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There
is always another year: Time to start preparing for it! Tips
& Talk for Amateurs at Every Level plus all our usual features: Children’s
Gardening, Gardening Web, Horticultural Happenings, Gardening
in the Headlines Up until the middle of the month there will still
be time to split and replant vigorous perennials such as hostas and day lilies.
This should be, but rarely is, carried out every three to five years to maintain
optimum flowering. Discard the centre portion of the plant, which is “played
out.” Be wary of replanting to many divisions of the remainder – they tend
to take over the garden to the exclusion of less vigorous and perhaps more
desirable perennials. Elsewhere in the perennial beds, keep trimming back dead
foliage and spent blooms, adding them to the composter. The last week of this month or even into November
will be time enough to give the lawn a final mowing. Adjust the trim height down
to a half-inch. Should you forget about feeding again this season? The
pleadings from fertilizer manufacturers might have something, according
to turfgrass expert Pam Charbonneau in Guelph. According to her, the trick is to
apply a last fertilizing when the grass has ceased to grow but the roots are
still active. This will likely be very late October or even into November in
southern Ontario. So watch out for final sales of such, along with growing
mediums and soil amendments at local garden centres. These can be safely stored
in unheated sheds or garages until spring, so long as they are firmly fastened
to exclude moisture. Only products with added pesticides added cannot be treated
in this manner. Around the rose beds, rake up all dead leaves and
dispose of in the garbage. Do not compost them, since they are the overwintering
sites for black spot disease. Home composters do not reach high enough
temperatures to destroy these spores. Tree leaves can be safely composted, but
take up much space. Also, oak leaves are extremely acidic, so will require extra
granulated lime to help them break down. Better still, pile leaves in a heap on
the lawn and shred by running the mower over them several times. The result
makes an excellent winter mulch to protect perennials, hardy herbs and bulbs.
Oak leaves, and pine needles which are also acidic, can be spread unshredded
around acid-loving plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas and blueberries, to
maintain the soil at a suitably low pH. Some spring-flowering bulbs naturalize better than
others. According to the International Flower Bulb Centre in Holland, since not
all bulbs will return year after year, look for bulbs marked “Good for
Perennializing” or “Good for Naturalizing.” Recently, an informal group of
Dutch experts put together a list of top-performing perennial bulbs for North
America. Their picks were: Narcissus ‘Salome,’ Narcissus
‘Ice Follies,’ Tulipa ‘Orange Emperor,’ Tulipa tarda, Crocus
‘Ruby Giant,’ Crocus ‘Jeanne D’Arc,’ Camassia cusickii, Leucojum
aestivum, Anemone blanda ‘Blue Shades,’ and Scilla siberica. How about persuading bulbs to bloom through winter
in the house? This operation, appropriately known as “forcing,” can be
carried out on any bulbs marked as “early” or “mid-season” flowering.
Don’t be stingy – nothing appears more dispirited than a few lonely
leaves and a couple of buds. Plant the odd numbers of bulbs almost touching each
other in clay pots. Odd numbers because this almost always looks better, whether
indoors or outside; clay pots because they don’t tip easily. Keep in a cool,
dark, unheated area with the temperature between 5 and 10C – conveniently the
normal temperature of home refrigeration. What your spouse thinks of this may be
problematic. Keep the soil moist but never soggy. After ten weeks, bring a few
pots into the warmth each week to initiate growth indoors. They will do best in
a bright but cool window. Tip: watch the watering – you will be amazed how
much they can soak up. If this seems a bit too much fuss – or suffering
from an unsympathetic spouse vis-à-vis the refrigerator – then purchase
prepared ‘Paper White’ Narcissus and Hyacinths, keep in paper bags in a
dark, cool place and pot up at weekly intervals, again using clay pots and
closely-packed plantings. The magnificent Amaryllis are another possibility.
Although more expensive, a little simple care ensures they keep returning year
after year. Choose a clay pot with only a slightly greater diameter than the
Amaryllis bulb. Even a clay pot may tip under the weight of blooms, however.
Experienced gardeners often quarter-fill the pot with pebbles or gravel to avert
this calamity. Your forced bulbs will not require fertilizing, but
other indoor plants should be fed at biweekly intervals with a reputable liquid
plant food. Include tropical perennials being saved for next season’s
containers and beds in this schedule. Those houseplants being raised for their
foliage will require a fertilizer high in nitrogen. Those grown for their blooms
will need one high in phosphates. Highly recommended is the organic
‘RainGrow’ 4-2-3 for foliage plants, and 0-12-0 for blooming plants. Most
plants will benefit by a weekly spray of room temperature water to remove dust
from their leaves and so enhance photosynthesis. This also discourages a major
pest of indoor plants, the infamous spider mite. A few plants are, like small
boys, highly allergic to water, including begonias and all foliage with fuzzy or
hairy leaves, such as African violets. Finally, a tip of the gardening hat to the
Queen’s Golden Jubilee Commemorative Medal winner Bruce Zimmerman for his
contribution and support of the “Plant a Row – Grow a Row” program. Bruce
is best known to the Ontario green thumb brigade through his Open-Line Garden
Show on 610 CKTB St. Catharines Saturday mornings. Listeners will find it
incredible but upon being presented with the medal at a surprise ceremony, Bruce
assures us he was struck “almost speechless.” Jack
Frost Comes Visiting How
late can you leave it before bringing tender annuals inside? Surprisingly late,
according to Environment Canada data for the first likely frost of the fall in
south-central Ontario. Old advice for Toronto gardeners was the third week of
September, a record now clearly thrown out the window. While microclimates are
everything for the gung ho gardener, thanks to urban sprawl at least, the
yard-proud homeowner might expect the first frost on the following dates. Of
course, these are averages. Remember the story of the statistician who
drowned wading across a lake with an average depth of four feet. Downtown
Toronto
29 October Toronto
Island
30 October Toronto
International Airport
5 October Ancaster
13 October Barrie
29 September Burlington
11 October Kitchener-Waterloo
9 October Newmarket
2 October Oshawa
10 October Peterborough
20 September Richmond
Hill
6 October Royal
Botanical Gardens
15 October St.
Catharines
22 October Vineland
19 October Must
Have Perennial Bulbs What a pleasure for the gardener to know that their
careful selections and planting efforts will reap rewards for more than one
season. That’s what this year’s ‘Best of the Best’ bulb collection is
all about. In Europe, an annual ‘Bulb of the Year’ selection takes place in
various countries. In North America, the comparable award is the ‘Best of the
Best,’ a collection of ten bulbs within a specific category, voted upon by an
elite group of Dutch and North American bulb growers, horticulturists and
exporters. Nothing if not canny, last year the group felt the winds of change
and concentrated on the perennial bulbs. Aren’t all spring blooming bulbs perennials? They
are, with minor exceptions, and given our Canadian climate. However this
collection is one of even better and more reliable perennializers than your
average bulb, according to industry representative Carol Cowan. In fact, she
tells us, Franz Roozen, technical director of the International Flower Bulb
Centre or Holland defines Perennial Bulbs as “those that come back reliably
for 3 to 5 years before diminishing,” and Naturalizing Bulbs as “those
which, on their won, increase in numbers year after year.” Narcissus ‘Salome’ Definitely one of the finest commercially available
large-cupped narcissi. Its creamy white petals contrasting gracefully against an
almost apricot cup, make a stunning display. It’s an early-mid season bloomer,
and grows to a height of about 35-cm. Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ A quarter century ago, a Dutch couple celebrating
their silver wedding anniversary received a present of 100 big bulbs of
Narcissus ‘Ice Follies’ to plant in their orchard. The following spring, the
100 bulbs provided 175 flowers, as a big bulb can often produce more than one
flower stem. As of this spring, descendants of these ‘Ice Follies’ bulbs
were still growing and blooming. The white petaled, yellow-cupped early blooming
flowers may be a bit smaller now, and, on occasion, a few bulbs may have failed
to produce flowers, but the floral display remains almost as dramatic as it was
in the spring after their silver wedding anniversary. This long flowering, 35-cm
tall flower is not affected by either wind or rain. Tulip ‘Orange Emperor’ A spectacularly coloured tulip with outside petals
a carrot-orange flushed with chartreuse and inside petals in orange, bleaching
slightly to a buttercup yellow at their base. A mid-season bloomer, growing to a
height of about 40-cm. Tulipa tarda One of Tulipa tarda’s most eye-catching
characteristics is the appearance of its spreading, slightly wavy leaves which
seem to shuffle their way across the garden’s surface. These tufts form the
basis for short, only 15 cm high, star shaped yellow with white tipped flowers.
Planted almost anywhere: in little spots where nothing else will grow; nestled
among perennial ground covers, as bed edgings, this fragrant mid-season bloomer
will thrive and will come back again and again. Crocus vernis ‘Jeanne D’Atc’ An impressive, large-flowering, pure white crocus
ideal on its own; in layered plantings with narcissi and tulip partners; or, as
a companion panting with red-flowered Tulipa greigii. The result is
powerful visual impact which tickles the imagination. An early bloomer, it grows
to a height of 10-cm Crocus tommasinianus ‘Ruby Giant’ Once the bulbs of Crocus tommasinianus
‘Ruby Giant’ have established themselves, their early-flowering lilac-purple
flowers emerge in seemingly infinite numbers, year after year. Because they are
only 10 cm tall, they remain less affected by wind and rain than many of their
fellow crocuses. ‘Ruby Giant’ feels right at home in the lawn (scatter bulbs
and plant them where they fall), but also thrives in borders and among botanical
roses and other woody plants. Camassia cusickii Native to the marches and wet meadows of western
North America, it wasn’t until about 25 years ago that botanists started
taking an interest in Camassia. Today, not only is this species being
cultivated for commercial purposes, but so are its cultivars (C. leichtlini
and C. quamash a.k.a. C. esculenta). Camassia cusickii
grows to a height fog about 70 cm. Its lively, star-like, gray-blue flowers
appearing in large numbers on sturdy stems with decorative leaves make it a
perfect partner for perennial and biennial plants. Flowering right at the
transition between spring and summer, it also fills a garden gap when flowering
plants are few and far between. Leucojum aestivum (Common names: Meadow Snowflake & Summer
Snowflake) Lush foliage and 30 cm stems, each bearing two to
eight, 2 to 3 cm nodding white bells with petal tips spotted bright green, make
this a stunning mid to late spring addition to the garden. Summer Snowflakes
prefer a moist location, where sun is not too harsh so avoid sunny, sandy soils.
The uninitiated may wonder at a “snowdrop” flowering so late, but you will
know better. Anemone blanda ‘Blue Shades’ (Common
name: Windflower) We include this only because Dutch experts insist
it is hardy under Canadian conditions. Personally, we’re not so sure – and
over the years we’ve received numerous reports from disappointed gardeners.
Still, they are charming, rarely exceeding a height of 15-cm, Anemone blanda
is great for introducing colour to spots where shrubs are still waiting to put
on their show of foliage and/or flowers. Its long-flowering habit is also handy
for prettying up individually planted perennials with somewhat plain foliage. At
its peak, its little purple to lilac flowers are about the size of a loonie. A
mid-season bloomer. Scilla siberica (Common name: Siberian squill) Our favourite, not the least because squirrels hate
it – it is poisonous to the bulb-snacking tree rats. The deep violet-blue of
those star-to-bell-shaped nodding flowers surpass practically all other blue
spring-flowering plants, and its leaves almost act as a ground cover – but
will be gone before the lawn needs its first mowing so can be planted in
generous numbers in the turf. Plant Scilla siberica’s smooth little
purple bulbs en masse, as 100 bulbs shouldn’t cost more than couple of garden
gloves. Also ideal for shrub, tree and evergreen under plantings. Early to
mid-season bloomer. Height, about 15-cm. Children’s
Gardening The garden centres call them ‘annuals.’ They
tell you that these plants will flower all summer long. Then with the frosts
arriving any day now, the cold’ll whack them. That’s why they are called
annuals – they grow, flower and die all in a single summer. This is a neat way
to make sure of the garden centres can keep selling the same thing again every
spring. But you don’t have to believe this. True these
plants are annuals in our climate. But in the warmer parts of the world
where they come from, many are perennials. Those are plants that live for many,
many years. They include such favourites as geranium, hibiscus, fuchsia, coleus,
impatiens, small-flowered begonias and plants grown for their greenery in pots
and hanging baskets, such as asparagus fern and ‘spikes.’ You can pot these up and bring them indoors to keep
over winter in a sunny window, and then move outside again next May, after
danger of cold is past. To do this, you will require some clean, 15-cm (6-inch)
diameter plastic pots and saucers to put under them, and a bag of tropical plant
soil or “professional mix.” Save only the very best plants, those that have the
most and biggest blooms, or brightest foliage. Real gardeners know you can’t
save everything, only the best. They give the rest to friends or even send them
to the composter. Dig up the plants you want for yourself. Pot them up, pressing
down the soil firmly. Now comes the hard part. All the lovely flowers and
growth they’ve made outside usually won’t survive the move indoors. Most
plants need to start all over again. So geranium, coleus, impatiens and
small-flowered begonias must be cut back to stumps about 7-cm (3-inches) high.
Hibiscus and fuchsia are really small, woody bushes and need to be cut back by
about a third. ‘Spikes’ (correctly Cordyline) and asparagus fern
needn’t be trimmed at all though. Before bringing inside, put the pots on the patio
or lawn and water very heavily. The water should pour out the drainage holes at
the bottom of the pots. This will drive out any bugs trying to hitchhike
indoors. Later, indoors, if any bugs do show up, ask an adult to spray them with
natural insecticidal soap. Other than that, treat them just like any houseplant.
A
Simpler Place in Time It’s unavoidable. Awareness of world events, both
good and bad, influence our feelings, decisions and actions. We are all looking
for that island in private space in which we have a modicum of control. This fall, when making decisions about which bulbs
to select, perhaps those from a simpler place in time might add immeasurably to
the good karma of you spring garden. The Hortus Bulborum Over the past four centuries, creative Dutch
hybridizers have brought us healthier and more lovely tulips. Nearly a century
ago, the industry adopted strict quality standards, forming organizations such
as the Royal General Dutch Bulb Growers’ Association to set and enforce these
standards within the industry. As part of this effort, to this day, the Dutch bulb
industry maintains a living museum of bulb flowers in the small town of Limmen.
A monument to the reverence of the Dutch for tulips and the other bulb flowers
for which they are famous, the museum, a patchwork-planted field of historic or
significant tulips planted in one-metre square blocks, is called the Hortus
Bulborum. There, the Dutch preserve an historic tulip gene pool for use by
modern hybridizers. Within the, now, more than 2,600 tulip hybrids and
species commercially propagated in the Netherlands, it is still possible for
today’s gardeners to plant varieties that are the same, or very similar to
those which started all the ruckus so long ago. Rembrandt Tulips c. 1610 These famous mottled or “broken”-colour tulips
launched the frenzy of trading that culminated in the near collapse of the Dutch
economy in 1637. (Granted, economic collapse is not about ‘good karma,’ but
these tulips are stunning nonetheless.) The period became known as “Tulipmania,” the
tulips themselves as “Rembrandts.” The Rembrandt name stemmed form the
abundance of tulips in famous Dutch Master paintings associated with the era, a
period which became known as the Golden Age of Dutch Painting. Curiously though,
the tulips were not a prominent theme in Rembrandt’s own work. The broken colours in the original so-called
Rembrandt tulips were spectacular. No two were alike. Later it was learned that
a plant virus was behind these lovely unpredictable complexions. Today actual
Rembrandt tulips are no longer available (they’re illegal), but Dutch
hybridizers have bred exquisite ‘look-a-like’ flowers that duplicate them.
The distinguishing feature: a light coloured tulip with deep red, purple or
ox-blood broken stripes, flushes or ‘flames.’ Among many 21st century Rembrandt
look-a-like cultivars are: blood red and yellow ‘Mickey Mouse,’ orange
flushed with purple ‘Prinses Irene,’ rosy-white and red flamed ‘Sorbet,’
and primrose yellow and raspberry ‘Mona Lisa.’ Tulipa tarda c. 1590s Looking just as Mother Nature introduced her, this
multi-flowered botanical tulip has chrome yellow petals edged in bright white.
The star-shape blossoms open late in the season on sturdy 15 cm stems. A
fabulous performer that tops the list of natural perennializers. T. tarda
is native to Turkestan. Tulipa ‘Keizerkroon’ c.1750 With its distinctive red-edged-in-yellow flowers
and lovely scent, this old-timer has earned a spot among the all-time great
garden tulips. A Single Early Tulip, 30 cm tall. Tulipa clusiana c. 1802 While the actual red and white striped species
tulip T. clusiana is no longer commercially available, its new
‘identical cousin’ is. Red and light yellow striped T. clusiana
‘Cynthia’ (1969) happily recalls the look of the original with its jaunty
stripes and narrow silhouette that fans out to a star shape when fully open.
Known also as Peppermint Stick or Candlestick, this 15 cm tall hybrid really
naturalizes to come back year after year. Viridiflroa Tulips c. 1700 Green tulips – a novelty then and a novelty now.
These are lovely members of the Single Late Tulip category with feathered green
markings and striations on petals of various hues. The two most available 21st Century
Viridfloras are: ‘Groenland’ (or ‘Greenland’) a strong pink with blushes
of paler pink, rose and pale green; and ‘Spring Green’ a creamy white with
green featherings Whether your gardening goal next year is to cerate
a fun space, an oasis of peace and reflection, or simply a pleasant place in
which you and your family can enjoy the outdoor activities of summer, perhaps
the addition of some beautiful flowers from another place in time can help you
achieve the harmony you are looking for. The
Eyes of Holland Are Upon You Biodegradable granules from residue from the Dutch
potato processing industry are being researched for making grow pots to be used
by Netherlands nurseries for their shrubs. Geraniums have already been grown
successfully in similar containers. Now forsythias are being tested at The
Forschungsgemeinschaft Biological Abbaubare Werkstoffe while dogwood, hypericum
and spirea are all under trial in the tuber tubs at Boot & Co.
Boomkwekerijen. Will we see the ubiquitous black plastic nursery
stock pot go the way of ball-and-burlapping, cold frames, hot beds and other
quaint reminders from horticultural history? Perhaps not just yet. What degrades
under Dutch conditions in a year or so may have a considerably shorter life
under more rigorous Canadian conditions. They also have the distressing habit of
occasionally popping apart when being run through a potting machine. Then again these potato pot apparently possess a
“feed-like” aroma, a dubious point-of-purchase characteristic. Ever
optimistic though, it is reported that the potato pong can be covered up by use
of a “flower aroma.” It would seem as far as a new sales pitch goes, the
Dutch are on the right scent. Dutch manufacturer Rodenburg Biopolymers (www.biopolymers.nl)
is said to be engaged in discussions with view to commercial production. Looks
like slopping the hogs and hens with potato peelings must make way for a modern
life that is now truly going to biodegradable pot. Is Gardening Subversive? According to one account, gardening was the very
first occupation. “The Lord took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to
dress it and keep it” (Genesis 2 : 15). Thus was satisfied one of the three primal
urges in human beings: food, sex and gardening. And since politicians have never
been able to overcome mankind’s predominant interest in them, they have
treated them with grave suspicion. Since it stands for everything that politics
is not, gardening arouses in the deepest of suspicions in the breasts of these
abnormally suspicious persons. They may well be right. Ray Guy wrote of gardening
in Newfoundland: “Here horticulturalists [sic], while they sometimes
may falter, never despair. The official line is that they are harmless lunatics
in a class with NDP organizers or tourists to Moncton.” Politics bears a close resemblance to Thomas Hobbes
observation on the life of early man: nasty, brutish and short. Gardening on the
other hand, is a fine art whose canvas is chosen, as Annie Jack wrote in The
Canadian Garden (1910) “and on it your paint with flower and shrub the
picture that your fancy desires or your purse can gratify.” In doing so, they
become notoriously long-lived. Gardeners and doctors very seldom commit suicide,
says Richard Gordon, who is somewhat prejudice, being both. Gardening demands both respect for other forms life
and well as other people along with the constant exercising of the
imagination. It allows us to acknowledge the passing seasons, the rhythm of life
and to blend with these. Gardening brings almost as many people to their knees
as religion, only the words are different. The problem is that gardening allows each to do his
own thing and for a politician, that is subversive. As Lewis
Lapham observed in Hotel America (1995): “Only an imbecile looks upon
politics as anything but popular entertainment.” While total disrespect for
anything and everybody is the mark of the modern politician, gardening teaches
exactly the opposite. Indeed, those that refuse to acknowledge Mother Nature are
doomed always to the blackest of black thumb brigades. Those that insist we must
follow their dictates in gardening are doomed to an even more dismal fate.
Environmentalists, fashion mavens, peddlers of various kursch and their wretched
relations are consigned to the compost heap, there to finally be processed into
something useful to life. Many a person who has contributed much to humanity
has also been associated with gardening. Writers such as Maxim Gorki and Lucy
Maud Montgomery. Royalty such Edward VII, Prince Herman Puckler-Muskau and
Prince Cherkassy. Few politicos have made the grade. One was Mackenzie
King whose estate at Kingsmere became a retreat for him following the defeat of
his government the July 1930 election. There he undertook landscape renovation
while licking his wounds. Brian Mulroney has even referred to gardening. In a speech given in Markham, Ontario, he observed:
“Michael
Wilson and Don Mazankowski planted the garden and Paul Martin got to pick the
flowers.” Strangely enough, colours so successfully painted
from the palette onto the garden have been pre-empted by the politicos, not
always with the same fortunate results. Red is associated with dynamism, while
blue is equated with peace and quiet, according to Carol Cowan of the
Netherlands Flower Bulb Information Centre, a professional organization. Local
Liberals, supporters of Dalton McGuinty, might agree but Ernie Eves’
Progressive Conservatives perhaps wish to be viewed a shade more vigorous.
Orange, says Cowan, is the colour of optimism and if anything the New Democratic
Party it is just that being usually relegated as oxymoronic: neither new,
arguably democratic and barely enough seats to form a party, provincially or
federally. The Bard of Stratford-on-Avon must have the last
word-but-one through Hamlet: “There is no ancient gentlemen but gardeners,
ditchers and gravediggers; they hold up Adam's profession.” And Auberon Waugh
noted that: “Politics is not a suitable occupation for a gentleman.” Gardening
Web Gardening
Links Gardens, Gardening & Garden Links describes
itself as ‘The WWW Virtual Library for Gardening.’ And that describes this
site in considerably fewer words that it occupies – if you drop in to visit,
be prepared to stay a while. Although there is an ‘International Garden
Sites’ feature, most of this site is geared to the United States so, for
instance, ‘Cooperative Extension Service’ will be of little use in the Great
White North. But that still leaves vast resources to use or simply browse
through. The ‘Plant Database’ will be of special interest to many gardeners,
while students might make use of the ‘Glossary of Botanical Terms.’ The
‘Subject Area Gardening Pages’ has topics that commence with aquatic plants
and ponds, bonsai, cactus & succulents through flamingos (‘”the official
flamingo gallery”), Japanese gardens, perennials, roses and wildflowers. New
York Botanical Garden Perhaps because we are from Toronto, we have never
found New Yorkers the rude, ignorant louts of legend. Far from it, although
admittedly perhaps one is unlikely to be exposed to such at the New York
Botanical Gardens at Bronx River Parkway at Fordham Road, Bronx (phone:
718-817-8700). The Enid A. Haupt Conservatory is the largest Victorian
glasshouse in North America and makes even a winter visit worth while, as does
the LuEsther T. Mertz Library. Check out the NYBG’s web site for current
events – there are many at any one time – at http://www.nybg.org.
And don’t forget while in New York to stay at the Library Hotel (www.libraryhotel.com),
ten floors of rooms with a different library theme on each floor, and that
includes botany and other sciences. Ants Online You may not have welcomed them protecting the
aphids on your roses this past summer but the world holds 10,000 species of
ants. At least 10 per cent of these are threatened with extinction from
deforestation, reports the journal Nature. Brian Fisher, an entomologist
at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, led the establishment of
AntWeb and it is intended eventually to catalog all the world’s species. There
are already thousands to check out, with more being constantly added. www.antweb,org Lightning Hot Spots in Canada Given what lightning and its accompanying wings,
hail and heavy rain can do to gardens and nurseries, this new information from
scientists at Environment Canada should be very welcome. The result of data
compiled over the past five years, it establishes Canada has some 2.7 million
flashes every year. Southern Ontario rates highest in the country for such hits
– Windsor to Sarnia and southern Georgian Bay to Barrie being outstanding hot
spots. The site displays maps developed by Environment Canada researchers but
one reveals something of a mystery: There is a winter hot spot south of Sable
Island out in the Atlantic. “We had no idea there was that much activity
there. Maybe the fishermen or locals knew, but it was not widely known,” Dr.
Burrows is quoted as saying. Now there is a real mystery. How many
“locals” are there out in the Atlantic? Still, lightning kills half-a-dozen
Canadians a year and injures 60 or 70. www.msc.ec.gc.ca/education/lifhtning/index–e.html October
Horticultural Happenings Toronto
Field Naturalist Outings Free guided walks; 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 8 October Lake Iroquois Shoreline; meet 2 p.m.
northwest corner Bathurst and Davenport; walk ends at Yonge St. 15 October Rouge Valley Nature Walk; meet 11 a.m.
meet northeast corner Sheppard East and Meadowvale; bring lunch and binoculars. 18 October Crothers Woods Environmental Issue; meet
10:30 a.m. west side Millwood at Overlea; bring lunch. 19 October High Park Urban Ecology; met 2 p.m. at
northeast corner of the park (southwest corner of Bloor at Parkside Dr.) near
Keele subway station 21 October James Gardens Nature Walk; Highly
Recommended; meet 10:30 a.m. park entrance south side of Edenbridge Dr (runs
east off Royal York Rd.); bring lunch and binoculars 25 October Gates Gully Nature Walk; meet 10 a.m.
north side Kingston Rd at Bellamy Rd S.; morning only 30 October Taylor Creek Nature Walk; Highly
Recommended; meet 10 a.m. at Victoria Park subway station; bring lunch and
binoculars Toronto
Botanical Garden (renamed Civic Garden Centre) A well-established organization ‘helping people
grow.’ Edwards Gardens, 777 Lawrence Ave. E. at Leslie St., Toronto.
Tel: 416-397-1340; fax: 416-397-1354; e-mail: civicgardencnetre@infogarden.ca; website: www.infogarden.ca Ontario
Rock Garden Society 12 October: 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: John Elsley; more at www.onrockgarden.com North
American Native Plant Society 18 October Members Only tour of Clear Creek
Forest and the Orford Ridges Native Plants Nursery; buses depart Civic Garden
Centre 8 a.m. sharp; cost $35 single; more at www.nanps.org Mycological
Society of Toronto Meetings on mushrooms and “forays” to look for
them; more information 416-444-9053 Ian
Wheal Heritage Walks 4 October: Garrison Creek – meet 1:30 p.m. at the
Christie subway station; more 416-570-6415 High
Park Sunday Walks 5 October: Harvest Festival at Colborne Lodge, noon
to 4:30 p.m. 19 October: meet 1:15 p.m. south of the Grenadier
Restaurant; a $2 donation is requested; more 416-392-1748 Toronto
Entomologists’ Association 25 October monthly meeting, 1 p.m. Room 119,
Northrop Frye Hall, 73 Queen’s Park Cres. E.; black oak savanna tall grass
prairie; more: 905-727-6993 Georgian
Bay Harvest Orchard Tours Until 25 October: the colours, tastes and smells of
autumn in a world-class apple growing area on the southern shore of Georgian
Bay; weekday and weekend tours; more information from 1-866-599-5699 or e-mail cn287@whgca.com Pumpkin
Festival Until 31 October: 13682 Heart Lake Rd, north of
Mayfield Rd. www.downeysfarm.on.ca
or call 905-838-2990 Wine
Auction 2 October: Toronto Symphony Orchestra 13th
Annual Fine Wine Charity Auction at The Ontario Club; more at www.finewinefestival.com Scarecrow
Invasion 3 & 4 October: Scarecrow Invasion & Family
Festival in Grey and Bruce counties; see how Meaford entered the Guinness
World Book of Records; www.greybruceescape.com Autumn
Leaves Studio Tour 3 to 5 October: 10th Autumn Leaves Studio Tour
Saugeen Country: more www.greybruceescape.com Outdoor
Urns & Planters 4 October: Country Host B&B, Hockley Valley;
call 519-942-0686 or visit www.countryhost.com Apple
Harvest Craft Show 4 & 5 October: Apple Harvest Craft Show &
Participation Lodge Quilt Auction in Meaford; for more www.greybruceescape.com Pumpkin
Fest 4 & 5 Pumpkin Fest in Port Elgin on Lake Huron;
an early start to a traditional celebration; for more check out www.greybruceescape.com Ikebana
International 8 October: 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 Weall
& Cullen Nursery Farm Auction 10 October, 10 a.m. The end of an era in Ontario
garden centres with a winding-down business sale of the former operation, now a
part of the Sheridan empire. Machinery, equipment, buildings, greenhouses,
nursery stock, tools and miscellaneous items will go on the block at 4580
Highway 12, Brooklin; preview items starting 8 a.m. Apple
Festival 11 & 12 October: Blue Mountains & District
Chamber of Commerce Apple Festival; for more check out www.greybruceescape.com Waterloo-Wellington
Wildflower Society 15 October meeting 7:30 p.m. at OAC Centennial
Arboretum Centre, University of Guelph; more information at www.uoguelph.ca/~botcal/ Orchid
Society of the Royal Botanical Gardens 18 October: 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 Workshop 5 October: Herbal Home Spa with Koidu Sulev of
Richters, $50 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 4 October: Organic Gardening – storing and
canning your harvest 19 October: Medicinal Herbs, identification and
preparation - salves Horror
Hayrides October: check for exact dates and times when
Colasantis’ Tropical Gardens, in co-operation with the University of
Windsor’s School of Dramatic Arts invite you into a Halloween Horror ride in
the dark down Leamington way. Of course, Colasanti’s gardens are worth
visiting any time, but this will add fun for the kids – and you. Check at
519-326-3287 or visit www.colasanti.com Meadow Lane Winery Haunted Meadow Halloween 17-18 & 24-25 October: what better way to end a
visit to a winery than to take a haunted hayride through darkened vineyards into
scary meadows. For details visit www.meadowlanewinery.com Harvest Pumpkin Party 25-26 October: John R. Park Homestead down near
Windsor for ghost stories in the attic, dip a candle for your jack-o-lantern,
enjoy cider and sausage making and corn husk crafts; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For
further details, visit www.erca.org Spooky Maze & Pumpkin Carving Halloween Weekend: Redman’s Farm Country Market,
Lake Scugog, an easy hours; drive northeast of Toronto; details 905-985-3083 Nature
Wildlife Federation Travel Trips For more information, call 1-800-696-9563, visit www.nwf.org/expedtions 31 October – 9 November The Wonders of the
Galapagos Islands US$2,990 (free air fare from Miami) 14 – 29 November Exploring Melanesia – Fiji,
Vanuatu and New Caledonia US$7,100 20 November – 7 December Costa Rica and Panama
US$3,270 29 November – 7 December Amazon, The Greatest
Voyage in Natural History US$3,848 Allan
Gardens 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.; further information 416-392-7288 or www.allangardens.com Fall
Chrysanthemum Show:
Late-September to mid-November Gardening
in the Headlines A
round-up of the past few weeks news of interest to gardeners Landscaping §
Recently
published aerial views of Prime Minister-in-Waiting Paul Martin’s modest
mansion Iron hills near Brome Lake, Quebec raise doubts as to his knowledge of
landscaping if not politics and shipping. Since the property sits on a 250-acre
sheep farm, it can hardly be for lack of high-quality manure. Lawns §
Quebecer
Paul-Emile Menard decided to mow his lawn while serving an 18-month house arrest
sentence. It cost him 7 days in jail for breaking the condition he was to remain
indoors and for not answering phone calls from correctional officers, putting a
new meaning to “keep off the grass.” §
Bald
patches on lawns can be solved under patent WO 03/053129, issued to the Milliken
company of Spartenburg, South Carolina, who place the blame on the humic acid
released by humus. The patent cure is a mix of potassium sebacate and potassium
adipate, notes New Scientist magazine. §
Lawn
lovers can take heart from a recent report in the journal Science.
Grasslands started to spread widely starting about 10 to 15 million years ago,
with major effects on ecology and evolution. A rise of ruminants and decline of
other grazers, and eventual rise of humans, says the journal. Trees §
France’s
heat wave kills Marie-Antoinette’s oak at Versailles Palace. Planted over
three centuries ago, its shade was much appreciated by the ill-fated French
queen, until her subjects undertook a little judicious pruning. §
France’s
heat wave woes will extend to at least 2008, bemoans Frederic Naudet, president
of the association for natural Christmas trees. A million newly planted
Christmas trees succumbed to heat and the accompanying drought, leaving a
potential shortage in five or six years’ time. §
A
seven-year-old Quebec boy is killed by a tree his father had cut, being struck
on the head by a branch, despite being told to get out of the way. We’ve
written this before: tree removal should be left to professionals who never,
ever allow children or anyone else to be endangered. §
Recently
a new species of tree – and large at that – was reported for Ontario. Swamp
Cottonwood (Populus heterophylla) is growing in Bickford Woods near
Sarnia. In the past quarter-century others added are Ohio buckeye (Aesculus
glabra), Pumpkin Ash (Fraxinus profunda), Hill’s Oak (Quercus
ellipsoidalis), Bear Oak (Q. illicfolia) and Shumard Oak (Q.
shumardii). Keep looking! §
A grove
of the world’s oldest cottonwood trees is discovered on the Elk River near
Fernie in southeast British Columbia. Four hundred years old, up to 50 metres
tall and 10 in girth, they were reported by Stewart Rood, a tree specialist at
the University of Lethbridge, Alberta, in the Canadian Journal of Botany.
Embarrassingly, Rood has had a cabin just 15 kilometres from the grove for 20
years and never knew they were there until told by a fly fisherman and a forest
surveyor. §
A single
tree offsets the carbon dioxide emissions of 57 fans attending a Rolling Stones
concert, calculates Future Forests. The U.K.-based environmental outfit has sold
the idea to the rock band. To counter CO2 from the 160,000 expected to attend
their next nine performances, 2,800 trees will be planted in Scotland. Did
anyone tell them that rock music is harmful to plants? §
Wrestler
and strongman ‘The Great Antonio,’ of Montreal has died at the age of 77.
Antonio Barichievich claimed to train by running 60 metres to crash head-on into
trees. §
A
scientist has invented an artificial tree designed to do the job of plants,
notes the Toronto Field Naturalist newsletter, quoting from Molly Bentley
on the BBC News web site. “There are a number of lingering issues which need
to be worked out.” Yes, we can well imagine . . . §
“Trees
have been known to increase home property values, especially for homes located
adjacent to a forested area. This may be because of the proven link between
people’s mental health and nature. Several studies have found that plants
speed up recovery from illness and generally make people feel much better.”
Dr. Avi Friedman who teaches architecture at McGill University in the National
Post. Shrubs §
Rising
prices of shrubs tempted a thief to raid Oakridge Landscaping Contractors.
Unfortunately for him, he tripped an alarm and was caught “green handed” by
the owner and two employees. Worse was to come. The police report says he was
“hog tied Texas-style” to await police arrival. We trust he will now
consider turning a new leaf. §
Fancy a
forsythia that reliably blooms every spring? According to Larry Sherk writing in
the trade magazine Landscape Trades, the cultivar ‘Northern Gold’ was
developed by Dexter Sampson of Agriculture Canada’s Ottawa Research Station
some years ago, the first forsythia to bloom in the milder portions of the
Prairies. Roses §
Madonna‘s
career takes on new hues as her children’s book The English Roses is
launched with maximum hype in 130 countries and 30 languages. If her recent
recording and movies are anything to go by, this is likely to be what gardeners
call a ‘blown’ rose, one that is finito. Flowers §
Daylily
rust, Puccinia hemerocallis, is still a threat to Ontario gardens, warns
OMAF nursery crops specialist Jan Llewllyn. Watch for rust-coloured pustules on
the under-surfaces of leaves. If detected, cover all foliage with a plastic bag,
tie tight and cut off leaves at the base. Burn, or bury deep; do not
compost. §
“The
May apple is also interesting in that it has been used to commit suicide,”
writes Roger Powley in Toronto Field Naturalist, newsletter, October
2003. The things you learn from wildflowers. Down in the Vegetables §
Smaller
Italian families mean smaller watermelons are more popular than the traditional
20-kilo specimens of the past, and the hit of the season weighs but a single
kilo. But where this variety originated is another matter – could it be in
fact the product of dreaded Yankee ingenuity, the same that produced GM crops? §
An Ohio
Amish prank of hiding in cornfields and throwing tomatoes at passing vehicles
turns deadly when 23-year-old Steven Keim, an Apple Creek resident, is shot dead
by an enraged motorist who then drives off without being identified, but turns
out to be a family friend. §
Thanks to Frank
magazine for reminding us of that classic movie The Attack of the Killer
Tomatoes, described by the an Ottawa Citizen editorial as, “really,
sublimely, enduringly, bad.” Like The Little Shop of Horrors is a must
for all houseplant fanciers, so The Attack of the Killer Tomatoes video
is required watching by all veggie growers. §
Toronto
barber George Charokopos displayed a zucchini measuring 264 cm, raised from
seeds brought Sicily some years ago, according to the Toronto Sun. Fruit & Nuts §
Nose-nudging
a peanut 11 kilometres through London for 11 days to draw attention to
increasing student debt, Mark McGowan arrives at 10 Downing Street, official
residence of British prime ministers and is handed a mug of tea. Spices and Herbs §
Drugs
called artemisinins, derived from sweet wormwood, Artemisia annua, or
quinghao in Chinese, disable the calcium supply in the malaria parasite Plasmodium
falciparum, reports Sanjeev Krishna of St. George’s Hospital Medical
School in London, U.K. The drugs are manufactured in China and Vietnam and are
proving effective against malaria in southeast Asia. Houseplants §
Plants
have been shown to use a form of mimicry previously seen only in animals,
reports the magazine New Scientist. Israeli researcher Simcha Lev-Yadun
of the University of Haifa-Oranim in Tivon, says he made the discovery while
studying agaves which, along with herbivore-discouraging teeth of their leaves,
may also have markings that look like the same. §
Princeton
University Press has published the first in a series of books on the Orchids
of Australia, each containing new illustrations of some 150 species by
artist John J. Riley, with a descriptive text by Riley and David P. Banks,
reports the journal Nature. Propagation §
The
International Rice Research in Dhaka, Bangladesh, announces a new strain of
‘Golden Rice,’ rich in vitamin A that will improve nutrition for the
world’s poorer countries, along with ‘Aerobic,’ a rice that grows where
there is inadequate water for traditional strains. Weeds §
What
makes introduced weeds so invasive outside their homelands? Researchers have
shown that at least one, the spotted knapweed, releases chemicals from its roots
that initiates a cell-death cascade in the roots of nearby susceptible plants, a
paper published in the journal Science reveals. §
Hot
water is more effective in killing weeds if mixed with “a splash of acetic
acid is added to the water,” according to trials at the Danish Research Centre
Flakkebjerg, reports Gert van den Berg, in the professional magazine Landscape
Trades. §
Ducks
have been rediscovered as effective in weeding organic rice paddies in Japan,
writes Michael Kesterton inThe Globe and Mail §
The
results of research with beagle dogs sensitized to ragweed pollen is just now
being published in the Journal of Applied Physiology after a decade of
study, reports the U.K.-based magazine New Scientist, which tells us that
ragweed pollen is “the most common cause of springtime running noses and teary
eyes in Americans.” Somebody had better tell our Brit cousins when the
wretched weed flowers . . . Bugs and Gardeners §
The
caterpillar of the moth Synchlora aerata cuts pieces of petals from
flowers and fastens them onto its back with strands of silk that it secretes
from special glands, entomologist Thomas Eisner of Cornell University writes in American
Scientist. An entomological symbol for florists perhaps? §
A Swiss
apartment dweller, annoyed at a wasp nest outside his window, blast it with
spray then fends off the enraged inhabitants with his lighter, causing a
US$350,000 fire that destroys his and two adjoining apartments. §
A swarm
of the Rocky Mountain locust 10-billion strong was reported from Nebraska in
1875. The combined weight of its members was 6,000 tons, it was 1,800 miles
long, 110 miles wide and took 5 days in passing. Just 25 years later, Melanoplus
spretus was extinct, reports Nature Conservancy magazine. §
Methodo
formingina ‘ant by ant;’ rural farmers in Brazil’s Amazonia
version of the ‘grape vine’ §
Canadian
Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) investigators have disproved an unpleasant rumour
that the emerald ash borer had been found on trees from a Niagara region
nursery. The pest continues to devastate the Windsor area, however. §
Despite
suggestions from south o’ the border, a B.C. nursery was not the source of a
Sudden Oak Death (SOD) infection for an Oregon nursery in Clackamas County. Out
of 2,000 test results from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) only a
single nursery remains with positive with SOD. In Great Britain alone, there are
280 sites known, and more in Europe, reports Chris Andrews in the trade
publication Horticulture Review. §
The
fossil of an ancient daddy-long-legs bug from Scotland has been revealed to
possess the world’s oldest penis, little changed over 400 million years,
reports New Scientist magazine. Human males might suffer feelings of
inadequacy, however, when they learn that the penis was half as long as the
bug’s body. Still, given the source, perhaps it says something for one of the
long-claimed advantages of wearing a kilt. §
Do ants
bug you? Not anything like the same extent as they are the Harvard University
Press which is trying to come to terms with Brian Fisher, an entomologist
specializing in ants, whose monograph will hopefully be published next year but
will, by the terms of his contract, not be available online for another four.
This is causing anguish all around, typical of an ‘ants in the pants’
syndrome. §
After 13
years of research, a team led by Robert Page of the University of California,
Davis, discovers the gene that determines why males have no fathers, queens are
promiscuous and bee breeders struggle to develop pure-bred animals, reports the
magazine New Scientist. For the Birds §
The
first Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas was compiled from results of surveys conducted
1981-85. Now the second is available and can be viewed data summaries or map
form at www.birdsontario.org Water Gardening §
Barley
straw prevents algae forming in pools without harming other aquatic life,
reports New Scientist. There appears to be plenty of work done the other
side of the Atlantic. More www.rothamsted.bbsrc.ac.uk/pie/JonathanGrp/InformationSheets/Algae%20with20barley%20starw.pdf Mushrooms §
A
20-year-old New Brunswick woman who ate a wild mushroom was flown to Ontario for
an emergency liver transplant after her own failed completely and she became
delirious. We’ve said it before: There are old mushroom pickers and bold
mushroom pickers. But there are no old bold mushroom pickers. Gardening in the City §
At least
one Toronto squirrel has learnt to open discarded plastic peanut butter jars,
reports Madeleine McDowell in the Toronto Field Naturalists Newsletter.
She spotted it on Hooke Avenue in west Toronto climbing a tree with a jar, then
dropping it from a height thus dislodging the lid, scampering down the tree and
enjoying the fruits – or nuts – of its ingenuity. §
A
60-year-old St. Catharines, Ontario, man was electrocuted when he touched hydro
lines while attempting to prune tree branches. We’ve said it before but repeat
it again: Leave tree pruning to professionals. §
Steve
Barber is appointed general manager of Canada Blooms [theme for 2004 is Tides
of Time, 3-7 March at Metro Toronto Convention Centre] §
We are
extremely sorry to learn that Leslie Laking, Director Emeritus of the Royal
Botanical Gardens Hamilton, reports in a letter to Horticulture Review
that, having been retired 22 years, his health and eyesight are failing. His
contribution to both amateur and professional horticulture have been
outstanding, both prior to and following his retirement. §
A
suspected Asian Longhorn Beetle alarm prevents Toronto residents in an area
bounded by Finch Ave., Steeles Ave., Highway 400 and the Humber River from
having their yard garbage collected by the city’s works department. Suspected
infestations should be reported to 1-800-442-2342 or
www.inspection.gc.ca.
Literally thousands of trees will be cut down, chipped and composted in an
effort to stem the invasion. An adjacent area of Vaughan is also found infested. §
The
irrepressible Frank magazine notes a story in the Ottawa Citizen
concerning a squirrel that caused a power outage by investigating a transformer
Canada’s fair capital. Alas, “Hydro Ottawa was not able to determine whether
it was a black or grey squirrel,” reported the Ottawa Citizen. Here at City
Gardening we have several interesting recipes for squirrels that we were
saving for PETA but will gladly donate to interested readers. §
The
Toronto weekly alternative NOW publishes an expose on the city’s dying
trees. A major reason for about a third of the up to 9,000 planted, plus many
others, dying is lack of watering. The city claims it lacks the cash – but
each of the 44 councillors receives over $50,000 a year for expenses. One, Rob
Ford, has used about $5 of that so far this year. The cost of a watering
program: $490,000. §
“Gardening
books are becoming noted for containing a small amount of gardening information
largely diluted with something that has little or no relevance to horticultural
pursuits.” From Nature, 13 August 1903. Modern writers please copy. Tools §
Neighbours
were obliged to dodge assaults by a 6-year-old lawnmower rider who was also
wielding a cane in Gull Lake, Manitoba. The RCMP reported it was the result of a
long-brewing feud. Inventions §
Lavender
is the chosen scent for a new pill from Brazil, taken three times a day to keep
one smelling sweet, according to scientists at Ceara Federal University, who are
now awaiting approval from the health authorities. §
A robot
dragonfly is being built by engineers in British Columbia. Weighing less than a
dime, it is said to have military surveillance applications as well as use for
search-and-rescue jobs in hazardous environments. Now if they could just
engineer the robots to eat mosquitoes like the real thing . . . Fertilizer §
Toronto
Councillor Sandra Bussin (Ward 32 Beaches-East York) is unphased by the burning
on 21 August of the city’s $25-million sewage sludge plant that was
supposed turn the bio-solids into fertilizer pellets. The sludge can be spread
on farmers’ fields, she says. What can’t be disposed of there can go the
Michigan landfill, she adds according to Don Wanagas in the National Post.
That such sludge may be toxic has been scientifically established is overlooked
by the embattled Bussin. And should the border be closed why, not to worry,
Toronto can store 180 days’ worth, which might rather be the case of getting
your own back. Science and the Gardener §
Diseased
plants have fooled botanists into incorporating the symptoms of their ailments
into species descriptions, reports botanist Michael Hood and his colleague
Janice Antonovics. The discovery raises the prospect that some plants currently
classified as separate species are really just unhealthy samples of other
groups, says the journal Nature. §
The
International Plant Name Index contains more than one million entries, but
researchers think that there are really only between 200,000 and 400,000 species
of flowering plant, according to the journal Nature, which is good news
indeed for horticultural students attempting to learn botanical names. §
The
larvae of local Deloyola beetles are called trash carriers, writes
entomologist Thomas Eisner in American Scientist. He explains they have a
two-pronged “fecal fork” projecting from the rear over their backs, which is
covered with their bodily wastes. The contraption is manoeuvrable, apparently to
fend off predators. Given imminent elections, surely a fitting symbol for many
an incumbent politician seeking to retain their seats. §
“I
once heard that if spider’s web could be scaled up so the silk strands were
the diameter of a pencil it would be strong enough to capture a passenger
jet,” writes A.M. Monro of Canterbury, Kent, U.K., in New Scientist
magazine, in case you’ve ever wanted to perform this feat. §
The
British government’s Strategy Unit publishes a report that concludes current
GM crops have not inflicted any significant damage on the environment, nor is
there any evidence they are dangerous to eat. More at
www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk
and www.number10.gov.uk/output/Page3673.asp §
The
calabar bean, Physostigma venenosum, originally used in trial by poison
in 19th-century Nigeria, has recently been found to have considerable
potential in offering protection to soldiers exposed to chemical warfare,
reports New Scientist magazine. §
Stomata,
the openings in leaves that allow for absorption of CO2 and escape of water
vapour, shaped human history, reports the journal Nature. For example,
development of the dumb-bell shaped stomata of grasses played an important role
in increasing the ability of grasses to succeed in arid areas, and this change
was a prerequisite for the subsequent domestication of grazing animals by
humans, says the journal. §
Members
of the American Phytopathological Society are pleased with increased funding and
attention following terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, but alarmed at the
bureaucratic red tape attached, they said at their annual meeting in Charlotte,
North Carolina. §
Since
“transpiration is not essential for net water movement” in plants, it should
not be compared with the mammalian heart, writes Widmar Tanner, Lehrstuhl fur
Zellbiologie und Pflanzenphysologie, Universitat Regensbyrg, Germany, in a
letter to Nature. §
Scientists
at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst discovered a bacterium that can
live and replicate at a temperature of 121C. Known as Strain, there is no truth
it is in any way related to Canadian politicians. §
Studies
of the common annual sunflowers Helianthus reveal that two, H. annuus
and H. petiolaris, produced three hybrids that are adapted to survival in
specialized niches, H. anomalus, H. deserticola and H.
paradoxus. Previously, scientists had denied that natural hybrids played a
prominent role in plant evolution, believing mutation to be the key to
specialization. Travel §
The
number of plants to be found at Rome’s Colosseum has declined from 420 species
in 1855, when it was a slum, to 242 in 2001 by which time it had developed into
a major tourist attraction, writes Stephen
Strauss in The Globe and Mail. §
The
Russian topographer Passtoukhof suffering from mountain sickness while exploring
the high mountains of the Caucasus. Revived himself and his colleagues by
administering freshly brewed tea. “Almost immediately the more serious
symptoms disappeared . . . “ the London, U.K.-based journal Nature
noted in 1903. Weather §
A whole
new world exists under the snow says Steven Schmidt, a microbiologist at the
University at Colorado, Boulder. He and his colleagues have discovered immense
numbers of previously unknown microscopic fungi are active in tundra ecosystems,
says a report published in Science. The quantities of methane and carbon
dioxide they release “could force scientists looking at global climate change
to revisit their models,” says Schmidt. §
Global
warming, according to EU scientists caused Europe’s heat wave this summer.
Then again, last year’s unusually moist conditions were caused by the same,
they told us then. Somebody, somewhere, is all wet . . . GM Kafuffles §
“I ate
genetically modified products. They had no effect on my health. This controversy
is more political than scientific,” says Archbishop Martino, who is preparing
a Vatican report that reportedly will support genetic modification, according to
The Times, 4 August [New Scientist] §
The
toxic wheat fungi fusarium head blight may be encouraged by the use of the
extensively used herbicide glyphosphate, according to Canadian researchers at
the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural, Research Station run by Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. Glyphosphate is marketed by Monsanto,
which has applied last December to release its GM ‘Roundup Ready Wheat’ in
Canada. Law and Gardeners §
Gail
Armstrong, the 62-year-old grandmother from Sylvan Lake, Alberta, gives up her
fight to retain the tree house in her front yard when the municipal council vote
6-1 against her. “Even Muhammad Ali lost a few fights,” she says. §
Spying
charges are dismissed in Lebanon against Canadian missionary Bruce Balfour, 52,
but he is found guilty of stirring religious strife. Even if you believe that
King Solomon’s Temple must be rebuilt with cedar wood from Lebanon to assure
the second coming of Christ, it may not be too wise to join Balfour’
organization, Cedars of Lebanon in replanting forests of the trees as he was
attempting. §
With
marijuana grow houses proliferating like election signs, it is hardly worth
keeping track, but one caught our eye: 29 such plants in pots on the roof of the
Gospel Hall in St. Thomas, Ontario. Two congregation members who climbed onto
the roof to investigate a leak discovered the plants. There is said to be no
truth that they were singing ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ Business §
There
may be lots of coffee in Brazil but it is not fetching much of a price these
days, thanks to a glut on the world market. Concerned coffee-producing countries
send representatives to a conference in Brasilia in an attempt to design a plan
to protect themselves from over-producers such as Vietnam, which refuse to
co-operate. §
“Ten
years into the GM revolution, we still have no “killer application,” no crop
with unequivocal economic, environmental or health benefits for wealthy western
consumers. Until that crops arrives, the public is being asked to take a risk
for little return, and biotech companies and governments will continue to have a
tough time convincing them to do so. “ Editorial in the British-based New
Scientist magazine. §
Fourteen
faces of Hitler adorn the labels of Italian vintner Alessandro Lunardelli’s
‘Fuerhrwein.’ Very vocal protests issue emanate from the German Justice
Ministry who seem, however, to have overlooked the fact that Hitler was a
teetotaller – as well as a vegetarian who hated tobacco. §
Steve
Barber is the new general manager for Canada Blooms, due to arrive again next 3
to 7 March under the banner “Tides of Time.” Environment §
NASA
researchers report that 142.5 million square kilometres are covered by plants
after examining data gathered since 1982 by satellites used by the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. From 1982 to 1999, about 3 per
cent was disturbed by fires and storms. §
Prehistoric
pyromaniacs doomed Australia’s giant marsupials, enormous lizards and
flightless birds about 50,000 years ago, geologist Gifford Miller of the
University of Colorado at Boulder told an International Union for Quaternary
Research meeting in Reno, Nevada. The disappearance of grass from the
prehistoric record revealed the original aborigines dastardly habits. §
Thanks
to the eviction of white farmers from Zimbabwe’s agricultural scene, the
country, once the bread basket of Africa, faces famine while the president’s
wife builds exotic mansions. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
warns Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho, Swaziland and Zambia also face shortages. §
Things
are not all bad weather-wise in Europe: the heat wave boosted northern
agricultural productivity. Ireland’s sugar beet crop is up 25 per cent this
year, but by just 5 per cent in Denmark and Sweden. Canola production rose 12
per cent in Finland. §
According
to French researcher Marc Ancrenaz, orangutans are “gardeners of the
forests” in north Borneo where he has been studying them for 5 years. They rip
open the forest canopy, allowing light to enter and also spread fruit seeds
along with a healthy dollop of excrement which assists in
germination. This might explain a great deal about environmentally-minded
gardeners elsewhere. Health §
Toronto
first human West Nile virus case, a 30-year-old man, is reported the last week
of August, while Saskatchewan health officials report a total of 69 for this
year, the first it is detected in humans in the province. Within a week Ontario
as eight more and a 92-year-old man dies in Ottawa, and the first Prairies death
in Manitoba. In the U.S., 34 states report 1,602 cases of the virus, with 28
deaths reported for the same period. §
“There
cannot be two kinds of medicine – conventional and alternative. There is only
one medicine that has been adequately tested and medicine that has not, medicine
that works and medicine that may or may nor work,” wrote Drs. Marcia Angell
and Jerome Kassirer in a 1998 editorial in The New England Journal of
Medicine, notes Skeptical Inquirer magazine reporting on a critique
in the newsletter of the National Council Against Health Fraud (www.ncahf.org). §
Scientists
have produced plants enriched with vitamin E, a potent antioxidant that can
protest against heart disease and cancer, reports Nature Biotechnology
online §
West
Nile virus is detected in mosquitoes near the Salton Sea in the extreme south of
California, also home of the Imperial Valley’s intensive agriculture. Human
cases are expected to follow. |
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