It’s not often that you see a botanical garden planting rocks instead of groupings of unusual perennials or colourful waves of annuals and tropicals. But at the Toronto Botanical Garden (TBG) and adjacent Edwards Gardens, this is exactly what is going on. Of course, the giant stones perched on large section of logs are not […]
What is marcescence? Well, apart from sounding like the answer to a Jeopardy clue that Alex Trebek might spring on unsuspecting contestants, it’s a botanical term to describe a phenomenon that occurs when a normally deciduous hardwood tree stubbornly retains its dead leaves through winter. It is a fairly obscure word and not exactly something […]
It’s been a year of leafy patriotism for Canada’s 150th birthday and of course our favourite leaf from our national tree—the maple, has been proudly displayed on everything from Tim Hortons cups to souvenir t-shirts, mugs and some flyer I found in my mailbox from a slightly shady duct cleaner advertising a celebratory rate in […]
This damp and rainy winter, spring and summer has provided ideal conditions for fungal growth and a real bonanza for wild mushrooms. They seem to be everywhere this year, from a few Dryad’s saddle hanging onto the sides of stressed out trees, to hundreds of tiny Japanese parasols (Parasola plicatilis) making little fungal forests in […]
Who would’ve thunk that ‘dirt’ would turn out to be such a dirty four-letter word? Well, a lot of gardeners I know avoid it like the plague, and some would probably like to see it banished from the land of horticultural lingo for good. I once had a student gardener helping me prepare a formal […]
Well, there aren’t exactly a heck of a lot of matters that need attention in the “Horticultural Matters” department these days other than tending to giant tropicals that are waiting for the warm spring day when they can escape to the great outdoors. So ever since the big freeze I have been entertaining myself by […]
It’s no secret that the plant kingdom has been responsible for creating more than its fair share of superstitions and wacky beliefs over the last few centuries. There are plants that guarantee good luck, prosperity, longevity, romance — and even a few that will repel demonic entities and supernatural beasts from sneaking into the house, […]
When I lived on Lee Avenue in the late seventies and eighties there was a unique piece of art on display in Kew Gardens. But this type of art in the park wasn’t of the usual wood carving, sculpture or painting variety. Back in the days when you could buy your socks and underwear at […]
Just when we thought we had established a beachhead in the battle against the dreaded Asian longhorn beetle, along comes another deadly pest to terrorize our urban forests. As Phil Lameira reported in this newspaper four years ago, the latest participant in the parade of tunnelling chewers assaulting our trees is the well-publicized emerald ash […]
It won’t be long now before that familiar ritual of hauling a Christmas tree into the house will be upon us. The firs, balsam, and spruce will be propped up in a corner of the living room and decorated with tiny lights, little angels and sleds – and in my case, all of the above […]
