I have a split-leaved “Monstera” Philodendron, those shapley 50s style climbers that have such an architectural presence. They’re beautiful house plants. The leaves, when mature, are quite thick and leathery – just the kind of plant, for some reason, that scale insects love. Here’s a photo of a Monstera. These armour covered insects are […]
Green blight: Dog-strangling Vine
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, […]