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 […]
I really believe that there is no more liveable, vibrant, and beautiful neighbourhood in our fair metropolis than the Beach. And although every season helps to showcase that fact, I think the Beach in autumn is perhaps the most outstanding. Our urban forest is at its brilliant best when the leaves turn, with a dazzling […]
In a tiny room of his old high school, Dr. Rod Tennyson, aerospace engineer, is running an experiment with vinegar and baking soda. Dr. Tennyson has designed protective coatings for spacecraft, and a kind of fiber-optic nerve system for airplane wings. Somewhere at home, he has an award for his part in saving the astronauts […]
Several neighbours are asking the city to reject an application to clear four old oak trees from the yard of the home at 103 Scarborough Road. Based on their trunk width, the red oaks are likely 100 years old. In a letter to the city’s urban foresters, Scarborough Road resident Verinder Parmar said this is […]
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 […]
He didn’t plant paw paws or goji berries, but Johnny Appleseed would certainly tip his hat to Treemobile, a volunteer group that delivers low-cost fruit trees across Toronto. Working last Saturday outside St. Saviour’s, an Anglican church in the Upper Beach, Treemobile volunteers sorted 40 fruit trees and 355 fruit- or nut-bearing shrubs and vines […]
For 12 days this Christmas, all Elizabeth Hall got from Toronto Hydro was a tied-up call centre and two false reports that her house was back to full power. Hall said she knows many people had it worse. For all but two of the 12 days after the ice storm, Hall at least had partial […]
When a gardener asked Beach Metro News to find out if lack of moisture was causing white patches to form on the base of trees along the boardwalk, the answer was actually the opposite – too much watering, by dogs. Beth McEwen, the city’s manager of urban tree renewal, says while dog urine is toxic […]
Art Wood was leafing through his Saturday paper in the dappled shade of his back deck last week when his arborist, city councillor and 40 tree enthusiasts clambered out of the Glen Stewart ravine and into his yard to see his magnificent oaks. Built in 1931 in a way that preserved the trees on site, […]
As a ‘card carrying tree hugger’ the last thing I thought I would be doing this spring would be discouraging someone who wanted to plant a tree. But that’s exactly what happened when a friend asked for my advice on which species of tree would be best to replace an elderly silver maple she had […]
