A noun. A verb. A blog.
Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) on its way to flowering I came to Niagara Falls for the daffodils; 500,000 of them. More on that later. My surprise find was one of the world’s biggest, smelliest, most suggestive flowers in bud, the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum). In the next couple of weeks or so, it will burst […]
Part of a voice print from June Callwood’s final interview Canada Blooms gets knocked these days for not pulling a magical rabbit out of its increasingly shrinking pecuniary hat. However, one bit of magic it does do is to fund garden projects around the city through the work of the Toronto Garden Club. Past […]
Any garden that’s a major tourist attraction can’t afford to sit on its aster. The Butchart Gardens is no exception. I first visited back in July. An impressive experience, even if you aren’t a gardener – the garden’s theatrical quality gives it a crossover appeal that is a reason why the Butchart Gardens is the […]
A tapestry of pastels. Arrestingly beautiful. Can a garden work without blooms? Of all the things I could say about Seattle’s Dunn Gardens, this question floated to the top as I reviewed my many photographs. What happens after the flowers fade? But, first, the Dunn Gardens deserve an introduction. Originally, they were an early 20th-century […]
The Black Garden at VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. Black plants are trendy at the moment. So I thought the Black Garden might be a good entry point into a post on an amazingly diverse botanical garden such as Vancouver’s VanDusen garden. Actually, it’s a bit misleading to call this a black garden. First, there are […]
You are about to come with me on vacation for the next few posts. I hope you’re up for a little travel. We’re going to the West Coast – to Vancouver and Victoria, B.C., and to Seattle, Washington. And we’ll be visiting a lot of gardens. Ready? Our first stop is the Nitobe Memorial Garden […]
With 300 varieties and cultivars, the Oshawa Botanical Garden is the home of the Peony Festival If you, like Sarah and I, have a bad case of peonies envy, you’ll want to know that June 11 & 12 is the kickoff for the Oshawa Peony Festival. Peonies, like poppies, tend to come and go in […]
Little did I think that when I dropped by The Stop Community Food Centre Green Barn at the Wychwood Barns on Thursday that Jamie Oliver would be hot on my heels. Sure enough, the super chef, food activist and all round cute guy visited The Stop the very next morning. Ah, my almost-brush-with-greatness. In the […]
With all the jackhammers and construction barriers at Nathan Phillips Square now, you might have missed seeing the new City Hall Podium Green Roof – especially as there’s no signage at the bottom of the ramp to direct you up to the podium for a visit. Too bad. Because the green roof is worth the […]
Because the trip took me through St. James Park beside the cathedral, I’m glad I decided to walk to the subway from my meeting yesterday, despite my inappropriate shoes. I won’t dwell on how I suffered. Instead, I’ll wax mildly poetic about Fritillaria imperialis, the crown imperial fritillaria. What an exotic bulb this is, with […]
Toronto’s Open Gardens 2010 program begins this Sunday afternoon in Parkdale with a chance to see the wonderful garden of gifted plantsman and all-round exemplary gardener Barry Parker. Don’t be put off by a little rain. Sarah and I visited Barry’s garden last October in the rain, which gave the plants an extra level of […]
Who gives haircuts to all those Piet Oudolfian grasses at the Toronto Botanical Garden? In large part, it’s done by teams of volunteers. And you could be among them. On Tuesday morning before class, I saw a team of about six people busily at work in the entry garden at the TBG. Sandra Pella, the […]