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City
Gardening April
2003 HAS
SPRING FINALLY SPRUNG? Update
on Lawn Care – Bulbs Brighten the Landscape – Buzz on Mosquitoes – Song of
the Garden – Does Gardening Encourage Violence? – Plus Regular
Features: Catalogues, Gardening Web, Horticultural Happenings, Gardening News ‘April showers bring May flowers,’ folk wisdom
advises us. But just whose folk wisdom and from whence? Alas, such does not
emigrate well, just as last month’s prediction that ‘March roars in like a
lion and goes out like a lamb.’ We all know where that one landed us.
More germane to the issue is the comical Canadian observation:
Spring has come, the grass is riz/I wonder where the snow all is?
Urbanites blessed with the neighbours’ canine companions see it somewhat
differently, if perhaps more accurately: Spring has sprung, the snow is gone/The
lawn’s all covered with doggy dung. At least we hope the snow is gone for the season
and mulches protecting perennial and bulb beds can now be removed, along with
burlap from evergreens and hedges exposed to road salt. Mother Nature not only
observing the 1st April, along with the amount of snow this winter,
anything may happen. Some satirist reportedly claimed wannabe Toronto
mayor Barbara Hall’s husband was taking a course in pruning at Humber College
but kept cutting classes. At the drop of a twig though, politicians wax eloquent
about their love of trees. And it is well known how much they do practically.
But you, of course, are different.
Feed all deciduous woody plants as soon as possible with fertilizer formulated
for that task. Slow but deep watering may be necessary also if this spring turns
out to be as dry as some forecasters are predicting. Friend, and bulb expert Carol Cowan has some good
advice for extending the existence of perennial flower bulbs in our gardens.
First, they require regular feeding, but what you do in the spring depends on
what you did in the fall, she says. “If you used a slow release method, such
as cow manure or the slow-release NPK, don’t do anything,” she recommends.
“If you used a fast-release fertilizer, apply a nitrogen-rich, fast-release
NPK fertilizer in the spring just as the shoots first emerge from the soil.” After spring-flowering bulbs have faded,
‘dead-head’ the plants by snipping off the faded flowers, just where the
base of the flower meets the stem, says Carol. This prevents the formation of
seeds, but allows the green foliage to die back naturally, a process which
generally takes about six weeks after bloom. (A dead-heading exception:
daffodils do not require dead-heading – though many people choose to do so for
aesthetic reasons.) Avoid the urge to tidy up bulb plantings after
blooming by tying up the leaves with string or rubber bands, as some suggest.
The six week leaf die-back time is a critical work period for leaves busy with
photosynthesis, the process by which leaves combine chlorophyll and sunshine
into starches that recharge the bulb with nutrients for next year’s blossoms.
The leaves must be free to soak up sunshine during this critical period. If dying foliage seems unattractive, the best
solution is camouflage. Interplant bulbs with hosta, coral bells (Heuchera),
lilies or other perennials that leaf out early in the spring season. They will
grow up around the fading bulb foliage. Returning to aforesaid doggy dung on lawns, what
can be done? Unfortunately not much other than digging out the dead sod and soil
to a depth of six inches. Replace with weed-free commercial potting soil and
either sod or sow seed. Gypsum is reputed to neutralize the effects of dog urine
if applied promptly to the polluted patch within an hour or so. Few legally
allowed strategies deter dogs with full bladders. Commercial deterrents may or
may not work. Wolf urine is said to be effective for those with access to such .
. . In Toronto, where a reluctance
to clean up is evident, Al Gauthier offers his services for a modest fee through
his Poop Patrol, which may be reached at 416-410-7667. If all this seems a bit much, look away elsewhere.
Peter Postleb, head of the Clean Frankfurt campaign in that German city, demands
that dogs wear large licence plates to identify them when they stop to squat
where they should not. The fine for the owners would be $240. In Paris, the same
offence costs $630. But a couple of years back, when Randall Huphman of
Shelburne, Nova Scotia, threw a shovelful of dog feces on
to another man's doorstep, the court levied a $280 fine. In 1999 Montreal
politicians, obviously lawn lovers, considered a bylaw to prevent dogs from
urinating on such verdant venues. Councillor
Helen Fotopoulos objected. "You can't teach an old dog new tricks,"
she said. "Implementing that type of regulation seems to far-fetched. How
are you going to stop dogs peeing on private property?" All of which is about as diverting as the french
fries/freedom fries, french toast/freedom toast down Washington way. What are we
supposed to ask for at the garden centre this spring? Freedom marigolds and
freedom lavender? A (freedom) pox upon it all! Is
Gardening Responsible for Elevated Levels of Violence? A new American study claims that cartoon violence
viewed by children is the cause of increased violence among the little darlings
as they grow into uncouth youths. Could these findings be extended to other,
perhaps even more fertile fields? Could the increased interest in gardening, for
instance, lead to a corresponding rise in violence? City Gardening
has devised a simple test that we urge all readers to participate in. 1. You believe squashing bugs between the fingers
is . . . a)
Efficient,
non-chemical eradication b)
Fun for
the family c)
Yeeech!
You call that natural bug control? 2. You enjoy controlling weeds . . . a)
With
assorted sharp and potentially lethal implements b)
By
reving up a weed whacker c)
Ripping
and tearing them out with your bare hands 3. Trees were put on this planet to . . . a)
Absorb
various noxious gases and chemicals b)
Provide
shade, shelter and food for ourselves and other wildlife c)
Happily
hack at, gouge and destroy with anything up to and including chainsaws 4. When the neighbour’s dog visits your lawn, you
react by . . . a)
Hurling
abuse at the dog b)
Hurling
abuse at the owner c)
Spraying
the lawn with the most potent pesticide available 5. Lawns were created in order to . . . a)
Show off
flowers and shrubs to perfection b)
Attract
every pest, disease and weed known to exist c)
Allow
you to use excessively sharp and noisy equipment to risk fingers, toes and other
appendages Scoring: You really, really want to know how
you scored? Best let Samuel Goldwyn have the last word. Amongst the many bon
mots the movie moghul is reputed to have left us, perhaps none is more
germane to this issue that, “a man who goes to a psychiatrist
ought to have his head examined.” The
Buzz On Mosquitoes If you want the best chance of staying West Nile
virus negative this season you best take action yourself. In Canada’s largest
city, they can’t even agree on how many citizens succumbed the mosquito-borne
disease last year or how many suspected cases there were. Informed sources say
certainly several hundred Toronto residents were sickened by viral encephalitis
– or was it tens of thousands? Gardeners, spending many hours outside, are at
higher risk than many. The misery of mosquitoes is well known to every Canadian.
Manitoba residents jocularly claim them as their “provincial bird.” Add WNV
and you have what Toronto Health Board Chair Councillor Joe Mihevc called
“somewhat alarming data.” Now known from Nova Scotia to Saskatchewan, it
remains to be seen if it will pass over the Rockies this summer to inflict
British Columbia and the Yukon. A single case last summer from the vicinity of
Los Angeles International Airport is believed from an aircraft- introduced
infected mosquito. Apart from basting ourselves in DEET-containing
repellent at frequent intervals, help is on the way from scientists and
suppliers. Are their devices worth outlay? While bureaucrats fumble and bumble,
in Egypt where WNV has been endemic for years, forty per cent of the fellaheen,
or rural dwellers, tested positive for the disease. A foretaste of the future
here? Who knows? Here are three possible precautions: Larva Sonic: Last
fall we reported on a new acoustic invention aimed at destroying mosquito larvae
without pesticides. Patented by Michael and Herbert Nyberg of Connecticut (WO
02/052933), it consists essentially of waterproofed loudspeakers producing
high-frequency sound in the 16 to 32 kilohertz range. This causes the larva’s
air bladder to vibrate, forcing it from the creature’s thorax into the abdomen
and killing it. Now commercially
available under the name ‘Larva Sonic,’ a small model efficient for cleaning
up confined spaces, such as storm drains, is presently available and a larger
pond model follows later this season. Mosquito Magnet: An ideal way to control adult mosquitoes and other
biting insects without the use of chemical pesticides, or killing harmless
insects as in other traps. Operates by imitating a large mammal by emitting a
plum of carbon dioxide, heat and moisture – exactly what female mosquitoes,
black flies, no-see-ums and biting midges home in on. The pests are then
vacuumed into a net where they dehydrate and die. Made even more effective to
biting bugs by the addition of an octenol cartridge, a hormone attractant, the
system operates silently without odour day and night using a standard tank of
propane. Two models are available, both effective for up to an acre; one
operates without an external power source; the other requires an 115VAC outlet.
The Cayman Islands Mosquito Research & Control Unit tested the latter last
summer where, according to the supplier, it outperformed two competitors’
traps by two hundred to one. Either should be excellent for gardens and
cottages, vacation properties, golf courses and wooded areas. Compu-Spray Mosquito Control Battery-operated and relying on a two per cent
malathion solution, when tested at Guelph University the Compu-Spray was found
to reduce mosquito bites by 68 per cent. Controlling pests over up to an acre,
it is recommended mounted on a ten-foot post. A single fill of the 3.75-litre
tank lasts for a week with two, 6v batteries supplying power for an entire
season. Environmentalists may not like malathion, but it has been in use for the
past half-century and is the chemical of choice for fogging operations by health
authorities in many North American cities. More information: Larva Sonic, Mosquito Magnet, Compu-Spray Mosquito
Control: www.rittenhouse.ca Flowery
Offerings Those who attended the recent ‘A Symphony of
Gardens,’ the Canada Blooms 2003 show in Toronto, may have noted in Canada
Blooms Magazine the suggested “Top 10 Songs About Flowers.” These, we
learnt, are in case we “need some lively entertainment for your garden party
or just some inspiration when designing an arrangement.” Amongst those
suggested were Tiptoe Through the Tulips, Edelweiss, I Never
Promised You a Rose Garden . . . . well, you get the picture. Needless to
say, City Gardener has never been loathe to select a song or three
where needed. Herewith, then, are our offerings: Diga-Diga-Doo (1928) from Blackbirds
of 1928, Dorothy Fields I Make Hay While The Moon
Shines (1924) from Primrose, Desmond Carter I’d Like To Poison Ivy
(1924) from The Melody Man, Richard Rogers Kling-Kling Bird On The
Devi-Devi Tree (1935) from Jubilee, Cole Porter The Money Tree (1977) from The
Act, Fred Ebb She’s A Nut (1978) from On
The Twentieth Century, Betty Comden/Adolph Green When The Bo-Tree Blossoms
Again (1927) from Lucky, Burt Kalmar/Harry Ruby Daisy (1917) from Have A
Heart, P. G. Wodehouse Don't Sit Under The Apple Tree
(1942), by Glen Miller The Man's Grass Is Always
Greener (1950s) by Petula Clark, a hit record Canada Blooms Magazine also offers, as their final choice, Roses Are
Red (Violets Are Blue). But readers may recall many a version of this,
including such excellent advice as: Roses are redder, Violets are bluer, When you use Wes Porter’s manure. New
Approaches to Lawn Care – And New Problems Other than computer technology, few things change
faster than horticulture. Five decades ago at horticultural colleges – and how
few they then were – that students should expect to relearn everything within
ten years. Entering into the third millennium, we accept changes to be announced
annually, none more so perhaps than in the field of lawn care. But the basics remain the same: o
Leave
the grass 4- to 5-centimetres (1½ to 2-inches) high when mowing o
Apply ½-inch
of water every three days unless there is the equivalent rainfall o
Aerate
annually What then has changed? Fertilization plus pest and
weed control, that’s what. Rightly or wrongly, all have been considerably
influenced by environmental concerns. Consequently, the name now is natural.
And when it comes to natural lawn fertilizers and even natural selective
herbicides, even the big chain garden centres and box stores are stocking an
increasingly wide selection. Back in the dark ages of lawn care when mowing was
medieval, as everything else, lawns were top dressed with rich black loam, home
compost or composted livestock manure. Depending on how efficient the previous
composting had been predicated subsequent weed control. The latter was often
achieved with, as Rudyard Kipling noted, on hands and knees with old kitchen
knives. Now we have scientifically-blended but equally
natural lawn fertilizers such as Gaia Green Turf and Lawn Blend 6-2-3 which,
according to company president Michael L. Dean, needs only to be applied once in
late spring and again in early autumn. It is composed of, he tells us,
“feather meal, steamed bone meal, glacial rock dust, leonardite (humate) and
gypsum.” Bradfield Natural Fertilizers, unlike many other
natural organic fertilizers, “do not contain manure, animal by-products,
processed sewage or synthetics,” proclaims the company. Instead Bradfield
3-1-5 is made from “a rich nutrient blend of alfalfa and other natural sources
of nutrients and plant biostimulants.” Then there is their 9-0-0 Granular Corn
Gluten which, south o’ the border, has been proclaimed an excellent natural
herbicide for controlling many an obnoxious lawn weed. One Ontario college
instructor got himself into hot water with Ottawa bungleaucrats for daring to
announce such without their permission. Weeding lawns no longer needs to involve getting
down on the knees, invoking Kipling’s dictum, nor seeking bureaucratic
permission. Rittenhouse, the Canadian tool firm famed since 1914, has several
mechanical devices for removing dandelions, thistles and the like from lawns
without bending a patella. The ‘Weed Twister’ is pushed in with the foot,
then twisted and voila out comes the offending species. Similar in action
and only slightly more expensive at $21.95 is the ‘Dandelion Popper’ or, at
$39.95, choose the ‘Enviroweeder’ that pulls out weeds with four stout
prongs. How about burning the beggars out, leaving surrounding grass untouched?
You can do so with the ‘Infra-Weeder Dandy-Destroyer’ which uses a propane
torch to heat and element to 6000BTU (1.85 Kw/h) to sizzle the little suckers.
Sounds like something for Saddam. Poultry manure certainly isn’t chicken feed when
it comes prepared and pelleted by Envirem Technologies Organic Lawn Fertilizer
4.1-2, a rich natural supply of nitrogen and other beneficial nutrients plus
organic matter to green the lawn, stimulate soil microbes and help resist
drought. Then anyone who was raised beside the sea knows the value of marine
waste for the garden. Atlantic Sea Shell Compost is such a soil amendment to
perk up compacted soils following aeration. As the snow disappears and the frost comes out of
the ground, voracious white grubs become active. Feasting on grass roots, they
leave dead patches as their calling cards. The environmentally friendly answer
is the nematode that resounds in the name of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora.
Supplied to retailers by Koppert Biological Systems, H. bacteriophora is
a minute worm that feeds the larvae of several beetles, collectively known as
white grubs. Penetrating its host, it proceeds to secrete specific bacteria that
convert the unfortunate larvae’s tissues into products that can be absorbed by
the nematode and used as food. Yummy it is not but very effective it is. Sold
under the name of Terranem™ a single package contains 50 million nematodes,
enough to treat 2,000 square feet, or the average suburban home lawns. If
choosing other brand preparations of these parasitic nematodes, check the
package carefully for the number it contains and the area claimed effective for.
The rate for Terranem™ produces satisfactory results. A number of university
web sites warn others may be less so. Unfortunately there as yet seems to be no similar
strategy for leather jackets, pests that cause similar damage and are the larvae
of the European crane fly Tipula paludosa Meigen. This beast landed on
our shores in Nova Scotia about 1955. A mysterious outbreak was reported in the
Vancouver area ten years later, but it was not until 1996 that damage commenced
turning up in southern Ontario. Originally reported from Whitby through Toronto
to Hamilton, mild winters appear to have facilitated its spread elsewhere. OMAF
expert Pam Charbonneau has advised that Dursban and Sevin offer control when
populations exceed 15 to 25 per square metre. It is important to note, however,
those parasitic nematodes such as Heterorhabditis bacteriophora are
extremely sensitive to such chemical controls. Further information on lawns: LawnFacts: www.lawnfacts.ca/ General Lawn Care: www.lawninstitute.com Lawn Care with Reduced Pesticides:
www.healthylawns.net Turfgrass Evaluation: www.ntep.org Gaia Green: www.gaiagreen.ca Healthy Lawn Care
Products: www.healthy.lawncare.com Bradfield: www.healthylawncare.com Rittenhouse: www.rittenhouse.ca Envirem Technologies: www.envirem.com Koppert Biological Systems www.koppert.nl Nematodes: www.wormatlas.org Leatherjackets: www.gov.on.ca/OMAF/english/crops/facts/trf_leather_may2198.htm We
Receive Catalogues Vineland
Nurseries 4540 Martin Road, Beamsville, Ontario L0R 1B1
Phone/Fax: 905-562-4836 [no website] ‘Special plants for small spaces,” owners Jim
and Simone Lansberry proclaim. And they’re right. This slim little 12-page
catalogue achieves by using small print what many a larger version often should
– but do not. ‘Dwarf and unusual evergreens, heathers,
rhododendrons and Japanese maples,’ states the cover, but both the false
cypress, pine and spruce offerings occupy around a page each and there is many
another treasure to be discovered elsewhere in the Lansberry’s selection. This
catalogue is a “must have” in the files of every gardener who suffers from
limited space – and who doesn’t? Loewen
Garden Plants P.O. Box 1150, Ridgetown, Ontario N0P 2C0 Phone:
519-674-3635 Fax: 519-674-5784 [no website] When Sterling Perennials dropped out of the
business, Steve Loewen of Ridgetown College took up the banner and a right noble
job he is making of it. The 10-page list of offerings resembles the home
perennial border: it is amazing what you can pack in such limited a space. A
nice selection, amongst others, of both hostas and Chinese silver grasses (Miscanthus)
are offered at excellent prices. Note that Loewen ships only April through May
and again in the autumn. Mason
Hogue Gardens 3520 Durham Road #1, RR#4, Uxbridge, Ontario L9P
1R4 Phone/Fax: 905-649-3532 e-mail: info@masonhogue.com website:
www.masonhogue.com Yes, for those not familiar with this nursery
northeast of Toronto, it is the same Marjorie Mason Hogue of media fame along
with Jeff and Laura Mason who, through this 66-page catalogue, offer outstanding
selections of clematis, hardy geraniums (cranesbill), ferns, hostas, ornamental
grasses and r0ck roses (Helianthemum) plus numerous other offerings, plus
what are often hard-to-find tender tropicals and annuals. Those far afield from
the nursery can have their selections shipped or choose when they order to
arrange to collect them in person. Note that after 1 April, they warn some stock
may be limited. Lee
Valley Garden Tools Retail stores in Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto,
Burlington, London, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton, Coquitlam and Vancouver; Phone:
1-800-267-8767 Customer Service: 1-800-267-8761 Website: www.leevalley.com With the demise of decent garden tools at most
garden centres and the ubiquitous box stores, Lee Valley Garden Tools has been
living up to its name – and fortunately opening store after store across the
nation. Still, for those that wish to fill in a wet weather day of browsing,
this is a catalogue of much more than tools alone, superb as they may be.
Numerous plant propagation systems and light gardening units might be expected,
but a home laser leveller, no less, perhaps not so, let alone a microwave flower
press. Visit online or send for hard copy, sit back in a comfortable chair and
dream away . . . New
Rose Introductions for 2003 Last month we suggested roses that were still worth
sniffing at – scent being an all-to-often forgotten factor when it comes to
new introductions. Still, the demand for the different and fresh never ceases,
none more so than among devout rosarians. Sarah Willis and Trevor Cole reviewed
selections from commercial growers in the industry magazine Landscape Trades
late last year. Their list, while not complete, indicates this season’s
offerings which should be available through local nurseries and garden centres.
Please note that all listed below are plant developers and commercial growers.
They do not sell direct to home gardeners, however heartbreaking their pleas.
Websites are show to allow for chasing down “must haves” for 2003. All America Rose Selections www.rose.org ‘Hot Cocoa’[2003 AARS Winner] Anthony Tesselaar USA 310-349-0714 Rosa
Twoagain’ Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation (COPF) www.copf.org Rosa
‘Ausencart’ Benjamin Britain English Rose Rosa
‘Ausgrab’ Ainwick Castle English Rose Rosa
‘Auskeppy’ Grace English Rose Rosa
‘Ausnetting’ Corvedale English Rose Rosa
‘Auspeet’ Charle Darwin English Rose Rosa
‘Austilly’ The Mayflower English Rose Rosa
‘Ausufo’ Comtes de Champagne English Rose David Austin Roses Limited www.davidaustinroses.com Rosa
‘Ausencart’ Benjamin Britain English Rose Rosa
‘Ausgrab’ Ainwick Castle English Rose Rosa
‘Auskeppy’ Grace English Rose Rosa
‘Ausnetting’ Corvedale English Rose Rosa
‘Auspeet’ Charle Darwin English Rose Rosa
‘Austilly’ The Mayflower English Rose Rosa
‘Ausufo’ Comtes de Champagne English Rose Enderlein Nurseries www.enderleingardenroses.com Rosa
‘Unity’ Pan American Nursery Products Inc. www.panamnursery.com ‘Hot Cocoa’[2003 AARS Winner] ‘Whisper’ ‘Cherry Parfait’ ‘Eureka’ New
Woody Plant Introductions 2003 Once again, we turn to the team of Sarah Willis and
Trevor Cole, who reviewed selections from commercial tree and shrub growers in
the industry magazine Landscape Trades late last year. Not satisfied with
those offered by the big box stores and here-today-gone-tomorrow supermarket
“garden centres”? Check out the websites listed under each commercial
wholesale grower listed below for local retailers. J. C. Bakker & Sons Ltd. www.jcbakker.com Campsis
x tagliabuana ‘Huidan’ Campsis
x tagliabuana ‘Indian Summer’ Caragana aborescens ‘Spring Gold’ Forsythia
‘Golden Times’ Lonicera periclymenum ‘Harlequin’ Morus alba
‘Green Wave’ Morus alba
‘Macrophylla’ Morus latifolia
‘Spirata’ Salix repens ‘Iona’ Syphoricarpos
x doorenbosii ‘Kordes’ Syringa reticulata ‘Golden Eclipse’ Thuja occidentalis ‘Pendula’ Canadian Ornamental Plant Foundation (COPF) www.copf.org Buddleia davidii ‘Courtabud’ Buxus
‘Glencoe’ Buxus
‘Wilson’ Caryopteris
‘Innoveris’ Forsythia
‘Courdijeau’ Ulmus
‘Morton’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Morton’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Ralph Senior’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Synnestvedt’ Viburnum trilobum ‘JN Select’ Weigela florida
‘Plagen’ Chicagoland Grows, Inc. www.chicagobotanic.org/chicagolandgrows/ Betula nigra
‘Little King’ Buxus
‘Glencoe’ Buxus
‘Wilson’ Ulmus
‘Morton’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Morton’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Ralph Senior’ Viburnum dentatum ‘Synnestvedt’ Viburnum trilobum ‘JN Select’ Jeffries Nurseries www.jeffriesnurseries.com Acer saccharinum ‘Silver
Cloud’ Tilia
‘Harvest Gold’ Plant Haven, Inc. www.planthaven.com Clematis
‘Zoin’ Spiraea japonica ‘White Gold’ Weigela florida
‘Plagen’ Selection New Plants www.selectionnewplants.com Buddleia davidii ‘Courtabud’ Caryopteris
‘Innoveris’ Forsythia
‘Courdijeau’ Gardening
Web As
the Worm Turns In Africa, it is almost impossible to grow tomatoes
wherever a Baobab Tree, Andansonia digitata, has once grown: the
surrounding soil is laden with minute parasitic nematodes. In Canada, as a
whole, our severe northern climate is inhospitable to most parasitic nematodes,
or ‘eelworms’ as British publications often refer to them as. There are
thousands of different nematodes, ranging from the equally parasitic roundworms
of various mammals, including the family pooch, to Heterorhabditis
bacteriophora, the precious species now being sold in garden centres as a
natural control for grubs infesting home lawns. Yet these creatures, about 0.5 mm long, have less
than a thousand cells and no heart or eyes and so are the delight of scientists
bent on examining the worm’s anatomy. Find out more about these fascinating
creatures at the Wormatalas, a site maintained by Yeshiva and Columbia
universities. Less messily than in Biology 101, and much more elegantly, examine
sections of nematode anatomy through Wormtiler and Wormviewer or, if you are a
confirmed at DIY, learn lab techniques to prepare them yourself.
www.wormatlas.org The
Aliens Amongst Us Purple loosestrife is only the tip of the botanic
iceberg when it comes to obnoxious invaders of our lebensraum. Field
botanists refer to such non-natives as ‘aliens.’ The term is frequently used
with contempt to curdle the blood of any passing stray Raelian. Dandelions yes
of course – but what about stinging nettles or swallow wort, also known
ominously as the ‘dog strangler vine’? Then there’s the insultingly named
Canada thistle, no true native of the north but a hitchhiker from Ukraine.
According to the journal Science, “invasive plants, animals, and
microbes cost the United States an estimated $100 billion annually.” A quick
survey identified over 300 such plants in Ontario alone, ignoring animal life
all together, if that is possible with such as the zebra mussel. Science
draws attention to a web site designed for use by U.S. residents but with
obvious uses for northern neighbours, hosted by the U.S. federal government that
brings information on alien species all together on this one site.
www.invasivespecies.gov Perennial
Answers The boom in perennials shows no signs of
diminishing. The problem is finding some modern-day Gertrude Jekyll to dispense
sound advice. It takes years of practical experience to produce such experts.
Most garden centres show a distinct lack of enthusiasm in retaining such
perennial paragons only matched by the ever-increasing volumes they are
stocking. So it has fallen on the shoulders of the professional wholesale
nurseries and, especially, Heritage Perennials out of Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ontario. The site features everything for both the neophyte and the more
experienced gardener, including design tips, cultural instructions, resources
and links, and even a perennial discussion group and upcoming perennial events.
An added attraction is the chance to join John Valleau for “a live perennial
gardening chat.” John is, of course, the acclaimed author of the Perennial
Gardening Guide, now approaching a decade and several editions. www.perennials.com Facts
& Fallacies of Lawns Trying to sort through the claims and counterclaims
is like battling white grubs. Hard, yes. Impossible, no. It
is also far easier these days thanks to Lawnfacts. The obvious place to go for
advice to is professional experts. Self-appointed “concerned citizens” are
possibly sincere but all too frequently ill informed and promote their own
doctrines. Lawnfacts announces that the site “was created by a group of lawn
care professionals who like most Canadian homeowners, have children and pets,
and share a great respect for the environment.” This site has questions and
answers, health and safety, quick facts, links and downloads as numerous as
clippings on a newly mown lawn. www.lawnfacts.ca Health
Canada’s Healthy Lawns Suspicious of both non-government organizations
(NGOs) and the lawn care industry or even professional garden communicators? Why
not go to the organization that controls what is used to control pests and weeds
of lawns and elsewhere in the garden? The Pest Management Regulatory Agency of
Health Canada hosts the Healthy Lawns web site with the
Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Committee on pest management and
Pesticides. The site aims at providing home gardeners and lawn care service
operators and other professionals with information on reduced risk pest
management and pest prevention strategies for lawns. www.healthylawns.net April
Horticultural Happenings Toronto
Field Naturalist Outings Free guided walks in the Toronto region; children
welcome but please no pets; all are TTC accessible; dress according to weather,
bring beverage, camera, notebook and binoculars’ more 416-593-2656 or www.sources.com/tfn 2 April: St. James Cemetery Heritage Walk; meet 10
a.m. cemetery gates east side Parliament St. north of Wellesley E; morning only 9 April: Humber Marshes Nature Walk; meet 10 a.m.
Old Mill subway station; morning only 12 April: Humber Marshes Nature Walk; meet 1:30
p.m. Old Mill subway station 15 April: Glen Stewart Ravine Urban Forestry; meet
10 a.m. sw corner Kingston Rd/Beech Ave; morning only 19 April: Etobicoke Creek Nature Walk; meet 1:30
p.m. on the bridge over the creek on north side of Lake Shore Blvd. W. 26 April: Rouge Valley Nature Walk; meet 10:30 a.m.
ne corner Sheppard E/Meadowvale Rd; bring lunch and binoculars 27 April: Eastern Lakeshore & Highland Creek
Nature Walk; meet 2 p.m. se corner Guildwood Parkway and Morningside Dr; bring
binoculars 29 April: German Mills Nature Walk; meet 10 a.m.,
ne corner Leslie St and Steeles Ave E; until 12:30 p.m.; bring a snack. Ian
Wheal Toronto Heritage Walks 26 April: High Park Mineral Springs; meet 1:30 p.m.
at the Quebec Ave. entrance/exit of the High Park subway station; if you
didn’t know Toronto once boasted of mineral springs, don’t miss this one! High
Park, Toronto, Sunday Walks Meet 1:15 p.m. south of the Grenadier Restaurant; a
$2 donation is requested; more 416-392-1748 6 April: High Parks Natural & Human History 13 April: The Birds of Spring; meet 9 a.m.; bring
binoculars 27 April: Earth Day at Colborne Lodge Agnes
Moodie Fitzgibbon Wildflower Walk 27 April: Humber Heritage, meet 1 p.m. at Lambton
House, south of Dundas St W. just east of the river in Toronto Society
of Ontario Nut Growers Auction 26 April: all day at Civic Garden Centre in Edwards
Gardens, 777 Lawrence Ave. E. at Leslie St., Toronto; features auction of nut
trees, uncommon fruit and ornamental trees as well as seeds and nuts; more
information from 905-934-6887 Toronto
Entomologists’ Association 26 April: monthly meeting, 1 p.m. Room 119,
Northrop Frye Hall, 73 Queen’s Park Cres. E.; talk by Colin Jones ‘Diversity
and Ecology of Ontario’s Dragonflies and Damselflies;’ more 905-727-6993 Ontario
Rock Garden Society 13 April: Civic Garden Centre in Edwards Gardens,
777 Lawrence Ave. E. at Leslie St., Toronto; plant sales commence 12:30 p.m.,
speaker at 1:30 p.m. – this month: David Hale; more at www.onrockgarden.com Rhododendron
Society (Toronto Region) 26 April Plant Sale 12 noon to 4 p.m. at the Civic
Garden Centre in Edwards Gardens, 777 Lawrence Ave. E. at Leslie St., Toronto;
“Everyone Welcome.” Mycological
Society of Toronto Meetings on mushrooms and “forays” to look for
them; more information 416-444-9053 Orchid
Show 4 to 6 April The Southern Ontario Orchid Society
hosts an international orchid show at the Inn on the Park, Eglinton East at
Leslie Street, Toronto. Expect to experience displays both artistic and
educational, orchids and supplies for sale, talks and demonstrations; admission
$6. 2003
National Home Show 4 to 13 April at The National Trade Centre,
Exhibition Place, Toronto: theme this year is “Ideas to Go,” and includes the Chrysler Dream Garden and Healthy Living Area,
with focus on environmental responsibility; more at www.nationalhhomeshow.com Ikebana
International 9 April: meeting
commences 7:30 p.m. at the Civic Garden Centre, 777 Lawrence Ave E. at Leslie
St. in Edwards Gardens. $5 at the door; please confirm at www.ikebana@ikebanaHQ.org Rhododendron
Society (Niagara Region) 26 April Plant Sale 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the
Vineland Horticultural Station, Vineland, Ontario Waterloo-Wellington
Wildflower Society 16 April meeting 7:30 p.m. at OAC Centennial
Arboretum Centre, University of Guelph; more information at www.uoguelph.ca/~botcal/ 7th
Annual Can-Am Daylily Classic 2003 11 to 13 April: Ontario Daylily Society proudly
presents the 7th Annual Can-Am Daylily Classic 2003 at the Royal
Botanical Gardens, Burlington and The Holiday Inn, 3063 South Service Rd,
Burlington; if you are a Hemerocallis hobbyist you won’t want to miss this!
Registration $55 – e-mail at chumily8@yahoo.ca Web site: www.ontariodaylily.on.ca Oshawa
Communities in Bloom 11 to 13 April: 5th Annual Garden &
Landscape Show at the Children’s Arena 14 April: Oshawa Garden Club meets 7:30 p.m.
Northminister United Church, Simcoe & Rossland 25 April to 4 May: Arbour Week with thousands of
saplings planted More: Oshawa Communities in Bloom, 50 Centre St.
S., Oshawa L1H 3Z7 phone: 905-438-3146 Orchid
Society of the Royal Botanical Gardens 19 April: meeting
commences 2 p.m. (beginners 1:30 p.m.) in the RBG Headquarters building, 680
Plains Rd W., Burlington (c/o PO Box 399, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3H8) Richters
Herbs Free Seminars All seminars are held on Sundays at 2 p.m. 6 April: Herbs in Containers with Sandra Henry of
Richters 27 April: Herbs in the Landscape with Denis
Flanagan, HGTV’s Indoor Gardener Richters is located on the south side of Hwy 47
(Bloomington Rd.) a kilometre east of Goodwood and east of the junction of Hwys
47 & 48 north of Toronto; more at
www.richters com Everdale
Workshops Everdale Environmental Learning Centre is located
on a 50-acre property near Hillsburgh, Ontario, about an hours’ drive
northwest of Toronto; details at phone: 519-855-4859 or website www.everdale.org 26 April: Organic Gardening – Starting Your
Veggie Garden 27 April: Earth Day Work Bee Smithsonian
Orchid Show Until 26 May: 10,077 orchids flourish in the
Horticultural Service’s greenhouse. Many of them will be on view at the Arts
and Industries Building in an exhibition called “Jewels of Nature” should
you find yourself in Washington, D.C. Federation
of Ontario Naturalists Annual General Meeting 23 – 25 May at Port Elgin; always of interest
plus this year a chance to visit some of the exquisite sites on the Bruce
Peninsular, a botanical paradise; call Jennifer Baker at FON, 416-444-8419 Nature
Wildlife Federation Travel Trips For more information, call 1-800-696-9563, visit www.nwf.org/expedtions 7
– 21 April Suriname Explorer, Nature and Cultural History US$2,990 24
June – 5 July Alaska – Too Wild to Waste, scheduled for peak of wildflower
season US$4,295 5
– 15 July Land of the Ice Bears: Norway’s Svalbard Islands; wildflowers
galore US$4,490 Allan
Gardens, Toronto South side Carleton Street between Jarvis and
Sherbourne Streets; open Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., weekends and
holidays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; special seasonal show this month a week proceeding
and after Easter; further information 416-392-7288 or www.allangardens.com Centennial
Park Conservatory, Toronto Three greenhouses with a total of more than 12,000
square feet of interesting and changing plant collections. 151 Elmcrest Road.
Open daily 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information at 416-392-8543 Cloud
Garden Conservatory, Toronto A walk-through greenhouse that recreates the lush
tropical foliage of a Costa Rican cloud forest. South side of Richmond Street,
between Yonge and Bay Streets. Open Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
(closed on holidays). More information from 416-392-7288 Gardening
in the Headlines A
round-up of the past few weeks news of interest to gardeners Landscaping §
According
to ‘Garden Trends Report’ from the International Flower Bulb Centre in
Holland, bright colours are all the rage. “Exhilarating shades of chartreuse,
oranges, purples, reds, yellows, corals, blues and hot pinks,” are
recommended. Sounds like a Marseilles bordello but perhaps it would be best left
to the ‘Garden Trends Report’ to be judge of that. Lawns §
Calling
them the ‘Lords of the Lawn,’ Jean-Marc Moncalvo, the Royal Ontario
Museum’s curator of fungi, writes that “there are at least two dozen common
species of macrofungi – otherwise known as mushrooms – that one morning can
suddenly pop out in our Canadian lawns, “ in the current edition of the
museum’s magazine, Rotunda §
Then
again, fungi on the lawn may not be such a great idea. Thunderstorms cause the
release of fungi spores, which result in increased asthma attacks, according to
research at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, Ottawa. Grass pollen,
on the other hand, does not increase as a result of thunderstorms, say the
researchers. Trees §
A
10-cm-diameter branch falling from a Montreal street tree kills a 21-year-old
man walking by §
Mexican
federal and state officials reverse an order to cull trees from Baja
California’s pristine San Pedro Martir National Park, following presentations
by a deputation of four concerned U.S. scientists. The forest, reports the
journal Science, “is a
living fossil and a possible guide for restoring other forests to a more natural
state.” §
Last
summer’s forest fire in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, which spread over 4,900
hectares and caused US$20-million of damage, was caused by a smouldering coal
seam igniting tree roots, according to a presentation to the AAAS meeting in
that state. Flowers §
As most
of the rest of the country struggles with record cold and snow up to the oozits,
Victoria out on the Left Coast conducts its annual flower-counting contest with
spring blooms everywhere – about 8 billion of them according to the organizers
of this tourism-promotion event. §
“Another
woman comes over to inform L. she’ll be discussing fritillaries at next
week’s horticultural society meeting.” Bobbie Jean Huff
writes on her participation in a peace parade in Perth, Ontario, in The
Globe and Mail. Wildflowers §
The
Todmorden Mills Wildflower Preserve receives a $65,000 grant from the Ontario
Trillium Foundation. The nine-hectare site, just off east end Pottery Road, was
started a decade ago by local enthusiasts and now hosts many tours and
activities. More from either 416-696-7230 or e-mail tmwp@hopscotch.ca Down in the Vegetables §
Pamela
Anderson poses for a poster wearing a bikini made of three lettuce leaves,
variety ‘Butterball,’ perhaps?. Fruit & Nuts §
First
ladybugs cause trouble with Ontario wines, now it is the extreme cold this past
winter, which has severely damaged, including merlot, sauvignon blanc, pinot
blanc and cabernet sauvignon vines. A considerable reduction in production may
be expected this year, says Linda Franklin of the Wine Council of Ontario §
Rampaging
citrus sudden death disease puts the squeeze on Brazil, producer of about 80% of
the world’s frozen concentrated orange juice. About 150 million trees in Sao
Paulo state will have to be replanted over the next six years as growers
discover that the Rangpur lime rootstock they have been using is susceptible to
citrus sudden death. Houseplants §
Dave
Carley’s Orchidelirium opens at Factory’s Studio Theatre, Toronto. A
play about orchid fanatics (believable), big bad business (less believable) and
an orchid with miraculous healing attributes (utterly unbelievable), proof at
least of the ever-increasing interest in the plants. §
Essential
services may be cut before Toronto city council give up have their houseplants
watered. Despite councillor Rob Ford pointing out this costs $92,000 a year, the
pols vote to keep their perk although Ford tells them that they could do the
watering themselves, and have to anyway if they bring in plants from home as
staff refuse to water those. §
“The
current value of the international orchids market is pegged at about $16-billion
annually,” reports the Financial Post, while discovering that in
Canada, orchids are a growing business. Irrigation §
The
latest threat to the environment is apparently bottled water, which, according
to AMC Outdoors Magazine, “takes a heavy toll in terms of
manufacturing, packaging waste and transportation.” Given what is reportedly
sometimes found upon analysis of the stuff, it might not be so good for plants,
either. Bugs and Gardeners §
Termites
are chopping their way through the Spanish mission of Alamo, now in Texas, but
in 1836 part of Mexico when the battle famed as part of Texan history was fought
there between U.S. and Mexican forces. ‘Alamo,’ incidentally, was named for
the cottonwood trees that grew there. §
Mosquitoes
that have been genetically modified to prevent them from carrying the malaria
parasite look all set for field tests and control the world’s deadliest
disease. This though will make the mosquitoes much healthier and, presumably,
hungrier, as there are indications that the parasite also actually harms its
host mosquito. §
Toronto
City Council passes a resolution aimed at persuading the federal government to
implement “a preventative and responsive action program” to control the
Emerald Ash Borer, an Asian invader for the moment limited to the Windsor area.
Surely an effective way of keeping this pest out of Toronto’s 27,000 ash trees
lining the streets. §
Toronto
field researcher Robbin Lindsay pulls tans of thousands of hibernating
mosquitoes from city sewers, all filled with replicating West Nile virus, a
major source for this season’s infection. §
Retired
Japanese silkworm breeder Yukishi Chuganji celebrated his 114th
birthday 23 March, as the world’s oldest man. It would appear that there are
advantages to letting something bug you. Soils §
A
tractor-trailer load of peat moss spills across Hwy 401 in Toronto as a driver
from Riviere-de-Loup in eastern Quebec, loses control of his rig, closing the
expressway throughout the morning rush. Police discount a rumour that the driver
was Stirling Moss’ brother, Pete Moss. Gardeners §
Alberta
Lieutenant-Governor Lois Hole, well known also as a garden centre operator and
author of several books on gardening, is operated upon for abdominal cancer,
followed by several sessions of chemotherapy in Edmonton while continuing in her
legislative duties. Gardening in the City §
An
elderly gardener in Florida loses her right arm below the elbow to an eight-foot
alligator while she is trimming bushes. And here we complain about being bitten
by mosquitoes? §
$15,000
in funding for four children’s gardens is a minute part of the 3% tax increase
decreed by Toronto city councillors to be levied on residents this year, the
same amount allocated to Old Fort York Museum but somewhat less than the $80,000
allowed to seize stray and feral cats. §
Toronto-based
CityTV, not content with introducing the bare-babed Naked News, follows up with
an equally exposed Barely Cooking, which NOW magazine pans, noting that
they don’t even dare to fry bacon. We can’t wait for the ubiquitous Mark
Cullen to rise to the challenge for Basic Bare Gardening, while advising caution
around the rose bushes and while demonstrating filament weed trimmers. §
The
French find a couple of small flasks containing traces of the poison ricin at
the Gare de Lyons railroad station in Paris. Ricin is processed from the beans
from commercial strains of the castor oil plant. The highly decorative
ornamental form offered in garden centres is completely safe to man, woman,
beast or even Parisians. §
“Toronto
cherishes its green cover,” says Toronto City Councillor David Soknacki. Now
he just has to get the oxymoronically named City Works Department crews to water
new and containerized trees, instead of leaving them to suffer and die in the
inevitable city droughts. Flower Arranging §
Just in
time for Canada Blooms, the nation’s premier flower show, Dominion
supermarket’s florists offer a sale of ‘Glow in the Dark Rock Faces’ for
$9.99 and ‘Garden Insect Gardeners’ for $24.99 Inventions §
Britain’s
Imperial Chemical Industries announces a new technology that will allow scents
to be woven into clothes the technology called Sensory Perception Technologies (SPT)
that allows firms to weave particles of moisturizers, deodorants, fragrances and
even anti-tobacco agents into fabrics. We can’t wait to see how eagerly this
advance with be greeted in Halifax, N.S. Presumably ICI will be put right off
the scent. Science and the Gardener §
Despite
qualms of a scientific review board the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
gives the green light to Monsanto to introduce its corn rootworm killing strain
of genetically modified corn that uses one of some 40 strains of the bacterium Bacillus
thuringiensis that produce insect toxins §
Mangala
Rai, the newly appointed director general of the Indian Council of Agricultural
Research (ICAR), calls the proposed decentralization of that country’s
research agency “very positive and implementable,” according to the journal Science. §
David
Lobell and Gregory Asner, of the Carnegie Institute of Washington and Stanford
University, report in Science of an analysis of the role of climate and
other factors in U.S. agriculture, saying that 20 per cent of the gains in
recent years are the direct result of a cooling climate, not management. §
A study
in India by Qaim and Zilberman, published in the journal Science, shows
that use of genetically modified (GM) crops “showed important financial and
ecological gains from reduced use of toxic chemical pesticides, but even greater
benefit was apparent from increased yield.” §
Why
study of tree rings can yield $50-million results is demonstrated when the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation decides if their Yuma Desalting Plant on the Colorado
River should reopen at a cost of $25-million, and the same amount each year to
operate. But will weather patterns make the cost worthwhile? Tree rings are
being studied by palaeontologists to determine if this is so. Travel §
Using
dendrochronology, or determining the age of wooden structures by counting tree
rings, English experts determine a shop in Berkhamsted, near London, “is the
oldest shop with a wooden frame known to still exist,” dating to about 1277.
This may explain the service, or lack thereof, in Shakespeare’s sceptr’d
isle. Weather §
How bad
was this past winter? So bad that birds and bats were flying down chimneys,
seeking shelter from the weather, according to Michael Kesterton in The Globe
and Mail. §
As
Eastern Canada experiences late-winter storms and, it seems, never-ending, the National
Post runs a photo of daffodils blooming in Victoria, B.C. §
Hundred-year
records of low temperatures topple like frozen inhabitants across the prairies
this past winter: In Swan River, Manitoba it hits -35.9C and Cold Lake, Alberta
records -34.2C, but Regina beats them all with a bone-numbing -38.9C. §
Late
winter weather is equally appalling in parts of the U.S. mid-south, with
freezing temperatures, sleet and freezing rain from the Texas Panhandle through
Dallas and Austin, into Oklahoma and through to Arkansas. §
But in a
bid to bring rain to drought-stricken Australia, several hundred naked women
dance in Victoria state. “We are expecting rain within the next few days, or a
week anyway,” said organizer Lynne Healy. Alas, she was wrong. §
Toronto
regards itself as the ‘Banana Belt’ of Eastern Canada so was suitably
shocked this past winter when the weather gods dropped around 150-centimetres of
snow on the provincial capital, still no where near the record high achieved in
1869 when 314.4-cm of snow fell. §
St.
Petersburg to Lake Superior, Artic to Antarctica, Toronto to Texas, the Financial
Post records case after case of a long, hard winter in support of the theory
of global cooling. §
For
southern Ontario and Quebec, this past winter has been the 10th
coldest since 1948, in fact, says Bob Whitewood of Environment Canada:
““This is normally what we would expect for a Canadian winter.” §
Colorado
and Wyoming greet the first day of spring with six-foot snowdrifts Law and Gardeners §
Under
the U.S. Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), tribes
can reclaim from museums clothing, jewellery and other artifacts. The problem
is, in the past these items were frequently treated with preservatives such as
mercury, arsenic and DDT. Nobody knows how to safely remove these poisons,
reports New Scientist magazine. §
The
state governments of New York, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey and
Rhode Island are planning to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to have it recognize carbon dioxide as a pollutant under
the Clean Air Act, reports New Scientist. Business §
A
south-central Ontario digs its way out of a major winter storm that dumps up to
35 cm of snow in less than 24 hours, Canadian Tire advertises a sale on garden
fountains and bird baths. §
Aux Armes, Citoyens!
Asian truffles are flooding European markets, driving down prices from $800 or
so per kilogram to just $32, enraging the
Paris-based European Tuber Group, which is demanding EU bureaucrats do something
and quick before the taste buds of continental gourmets are permanently ruined. §
Why the
U.K. produces so many frankly weird items of note perhaps New Scientist
magazine knows as they record so many, such as instructions for the Botanico
freestanding greenhouse heater: “Do not operate the heater when it is
unattended.” Environment §
“The
very people who don’t trust the private sector for water are the same people
who are drinking bottled water, which is provided by the private sector,” says
Elizabeth Brubaker, executive director Environment Probe, to the horror of many
greenies, during an interview with Eye magazine. §
National
Wildlife
magazine proclaims ‘America’s Least Wanted’ invasive species to be, in
plants, Water Chestnut (in number one position), Purple Loosestrife (#3) and the
Australian evergreen Memaleuca (#4), along with wild pigs in Hawaii, Nutria in
Maryland waterways and the Zebra Mussel of the Great Lakes and Mississippi. §
How
hungry is a bear, questions Robert Di Silvestro in National Wildlife.
While grizzlies can stoke up on “up to 90 pounds of fish in a single day,”
80 per cent of their diet consists of 200 different plants species, “greens,
fruits and tubers.” Now that is hungry. Health §
“Asian
Herb Alert” screams a headline in the Toronto alternative weekly NOW.
“Pick the wrong one and you could make yourself sick,” warns the magazine,
saying that “self-prescribing Chinese herbs is not wise.” Worse, “Herbalists or TCM practitioners in shops may be paid a
commission, so the more they prescribe, the more money they make,” says NOW.
Alternative medicine is prone to the money-grubbing habits exhibited by wretched
capitalists? Incredible! §
As
environmentalists and the threat of West Nile virus-bearing mosquitoes combine
to recommend erecting bat houses to attract the flying insectivorous mammals,
comes the news from B.C. that a keen outdoorsman has died from rabies through a
suspected bat bite. §
As if
the alternative health elixir Ephedra wasn’t getting bad enough press already,
a review by California’s RAND Corp. finds a “strong link” with “death,
heart attack, stroke, seizures and serious psychiatric symptoms, as well as more
moderate side effects such as nausea, vomiting, jitteriness and palpitations.”
The Journal of the American Medical Association calls for restrictions on
its use. §
Mosquito
larvicide “pucks” will be dropped into Toronto’s 200,000 sewer catch
basins this spring in an effort to combat West Nile virus, as city council
approves the board of health’s plan. Halton Region, the second highest
infected with WNV last season will undertake a similar plan, while Peel Region
will use two different larvicides. §
A
comprehensive strategy to combat the West Nile virus in Ontario is announced the
provincial Health Minister Tony Clement, including better lab services, public
education, new rules for physicians to report cases and funding for larvae and
mosquito control programs but no province-wide standards, as advocated by many
public health experts. Final
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