talk ‘Practical Alpines’ at the Civic Garden Center, Lawrence at Leslie, 12:30 p.m.

Mycological Society of Toronto

Call 416~HI-FUNGI (really!) for information about meetings and forays.

Japanese Canadian Cultural Center

1 Dec. Introductory Ikenobo Ikebana Workshop with Betty Lou Arai, a professor of Ikebana, who has been teaching since 1977; beginners will delight in the Christmas theme while learning basics; .$80 fee for members ($100 non-members) includes materials,: but bring own scissors; 9:30 to noon; 6 Garamond Crt. Toronto; more info: 416-44 l-2345 or check www.jcc.on.ca

Looking for something different by way of a gift for a gardener! The, JCCC Gift Shop has the perfect gift for that special someone.  Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to l.30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays

Lake Skugog Area

1-2 Dec. Artisan’s Weekend at Ocala Orchards Farm Winery, part Perry; for more information, call 905-985-9924

Ian Wheal Heritage Walk

22 Dec. Lost Ponds of Runnymede: meet: 1 p.m. at Runnymede subway station.

Toronto Ornithological Club:

8 Dec. Waterfowl: West Toronto Lakeshore and beyond (all day – bring lunch); meet 8:30 a.m. in parking lot at Humber Bay Park East.

30 Dec. Christmas Bird Count; call Naish McHugh at 416-444-4826

Royal Canadian Institute

2 Dec Stars, Stories and Wonders of the Winter Sky: Free Science Lecture 3 p.m. at J.J.R. McLeod Auditorium, 1 King’s College Circle, Toronto; for January lecture schedule, call 416-977-2983

Sleepy Plant Conference

We can’t resist this one, noted by the indefatigable journal New Scientist. Next month’s Plant, Animal and Microbes Genome Conference is at the Town and Country Convention Center: San Diego; California. A page on the organizers website www.intl-pag.org/pag/10-breeders.html, informs us that the workshop, entitled “Use of molecular markers for plant breeders” is being, held in the “zzz room” Let us know what it was like, if you can keep your eyes open

The News from a Gardening Point of View

City Gardening peers at the past few weeks news from Canada and around the world

Landscaping

*Instead of distasteful concrete pylons and similar discouragement to terrorist assault on institutions, entrepreneur-minded firms in the United States are now offering fashionably designed, but still very sturdy planters in their place. Presumably they would be receptacles, for firecracker plants  (Cuiphea), flake trees (Delanix), burning bush (Euonymus) and others in an explosion of colour. 

Trees

*A Hamburg, Germany, gang are demanding hefty payments from private tree owners or they will chainsaw them

*Frank magazine reports in order to build their new home at 76 Dunvegan in Forest Hill, Toronto, Linda Frum and Howard Kowalski “fell most of the ancient trees, leaving only a few rather sickly maples.” Strangely city by-law inspectors seem no more anxious to view this than they do anything else.

*Sponsors of Toronto’s Tree Advocacy Program are presented with white pine seedlings to plant.  Strange, because the provincial tree Pinus strobes hates urban pollution as exemplified by that found in the ‘Big Smoke’

Flowers

*Malak Karsh will not be there when the 50^th Anniversary of the Canadian Tulip Festival in Ottawa celebrates his contribution to the festival next May. The famed photographer is dead at the age of 86.

*A red carnation slapped into H.R.H. Prince Charles’ face by a turbulent teenager in Riga, Latvia, earns her criminal charges, which if convicted, could see her sentenced to 15 years jail time.

Down in the Vegetables

*Pumpkins taking prizes in the past few weeks were growing 30-pounds a day earlier, reports USA Weekend

*“As you peel the layers of this onion, the more it stinks.” NDP MP Pat Martin comments on the latest Alfonso Gagliano, Minister of Public Works, scandal

*Scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture create red-fleshed and blue-fleshed potatoes, enabling one at least to serve his patriotic son with a red-white-and-blue spud salad.

Herbs

*Kristen Madden, Druid, hypno-therapist and wildlife rehabilitator, in her book, Pagan Parenting, has a section on herbal remedies, as well as healing stones, reports Michael Kesterton in The Globe and Mail

Weeds

Toronto’s Councilor “Ample Anne” Johnston asks fellow politico Densil Minnam Wong during a City Hall debate if he has “ever thought about bending over and pulling those weeds yourself?” Minnam-Wong: “Councilor, I will if you will.”

Organic Gardening

*The Canadian organic farming sector is growing 25 per cent annually, says an agricultural supplement of The G lobe. and Mail.

Bugs and Gardeners

*Next season, when bugged by ants, think of German tourist Dr: ‘Hans-Jorgen Linke, lost for six days in the Venezuelan rain forest and surviving by resorting to this repast.

*Just in case it hurts American feelings, ‘Pakistan orders the introduced cotton.  pest known as the ‘American sundi’ to henceforth only be referred to as Heleothis armigera.

*Researchers at the University of Illinois set up a global database for bio-controls of arthropod pests, covering some 8,500 pathogens, the journal Science reports. Check out http//:insectweb.inhs.uiuc.edu/Pathogens/EDWIP/index.html

*According to correspondence in New Scientist, application of the term “snail mail” to the post office is unjustified, since the mollusks travel far slower than even the most slothful postie.

*If today’s cockroaches send you shuddering, a geologist discovered a fossilized one in an Ohio mine 9-cm long. He believes the beast was originally “flat and colorless and female.”

*Invasions of Argentine ants threaten the large-seeded proteas of the South African fynbos regions owing to their forcing out beneficial native ants which disperse the shrubs’ seeds.

*Montreal’s “Insectarium” puts on a demonstration of how to have your own back on bugs. If you can’t beat them, eat them, as they bring you culinary ‘delights known technically as entomophagy. Try www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/insectarium if you, must know more.

Gardening in the City

*“I still favor old-fashioned raking,” Toronto City Councilor Jane Pitfield says, supporting proposed sever restrictions on the use of leaf blowers, as the by-law banning them moves into the final stages and council debate the issue this month.

*And if this news isn’t bad enough for contractors, a survey commissioned by the Toronto Environmental Alliance and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment indicates 82 per cent of Ontario residents want municipalities to ban ‘cosmetic’ use of pesticides for home lawns, gardens and trees.

*Canadian Tire opens a new superstore on Danforth Avenue, Toronto, including large garden center to affirm their position as the country’s numerically leading garden center operator. A paucity of stock though would seem to indicate a seasonal approach as opposed to their principal opposition.

* Toronto City Council agree the public will be consulted as to proposed restrictions on pesticide use on private property

*Toronto City Council vote a nine-per-cent water rate increase commencing 1 January, 2002

Compost

*Residents of Peel Region are urged to put their used pumpkins out for municipal composting pickup.

Fertilizer

*Toronto’s scheme to turn sewage into fertilizer pellets with an $80-million processing facility is stalled by provincial distrust of city claims to safety. Strangely, Councilor Sandra Bussin claims that the present disposal method, burning it, spews toxic pollutants over east end Toronto yet she says the pellets make good, safe fertilizer.

*John Steele from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment explains that Councilor Sandra Bussin and the City of Toronto must comply with federal laws in the labeling of fertilizer, which they have not done. Until they do it is a no go for sewage fertilizer, pelletized or whatever.

*A Dutch study. shows that wild birds prefer fertilized fields to “eco-fields;” as the former are richer in invertebrates and, hence, offer more food.

Soil 

*The annual dust that blows onto Japan each spring from the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts is now picking up pollutants on the way and, instead of neutralizing Japan’s somewhat acid soils is lowering their pH.

Science and the Gardener

*Plants are so sensitive to insect predators and can tell the different types, says U of T Prof. Anurag Agrawal in the journal Science.

*An ad in the agricultural supplement of The Globe and Mail tells of saving Hawaii’s papaya crop by using advance biotechnology, urging readers to contact the Council for Biotechnology Information at www.whybiotech.com or to ‘phone 1-800-980-8660.

*Sex in space may not be such a good idea for either humans, other animals and even plants, report researchers from the University of Kansas, questioning whether such life forms can, reproduce naturally in altered gravities.

*Ecosystems with numerous plant species perform better than monocultures, reports the journal Science.

*Mangrove forests form the peat they sit in mainly from their roots, report scientists studying them in Belize.

*Chloroplast, descended from bacteria that moved into eukaryotic cells over a billion years ago, still retain their genomes. See more, far more at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PMGifs/Genomes/organelles.html

*Alas, the theory that thanks to cereal seeds, agriculture swept across Asia and Europe 100 centuries ago, has been badly battered at a recent Cambridge England, conference.

Travel

*With collapsing coffee ban prices, Colombian plantation owners are throwing open their haciendas as vacation resorts.

Weather

*An unexpected blizzard in late October leaves North Dakota with half-meter drifts, 400 abandoned vehicles on Interstate-29 alone, and is blamed for six deaths.  

Law and Gardeners

*Federal inspectors from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) screen 26 million people who pass through Toronto’s International Airport each year for illegally imported plants and other products.

*Taking non-smoking to the ultimate, Los Angeles City Council considers banishing slaves of the dread weed from all public parks.

*The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency threatens the $25 million hemp business in that country by banning all food made from products of the plant but not cosmetics, soaps or textiles. The U.S. hemp industry is reportedly puffed up with anger. 

*A logger cut down several “culturally-modified” trees on B.C.‘s Kitsumkalum Mountain two years ago received six months probation and had to write a letter of apology to be First Nation’s band whose trees they were, thus escaping a jail sentence.

*Peel Region considers a bylaw restricting water-taking from the threatened Credit River citing golf courses and water-bottling companies.

Business

*Despite claimed bans of opium poppy growing by Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, U.S. authorities say that opium and heroin continue to be their main source of income, as they supply 75 per cent of the world’s illegal drug market.

*Canada Post is considering radiating mail to kill anthrax and other pathogens but gardening catalog companies and others are not so sure of the safety of seeds, bulbs and live plants being shipped in this manner.

*Shingles made of hemp straw, flax and recycled plastic-won an award for their Chatham, Ontario manufacturer at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto.

*The discovery of 10,000-hectares of illegally-grown genetically modified cotton in the Indian state of Gujarat has caused fury among regulatory authorities and businesses who have spent considerable sums seeking approval to market such seed. Shortly after, India orders every field to be torched and Gujarat authorities agree to sue the seed company involved.

*Should plant genetic material be “owned” by the nations on whose land they happen to be? A new treaty under the auspices of the FAO is attempting to clarify matters. Prepared for some major problems? See the journal Science, 294 pp.772-775 (2001) or www.iisd.ca/biodiv/ExCGRFA-6.

*Cavendish Farms, potato processors of Prince Edward Island, had long been eyeing Aviko of North Dakota and not wanting to be frozen out of the U.S. spud, market, recently purchased the 200,000-square-foot factory to become North America’s fourth-largest firm. No doubt they will attempt for numero uno by constantly chipping away.

Environment

*Pollution from DDT used for aerial spraying of New Brunswick’s spruce budworm is found 40 years later contaminating a new subdivision near Carlo, east of Campbellton.

*A Toronto judge rules that ‘the threat of a rare salamander’s habitat is no legal reason to stop an extension of Bayview Avenue in Richmond Hill through the sensitive Oak Ridges moraine.

*Thanks to improvements in farming practices, Britain’s butterfly population has crashed, say scientists who expect it to affect other, British wildlife numbers.

*News agency headline: “Forest planting genetically altered squirrels,” reports New Scientist as an example of semiopathy.

*Cowpats made poisonous to lower life forms by a drug administered to French cattle is making toxic Alpine pastures, not breaking down for four years and also preventing plant growth.

*50 contestants compete in the “Miss Earth” Beauty Pageant, held in the Philippines, in which the girls must not only plant trees and answer environmental questions but also parade in swim wear and gowns.

Health

*Brazil accuses Royal Dutch/Shell of negligence in exposing over 150 people to pesticide since the 1970s.

*Field testing gets underway in Vietnam with scientists seeking to establish a database of soil samples polluted by the now-notorious ‘Agent Orange’ over 30 years ago.

The Gardeners Bookshelf

The Toronto Gardener’s Journal & Source Book 2002

Margaret Bennet-Alder’s invaluable journal “for gardeners in ‘the Golden ‘Horseshoe” has been appearing since 1993. It has now reached the stage where no gardener in the area can call themselves such unless they possess a copy of this marvelous self-published volume. From frost date and local soil maps in the front to resources ‘at the rear this 200-plus-page ring-bound book is either filled with useful information … or has places in which to enter it.

The Journal comprises in the main, of a weekly log and gardening guide. The latter are simple, straightforward notes on what to do both inside and outside that week. These notes have their own handy index near the end of the Journal section. Close by will be found graph paper on which to draw up garden plans, thus assuring an easy-to-find record. There are also “photo pages’” for visually recording the same. Then there is ample space for what was bought, sown or planted, along with the cost, the name of the supplier . . . and the results! Complimenting this there are also month-by-month “delights” and “disappointments” pages so that, hopefully,’ the same errors are not made two years in a row.

Then there is the resources section. Mark Cullen has said ,of this, -“I use the Source Book all the time.”  It is doubtful if there is any other horticultural pro within south-central Ontario, and probably beyond that doesn’t feel the same way.  Always kept handy, there is hardly a day goes by when blessings are not called down upon Margaret Bennet-Alder’s head after fielding requests for some information contained therein.

It is all there, in one handy volume, right at the green fingertips. Need a list of available books? It’s here. So are web-sites, magazines, educational programs, radio and T.V. shows and “hot lines.” There are gardens to visit, tour and plant sales. There are listings of amateur and professional organizations, garden designers, landscape architects and arborists.

Most will probably turn to those pages listing plant suppliers, with over 30 sections, and “non-plant items,” of which there are a dozen sections. Plants listings run from ‘African Violets’ to ‘Water Gardens.’ These are what the professionals call “soft materials” and, simply, there is no other listing like it for our area. Whether it is alpines, houseplants, mushrooms or native plants you are searching for, this section is a joy to browse through.  It is also where you should look to locate your nearest garden center.

“Hard materials” are what the pros call everything else in the garden-related business, and a mighty lot it is too. There are ‘natural insect and pest controls’, ‘organic lawn and garden care,’ even ‘rooftop gardening.’ Looking for that perfect gift for a fellow green-thumber? There is a section of suppliers also . . . or perhaps this journal?

The Toronto Gardener’s Journal & Source Book 2002 is available directly from Briar Hill DTP, 490 Briar Hill Avenue, Toronto, ON M5N lM7 for $20 each, including tax and shipping. Visa is accepted, and you can phone 416-488-4738 or fax 416-4788-9523 or, if you should wish, e-mail to gardenbook@home.com Some garden centers and other retail outlets also stock it.  

Catalogues Received

Veseys Seeds  PO Box 9000 Charlottetown PEI or website: www.veseys.com Telephone 1-800-363-7333 Fax: l-800-686-0329 catalogue free Almost 150 pages in this, the 2002 edition of the famous Maritime seeds, supplies, bulbs, perennials and shrubs company (not forgetting winter-hardy roses).  Whether it is for that country taste in the city or short-season cottage garden, this is one wonderful catalogue to always highly recommend. Plenty of handy information, competitive prices and 63 ‘years of tradition are all here for the asking.

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