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APRIL KICKS OFF A BUSY SEASON Traditional showers won’t bring May flowers without some help It sounds like an April Fool’s Day story. It isn’t. As of the first day of the month Toronto residents are banned from disposing of grass clippings in their garbage. Agreed, the clippings will do more good left on the lawn or composed instead. But is a bylaw necessary. And is it ignorance or optimism to date this thus? Who has heard of mowing lawn the first week of April in Toronto? On to better things… What is the best time to move shrubs, evergreens and perennials? Charles Paget White (1883-1956) wrote: "At my wish plants are moved in spite of the time of the year, in spite of their age or the age of the moon, nor do they invariably die, but flourish abundantly." Note though that he was an English gardener. So good for Chuck, but here in Ontario the climate is a trifle different from the Bard’s sceptr’d isle. Play it safe. This month is a great time for moving anything and everything. If you wish to celebrate Earth Day, 22 April, you might wish to follow the suggestion of the Ohio based Perennial Plant Association. They have declared Calamagrostis xacutifolia ‘Karl Foerster" as the Perennial Plant of the Year 2001. For those to whom the name is not instantly familiar, i.e. most of us, it is a clump-forming ornamental grass that requires full sun. Not to be outdone, also down in the good ol’ U.S.A, the National Garden Bureau, and organization, which is – surprise – supported by seed company members, proclaims this to the Tear of Centaurea and Year of Basil. The former, in plain English are called cornflowers, bachelor’s buttons, basket flower or blue bottles. Basil comes in four basic types: sweet green, dwarf green, purple leaved and scented leaf. More at www.ngb.org.Not to be out done Fine Gardening magazine’s current edition features a fold out ‘Top Plant Picks.’ Alas, some of the most tempting are not for our grow ozone. Nevertheless many are, such as the glorious Daphnex burkwoodii ‘Carol Mackie’ and Calycanthus floridus, or native Sweetshrub in woody plants or drought tolerant perennials such as Agastache rupestris, the anise plant, a southwest native. There are also selections of hosta, perennial border minglers, woodland perennials, long-blooming perennials, annuals, native plants, and ornamental grasses. Some would be excellent in containers also. These can be trundled out now and filled with growing medium. First though, place a piece of nylon fly screen over the drainage holes. This will prevent slugs and other unwelcome guest from taking up residence. It is also an excellent time to repot any houseplants that require such attention. Try to obtain such modern potting mixtures such as "Hort-Mix" or "Pro-Mix." Producing absolutely astounding results, they are essentially peatmoss and vermiculite, their pH balanced with lime, then blended with other materials. Many commercial so-called "potting soils" might be better used as concrete due to the fact that they are so poorly blended. As for being pathogen and weed free well, we just wish they were. We must admit thought to being baffled by a suggestion by one Judy Rebick in a recent number of Elm Street magazines. Attending a feminist conference, ‘Friends Keepers,’ they were told to write their desires on a piece of paper and then "to bury the paper in a flowerpot." A good way, it would seem, to impede drainage and possible kill the plant.
April Is the Month of Preparation for Gardeners Another timely primer from City Gardening to help you see the season off According to supermarket tabloid editor Eddie Clontz: "Never question yourself out of a good story. You have got to know when to stop asking questions." But a week before spring officially arrived and on the same day as Canada Blooms opened last month a sharp-eyed City Gardening addict in Toronto spotted Scilla sibirica happily blooming in the Riverdale area. Surprising even more so than usual since the past winter has seen the third most days in Toronto when the ground was snow covered. Despite dire warnings from Guelph’s turf grass specialist Pam Charbonneau, that such could allow for greater survival rates of European chafer grubs, leather jackets and chinch bug, the first two of these do not seem to be causing problems so far this spring. It will be mid-summer before chinch bug attacks arrive. If you didn’t feed your lawn last fall, now is your chance to correct the deficiency. If you did feed late last season then this can be delayed until May. Worried by "chemical" lawn fertilizers? Many retail outlets are now carrying Green Earth Natural/Organic Lawn Food 9-3-4. This, they tell us, is a granulated blend of feathers, bone meal, dolomitic lime, kelp and sulphate of potash. More on lawns as well as ground covers and their care can be found in Green Side by (modest cough) Wes Porter.
Green Earth has many other fertilizers, all of which are derived from natural sources. While purchasing their lawn food, lay in a supply of both Tree and Shrub Food 4-3-9 as well as Rose, Annual and Perennial Food 4-8-4, both of which are required this month also. They should be applied right now to feed woody plants and perennials as these break out of their dormancy. Wait until the forsythia blooms before uncovering the roses. Prune shrubs HT’s, floribundas and grandifloras back to three buds from the base of the cane, and thin these same canes down to three to five of the strongest and thickest. After picking up all prunings, spread both fertilizers at least three inches of composted cattle or sheep manure. Crabgrass is a vastly overrated problem – and all too often wrongly diagnosed. There is no crabgrass visible at this time. It is an annual weed. It germinated at the same time as, once again, the forsythia blooms. Most controls, and they are all chemical, must be applied prior to that time. If the lawn was infested last season with crabgrass, there will likely be large bare patches now. And since each plant left behind tens of thousand of seeds, it is a sure bet they will return this season. Unfortunately some, but not all, crab grass control chemicals, also prevent the germination of the more desirable grass seeds such as those spread so optimistically to fill in the bare spots left by last years weeds. Check the bag for information – most store staff won’t have any idea of what you are enquiring about despite the fact they sell the stuff. Meanwhile, you might want to contemplate a few hard facts. First, gaps less than a foot across will usually fill in with grass left to themselves. In many case, any grass seed sown requires to be lightly moistened every day for at least a month in order to germinate successfully. Lastly, if the local dog population has been using the lawn as a toilet, the bare spots are permanently poisoned. There is nothing for it but to dig them out to six-inches deep, replace with weed-free potting soil, and sod or seed. Sod will likely not become available until towards the end of the month or, should the next few weeks be wet, even into early May. Soggy fields result in sod harvesting equipment bogging down if it is attempted to be used. A single roll, delivered in an ideal state, will weigh about 35 pounds. Wet, the only person to be pleased is the chiropractor. As of press time, we are still waiting with not a little trepidation to discover if the past winter’s snow cover will result in fewer or more slugs and earwigs. Undoubtedly there are some starting to stir. Stern and early measures are required to wipe these marauding hoards early and promptly. There are several natural baits available at garden centres worthy of the name that are also harmless to other wildlife, including children. Traditional chemical controls are anything but this and, adding salt to injury, fail to be very effective. If you can spare the beer, place a saucer of it in a damp, sheltered. Attracting slugs, they climb in drink, drown and presumably die happy. If you gotta go, you gotta go…
News from a Gardener’s View Point City Gardening peers at the past month’s news from Canada and elsewhere
Landscaping · It is suggested that statues stolen from a Libyan archaeological site may turn up in gardens; see www.cyrenethefts.org.· Exercise due caution when hiring British landscapers. One such retained to design a Canadian’s Dorset, England estate, was tried for attempting to murder her former client who had, meanwhile, married her. Despite being caught holding a plastic bag over her husband’s head, she was acquitted.Trees · "Horticulturist Races to Save Survivors of Alien Bug" headline, Nature Conservancy: the bug is an Asian adelgid sap-sucker, the survivors, and balsam fir in West Virginia. Supermarket tabloids please copy.· Nice try, but no banana, rules a Nova Scotia judge against Mi’kmag rustling lumberjacks who, he says, have no rights to cut on Crown lands.· "I’ve got more trees in my ward than Mel has hair on his head," claims Councillor Brian Ashton, casting aspersions on the hisutian of Toronto’s Mayor Lastman.· The Bureau du normalization du Quebec (BNQ) establishes a certification program for maple syrup. According to the UN’s FAO, world forest loss has slowed in the last decade down to "only" 9 million hectares annually. But some experts seriously question even this figure.Lawns
Flowers
Down in the Vegetables · Discoveries in southern Mexico suggest that corn-on-the-cob was enjoyed 6,500 years ago.· Heirloom sweet potato ‘Hayman’ from Virginia is being processed into chips by he Blue Bay Crab Co. 12 five-ounce bags for $35 from 1-888-VA-SHORE or e-mail esselect@vashore.com· Ottawa announces it will give over $14-million to P.E.I spud farmers suffering from the U.S. ban on imports from the island…but, amidst fears that the island economy may collapse if the ban continues, growers threaten to launch a class action against Ottawa. And just to prove they mean business, 300 of them shut down the Summerside federal tax centre.Fruit & Nuts · Spanish scientists create experimental orange trees that flower and fruit when just one year old by genetic modification using a flower-regulating gene from the weed Arabidopsis.Herbs · Japanese scientists discover the protein lectin, found in garlic, kills human tumours cells but not healthy ones.· Egyptian researchers discover some herbs and spices have double the level of pesticides permitted in fruit or vegetables but internationally there is nothing to be done since the health food industry negotiated to be exempted from such laws. See the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination, vol.66 p. 421.Indoor Gardening · "The simple fact is, anything that needs watering hates me, and I hate it back. I didn’t even remember I owned houseplants until, watching television one day; I glanced up and realized there were some dead ones in my living room. I’m not even sure how they got there." – columnist Rebecca Eckler, National Post, March 15th, 2001.Bugs and Gardeners
Gardening in the City
Science and the Gardener · Canadian researchers at UBC revealed that the malaria parasite evolved from seaweed and, since it contains a plastid so may be able to be controlled by herbicides.· Genetically modified rubber trees in Malaysia are producing human serum albumin, used for plants under intensive care in addition to the rubber in their latex.· Complex organic molecules could form in icy space dust, be collected on comets and plunge into this planet, kick-starting life here, astronomers suggest.· Elain Inghma, a soil biologist, is accused of giving false testimony to a New Zealand commission on genetic modification, "presenting inaccurate, careless and exaggerate information" and "generating speculative doomsday scenarios that are not scientifically supportable."· The first plants on land had spike-like leaves, say scientist but about 360 million years ago broad leaves developed in response to the dramatic drop in atmosphere carbon dioxide.· By adding chopped elephant grass to plastic parts of automobiles, they can be successfully composted instead of scrapped when their useful lives are over, say scientists at the University of Warwick’s Advanced Technology Centre in England.Weather · A drought lasting for perhaps 40 years, far worse then that of the infamous "Dirty ‘30s," is overdue on the Prairies, says an expert from the University of Regina.· Environment Canada tells us that this winter has been 1.3C warmer than usual.· A TV meteorologist in Philadelphia receives thousands of complaints, including death threats, after working that city into high expectations of the "Storm of the Decade" which never arrives.· Portuguese wine researchers correlate good vintage years to the Southern Oscillation Index of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately this information applies to the Dao region, not exactly noted at present anyway as a connoisseur’s choice.· Southern Alberta agriculture is reported as heading for a second consecutive dry year.Law and the Gardeners · A tree fort in the snazzy Victoria, B.C., suburb of Oak Bay is ordered to comply with zoning by-laws.· A pair of pot growers in Saskatchewan appeal their imprisonment on the grounds cannabis is sacred to them. Nice try, but no banana.
Finally, there is an authoritative Botany Online. Since it is through the University of Hamburg, the impressive 58 chapters were originally in German. 21 of them are still being translated into English but the site still archives over 800,000 visits each month by scientist to interested gardeners at: www.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/biologie/b_online/e00/contents.htmLandscape Labour Rates Landscape Ontario, the industry trade group, has published hourly "standard landscape construction industry labour charge-out rates." These "include the cost of related overheads" but not "materials or equipment charges." Expect landscape designers, supervisors and consultants clock in at $75/hr. A foreperson is worth $55/hr while stonemasons, landscape technicians, and horticulturists along with landscape carpenters are yours for $50/hr. Equipment operators and labourers are charged at $40/hr., advises L.O. Note that these are what that association calls "standard." City Gardening has heard of consultants charging $250/hr and experienced horticulturists half that, $125/hr. Early Seeding In the days before the blessings bestowed by modern meteorological forecasts, farmers from the Lincolnshire area of eastern England determined if the ground was ready to receive seed in an original manner. They went into their fields after dark, dropped their trousers and sat on the good soil. If it was comfortable for the bare buttocks, it was time to sow the seed. We are not advocating such in the city. This would be taking an astonishing selection of hardy herb; vegetable and flower seeds may be sown with success this month. Even before Easter this year, it is not too early to consider some seeding. If you are on a well-drained loam or sandy soil and can prepare a seed bed, then go ahead. The clay uplands of north Toronto and some of the surrounding GTA are not so likely amenable. Try hardy herbs such as parsley, chervil, thyme, sage, savoury, chives, and oregano. In vegetables, except for the obvious tender exceptions, which include The cucumber tribe, and tomatoes, pepper, eggplants, the traditional crops will not merely grow but flourish planted after mid-month, perhaps even earlier. The cabbage cousins, carrot, radish, lettuce, spinach, chard, beets turnip, and green onions are candidates. But leave beans until the first week of May. If you still have energy, also seed marigolds, Alyssum, nasturtium where they are to grow. Needling Cactus Fanciers
Cacti are native to Canada? You’ve got to be kidding was all too often the first reaction to last month’s article on an Opuntia being found in eastern Ontario. This was followed by a demand for more information. The best reference as to native cactus is the authoritative The Flora of Canada: Ottawa: National Museum of Natural Sciences Publications in Botany No. 7 (1978) part 4 pp.1119-20. The official denizens of the Great White North, are listed as being:
s. Alberta; Saskatchewan north of Saskatoon 3. Opuntia compressa – dry sands and rock in southern Ontario: Pelee Point and Pelee Island, Long Point (endangered in Canada); syn. O. humifusa. 4. Opuntia fragilis – dry prairies and sand hills, rocks in B.C. to Taylor Flats in the Peace River systems; Alberta, Saskatchewan and s. Manitoba; Ontario: Rainy River and Lake of the Woods; Lennox and Addington County near Kaladar. 5. Opuntia polycantha – dry prairies, sand hills, and rocks in B.C. from Saltspring Island to dry interior Kamloops and Kelowna; s. Alberta and s. Saskatchewan north to Saskatoon. Many other cacti may tolerate our climate, particular if raised from seed. A good source of such knowledge and one carries a limited number of O. fragilis are carried by Xeriscape Plus, near Toronto. Call Les at (905) 337-2062 or email lbhgab@attcanada.netThere is also the Too Cold Cactus Group, c/o David Sierer of Wesby, Wisconsin which at present consists of 375 gardens from over 20 countries. There is a free email digest hardycacti_etc. also the handbook Where The Hardy Cactus Grow available by visiting the website http://vvv.com/~amdigest/hardy.htmHorticultural Happenings
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.
Ontario Rock Garden Society
Toronto Wildflower Society
Earth Day in High Park
Allotment Gardens No space to grow vegetables? Applications are accepted for allotment garden plots (10’ X10’) at 3 locations for a fee of $20 per season. For more information call City Parks & Recreation at (416) 392-8188. Toronto Fun Parks & Recreation Guide The Spring/Summer 2001 edition of Toronto FUN, the guide to parks and recreation and culture programs and services in Toronto is now available at http://www.city.Toronto.on.ca/parks.Allan Gardens and Centennial Park Conservatory Floral Displays Spring Show – Mid January to end of April Easter Display – One week prior to Easter to week after Easter. Allan Gardens open Monday – Friday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm, Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays 10:00am – 5:00 pm. For more information call 392-7288 Richters Free Seminars Sundays at 2 pm 1 km east of Goodwood on South side of Hwy 47 (Bloomington Rd at hwy 404); for more information call (905) 649-6677. www.richters.comApril 1st - Herbs in bloom. April 22nd – Landscaping with herbs.
Qi-Magic Feng Shu Zen Garden Course April 18th-19th – Holiday Inn Select, Toronto Airport; $689 more from phone/fax (905) 338-6868 or visit website www.fengshuicanada.netGarden Happenings in the U.S. of A. The New Renaissance Garden 3 April to 10 June at the New York Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY, in the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory; for more information call (718) 817-8700. www.nybg.orgGardens of Florida Former Toronto Parks honcho Frank Kershaw will lead you from 17-24 April through exquisite grounds in southern Florida for just $2,589. Check with you travel agents. Banyan Birthday 21-22 Banyan Tree 128th birthday at Lahaina Town on the island of Maui, Hawaii; various interesting celebrations including, of course, the cake; for more information call (808) 667-9193; www.visitlahaina.comCape May’s Spring Festival 28 April to 6 May Cape May, New Jersey: Tulip and Garden Festival April 28-29 and the Spring Victorian Festival May 4-6; of especial note are the Secret Garden and Garden Trolley Tours in the Victorian town; for more information call (800)-275-4278; www.capemaymac.orgCatalogues Received
Aimers Seeds 126 St. St. Catharine Street North Hamilton, Ont L8R 1J4 Tel: (905) 529-2601 Fax: (905) 528-1635 Free Catalogue Aimers Botanical Seed Catalogue continues in 2001 edition even thought there appears to have been problems in it being sent out but, say representatives, give them a call if you haven’t received yours. As always a treat browse through, with many desirable perennials and wildflowers, along with annual and other in addition to many handy tips of germinating raising seeds.
RR #3, 1402 Fourth Avenue St. Catharines, Ont L2R 6P9 Free Catalogue Tel: 1-877-488-1914 www.rittenhouse.caRittenhouse was established in 1914 but has some very modern ideas in merchandising items that gardeners slather over, particular unique tools and other gardening products. Particularly for the country and cottage, what could be more useful than an ecologically friendly mosquito murderer that tempts the blighters with CO2 to mimic your breath than a fan sucks them to their doom? Or self-coiling hose? Also, that hard-to-get but perfect Hudson Trombone Sprayer that reaches 40 feet with ease? Good selection also of tools for those of us whose backs and other portions of the anatomy are not what they used to be. Veseys Bulbs P.O. Box 9000 Charlottetown, P.E.I C1A 8K6 Free Catalogue Tel: 1-800-363-7333 www.veseys.comThis is the companion to the same company’s seed catalogue considered such a vital adjunct to any gardening efforts in the Atlantic Provinces. But Vesey’s offerings do well anywhere and their selections to particularly important if we just so happen to be hit by inclement cool, wet weather. Lilies, Dahlias, gladioli and much more abound in this full colour catalogue. Looking for the unusual but reliable? How about Arum italicum a much more colourful cousin to the British cuckoopint? Or hardy cyclamen? Spectacular foxtail lilies, Erasures? There even tree peonies, the famed Paeonia suffruiticosa, like everything offered at excellent prices. Don’t miss this one. Vineland Nurseries 4540 Martin Rd Beamsville, Ont L0R 1B1 Catalogue $1.50 Tel/Fax: (905) 562-4836 Always an anxious time until this incredibly useful catalogue and price list arrives annually. Jim and Simone Lounsberry carry one of the best selections available anywhere of miniature and dwarf woody plants, especially evergreens, so desirable in city gardens proscribed by space as well as rockeries and other restricted areas. This is not ignoring their other offerings particularly in broad leaf evergreens such as rhododendrons. This is also one of the very few eastern sources of hardy bamboos.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
Wes
Porter’s Green
Side Up 2nd
Edition The
Canadian Book on Lawns And Alternative Groundcovers
In fine bookstores everywhere
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