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 […]
Volunteer at the Toronto Botanical Garden
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 […]
Scenic Sunday: Toronto Botanical Garden in November
Entrance to the Toronto Botanical Garden at twilight. The Entry Garden Walk, showing its strong Piet Oudolf design influence – lots of native materials left to do their thing in all seasons. I love the repetition of reds in this fall garden. The smaller Floral Hall Courtyard, looking through to the front entrance […]
Open Gardens Toronto – June 2009
Open Gardens Toronto is a fantastic program that lets us take an informal tour of our fellow gardeners’ spaces during the long weekday evenings of summer. (and on Weekends in fall) $25 gets you a pass for a full season, or you can pay $4 for each garden you view. Proceeds go to the Canadian […]
Doors Open: Toronto Beekeepers’ Co-op at the Don Valley Brickworks
I dropped into the Don Valley Brickworks for Doors Open this week and met with a group of bee-keepers who were there with their bee hive display — It’s an odd feeling to be standing near several people wearing blinding white bee-keeper outfits! You certainly can’t miss them in a crowd. They showed a 2 […]
Toronto’s Community Orchard Project: Ben Nobleman Park
***UPDATE**** June 4, 2009 First 9 trees are in the ground at Ben Nobleman Park, site of TO’s first community orchard: pears, plums, and cherries. Hooray! ************** I just learned about wonderful proposal to plant a community orchard not far from the Eglinton West Subway station in Ben Nobleman park. This initiative is spearheaded by […]
Toronto Island Gardens – Inspiration and Delight
A trip to the island is always a joy when you are enduring a summer in the city. As soon as I get on the ferry all I can think is, “Why don’t I do this more often?” It is so beautiful and green there, and it’s so close for us inner-city types. A quick […]
Toronto Island Girl
When was the last time you went out to the Island? This weekend, I was there for the Terry Fox walk and found it such a spiritual holiday that I made a pact with a friend to do it again; at least once a season. The open-topped ride to Ward’s Island is the skooter version […]