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 […]
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 […]
What do cowboys and ants have in common? Well, apart from the ten-gallon hats, pickup trucks and that curious habit cowboys have of spontaneously shouting “yippee yi yo ki yay” at the line dance, ants probably have more in common with the old cowpokes than you might think. I never really paid much attention to […]
These days it’s a generally accepted scientific fact that plant to plant communication actually does exist. They have the amazing ability to ‘talk’ to each other using hormones released into the air. They also use interconnected root systems and minute electrical signals and sounds to warn their neighbours of impending insect attacks, drought and other […]
If you ask a horticulturist or serious gardener to identify a plant there is a good chance they will give you an earful of botanic nomenclature packed with a Linnean mashup of Latin, Greek, German and Anglo-Saxon words that will eventually make your eyes glass over. For botanists it’s a serious business full of rules […]
Help! I noticed hundreds, maybe thousands of invading alien creatures crawling through my soil when I was planting my garlic crop a couple of weeks ago. But hold on to your shovel. As scary as it sounds, the animals writhing around in my vegetable plot are not from a horror movie marquee, nor some terrifying […]
When it comes to identifying a species of magnolia tree I doubt many of us would automatically reach for our trusty copy of Native Trees of Ontario as our first point of reference. The usual members of the magnolia clan that are regularly plopped into front lawns around the neighbourhood for their giant saucers of […]
In about four or five weeks many areas of Ontario, Eastern Canada and a good part of the United States will be experiencing a type of beetlemania. However, this non-musical invasion doesn’t originate from Liverpool, has never appeared on the Ed Sullivan show, and any screams and shrieking will probably come from someone unlucky enough […]
After the bone-chilling winter we endured it’s not surprising the early birds of the plant kingdom are a little reluctant to break through frozen ground to show us their greenery. As we enter a relatively balmy second week of April even the usual early blooms of crocus, narcissus and primula are noticeably late to turn […]
When it comes to Christmas gift giving, our family has one simple rule – no pets, especially ones with the ability to bark, meow, fly, swim or slither. The ‘slithering’ gifts are completely off limits as far as I’m concerned, right up there with polka-dot ties and those plaid Gatsby golfing hats. You can imagine […]
