A noun. A verb. A blog.
Oh, how I love those mouthful names: Ampelopsis brevipedunculata Its pretty, many-coloured blue and purple berries give porcelain vine its name. I had one of these members of the grape family – the one with the variegated leaves – in the wrong spot in my garden. Please note the use of the past tense. It’s […]
If you haven’t nipped it in the bud yet, at least get this menace before it sets seeds. The brownish flowers of dog-strangling vine aka swallowwort (Vincetoxicum rossicum, syn. Cynanchum spp., from the Greek meaning “to choke a dog”) usually look fairly insignificant, though they seem fairly showy in this picture. I guess this particular […]
Pretty, isn’t it? Tamarix ramosissima, also known as tamarisk or saltcedar, is blooming with extra vigor here and there around the city. When not in bloom, it looks unassuming, and sparsely feathered – as if a shrub had disguised itself as asparagus fern. Don’t be fooled. I used to wonder why it wasn’t more widely […]
If you plant lily of the valley, you had better love lily of the valley. And your neighbour had better love it, too. If not, your neighbour had darned well better love you. Lily of the valley (Convallaria) is a plant that doesn’t do things by halves, and it’s no respecter of fences. Given the […]
While we’re (almost) on the subject of overgrown trees, take a look at this little linear forest (shown in two seasons). This was once a hedge. That is, it was a hedge till someone put away their shears. If you pay attention to the city’s garden archeology, you can spot these runaway hedges all over. […]
Amongst the refuse of last year’s greenery, you might now be noticing the evidence of past crime: the dried pod casings of dog-strangling vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum) [Update: This weed is also known as swallowwort, Cynanchum spp., from the Greek meaning “to choke a dog”)]. In my continuing quest to do my part to eradicate this […]
For some years now, Toronto’s meadows, ravines, valleys and now, it seems, gardens have been increasingly blighted with a green pestilence: Dog-strangling vine (Vincetoxicum rossicum). You can see it growing in eerie symmetry on the slopes by the Don Valley Parkway, to about a foot in height. Then, it starts to twine; with each other, […]