Stairway to Heaven - Part 2

We've looked at one set of steps that came with the lot. There is also another set that goes down past the Lake Lookout Garden to the dock.  We call them the Dock Stairs (perhaps if prizes were awarded for imagination we might have put more effort into naming them).  These are also very old, but despite the fact that they are falling apart they are still serviceable.

Here is the base of the dock stairs.

P.S. I'm having a few technical difficulties today, so this post is still to be continued. Rest assured, we'll get to the top of the stairs in another post.


These steps don't exist anymore. They were so rickety, they were removed (much to my chagrin). 
Notice the way that tree seems to be growing in a crack in the rock. It's one of the younger oaks).



Here's a view of the dock stairs from the side. 
Note the lovely big rock in the background. That's where we moved one of the cinder blocks to.



And here's a view of the stairs from the front. It's hard to see, but the steps are made of sawn off lengths of railway ties. There's lots of wild grass (which is probably sedge rather than grass) growing in between, and there have been known to be yellow jackets nesting underneath - makes for exciting journeys up and down the stairs!
Note the shady spot at the top. It's always lovely and cool there and you can sit and survey the lake.

The Garden Database - by David Kelly

When I think of the hours of toil and frustration that I have spent so far in the creation of my Gardening database, I have, from time to time, questioned my motives. What really is the point of this complexity? Who in their right mind would go to this trouble if they weren’t being paid? As far as I can figure, it was born purely of my own necessity. The garden would obviously flourish or perish regardless of a database. Much of it boiled down to my lovely wife, to whose standards I felt compelled to rise.

You see my wife is British by birth, and still retains her accent. Months and months before we had even met face-to-face, having only spoken by phone, she had lured me in with her lovely accent and her obvious intelligence. While the accent alone is lovely, when spoken with Gardener’s Latin, the combination can be intimidating. Thus it seemed to me there was a necessity to rise to her level. I couldn’t do anything about the accent, but I could certainly expand my lexicon to encompass some Latin taxonomy. With the database, the correct botanical names for our garden specimens are right at my fingertips.

My wife also has a better memory than me, or at least sets the standard to which my memory is to be measured! With a database, we can agree on the facts, they can be meticulously recorded and yet retrieved in an instant. In the years before the database I would struggle and be frustrated trying to remember from year to year where a particular specimen was planted. For even with our modest beginnings, we had five different planting sights.

A final necessity, for which my wife can claim no credit, is satisfy my meticulous nature. I do love the minutia of collecting the details and presenting them in a consistent and professional format. Digging through some old gardening materials, I recently came across some lists and journals that I had made as a teenager back in the early 80’s. I’ve always been this way, now it just looks more sophisticated.

These were plans, notes and journal entries from my parents garden in Montreal in the 80's

This is the homepage of the database that I have created now. A place to house all sorts of garden related data.

A sample Specimen record from the garden database.

Spring!

Twice a week I have a lovely walk to work. I guess I should explain that sentence. As a bookkeeper I have clients in many different locations. I like it that way. It means I'm never bored.  Twice a week I go east to see a client in Leslieville and I've grown to enjoy the little walk between the streetcar stop and the office.

It's a strange neighbourhood. As it is still somewhat reasonable, it has undergoing some gentrification and this is evident as many of the little semi-detached homes are being renovated, often showing signs of an architect's influence.  Some have gardens that are little gems. Lawns still exist, but are getting smaller and smaller.

Spring has come early this year, and we had 2 weeks of over 20 degree temperatures. Gardens have exploded with blooms. And of course it was followed by a 20 degree drop in temperature. Some of the buds have been blasted by the cold, but at least it has slowed down the blooming to a more sedate pace. Perhaps the Spring will last a bit longer now before erupting into summer.

Here are a few of the gardens along my walk.

This is a lovely little elevated front garden. The urn usually has something seasonal in it, and there's a very nice topiaried cedar. You can see some pale blue Chinodox in the foreground and there's actually a helleborus behind the urn.

Right next door is this charming little garden.

It doesn't matter what time of year, this garden is packed with flowers. I'm not sure how they get everything in. At the end of last year, when most gardens had long finished, this garden had a late blooming Aconitum (Monkshood ) snuggling up to the dried flowers of a Hydrangea that had turned a beautiful coppery colour. It was sensational. I also love the playful and very creative handmade trellis. This is one of my favorite gardens on my walk, and I look forward to seeing what has come up.

This delightful postage sized front yard is packed with plants.

 There's a weeping larch (perhaps Larix decidua pendula) in front of the air-conditioning unit, that's just starting to leaf out. Next to it is a burgundy Helleborus niger. In front of it there's a tiny flowering quince (Chaenomeles) that's just budding out. Chaenomeles are very early bloomers. Watch out when you see Forsythia in bloom, Chaenomoles are not far behind. There are also some interesting dwarf evergreens. I can see a thread leaf cypress Chamaecyparis, and a small Juniper. I think I also spotted a rose, a tiny leaved Euonymus, and even some Vinca Minor. And there's even some bare ground, that I'm sure will sprout some surprises as the season progresses. Note the problematic garbage pails, that are Mayor Miller's legacy to the City of Toronto. Now every household has to have 3 separate garbage receptacles to put their garbage into for pick up. They are huge and unsightly. I'm glad I don't have to deal with them!

Here's a close up so you can see the individual plants better.

 Here are a few more gardens from the next street over. I don't walk down this street regularly, but it was a nice day and as I had the camera with me I took the opportunity to snap some gardens that interested me.

This is an obvious renovation. The large grasses compliment the design. I think they are Miscanthus sinensis "Gracillimus"

I sense a landscaper designer's hand in this little garden. Multiple plantings of sculptural plants and lots of mulch.  I think it may develop more interest as the year progresses.

I can definitely see the Landscaper's hand in this one! Lovely clean lines.

I love Forsythia. It is one of the best harbinger's of Spring.  There's also a lovely drift wood bench here behind the daffodils.  The garden would benefit from some screening as the ubiquitous garbage receptacles really detract from the over all effect.

This lovely garden is on a corner lot. The photo doesn't do it justice. There are some lovely evergreen's here. Let's hope they're all slow growing!

Here's the same garden from the corner. I'm not sure about the scale of the grasses (probably Calamagrostis acutiflora "Karl Forester"). The plants are very close to the house, and seem a bit dominant, but the curly willow is sensational here. Once again, there are at least 3 conifers that I can see - all cheek by jowl in a very narrow space.

I hope you've enjoyed walking to work with me. I'll repeat the process later on when the summer gardens have started.

Stairway to Heaven

If you recall Kelly Gardens is very hilly.  The previous owner was either a bit handy or bit parsimonious, or perhaps a bit of both.  He built lots of things out of scraps that he had probably gotten free. There are benches, stairs and bridges, all of which are in various states of decay.

In the above photo, you can see some benches he made from two cinder blocks with a piece of lumber fastened across the top. He placed 3 of these lovely seats around a fire pit.  The lumber has rotted a bit (not surprisingly since they are probably 25 years old) but they still work, and we moved one of them to overlook the lake. Behind the bench, you can just see one of his staircases in the distance.

A closer look at the staircase from the picture above. As you can see, he just sawed lengths of railway tie and nailed them to strips of wood. You can just see at the bottom the wood has snapped.  They don't look very safe do they?  David tried to fix them, but I don't think they're much better as they aren't even, and as there's no hand rail they are not easy to negotiate. It is remarkably hard to make stairs.

David tries out the new stairs. They certainly look better!

These stairs go down to a little valley that we call the Deer Run (yes, I know I've still got to get that map posted so you can see where all these places are.)  At the top of this set of stairs is a smaller set which are constantly in the shade and have been come beautifully covered in moss.

Notice the little fern that's seeded itself in the gap between steps

This is a delightful location for a planting. We decided that this Japanese Forest Grass, Hakonechloa macra aureola would look splendid here as it tolerates the shade. We ended up planting 3 plants here but only 2 have survived.  Hopefully, as they get older, this grass will end up having a waterfall effect edging the stairs.

To be continued...

Stop the Presses!

I was searching for photos for the next blog post and what do you think I found?  A picture of the birch that had been gnawed by the beaver and finally fell on the Iris.

the birch is on the far left and the you can just about see the beaver damage at the base.

It still amazes me that the birch fell, but perhaps it was helped by a deer or bear!

Canada Blooms 2012

March means Canada Blooms, a perennial favorite of the Kelly Gardeners. It is an annual garden show hosted by The Garden Club of Toronto and Landscape Ontario.  After a long hard Toronto winter, Canada Blooms is always a welcome treat, and it heralds the many joys of a new growing season.

Ahhh, those were the days when the show was held in the depths of the Convention Centre on the South side of the railway tracks. As you came through the entrance doors the smell of Spring flowers literally assaulted your senses.  And the excitement just seemed to mount as you descended down the 2 flights of escalators to the entrance to the show.  Finally through the doors and you were swept away by the exhibits.  There were feature gardens by professional landscapers; exhibits of the latest trends in plants; booths set up by Professional Organizations and Societies of all kinds; Canada's largest floral competition; talks by professionals and a market place where you could shop till you dropped.  Over the years, the show got bigger and bigger. By the time you finished the show, you just wanted to put your feet up and have a nice cup of tea.

In 2010 the show moved locations to the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. It's not the same. The biggest difference is the smell. You just don't get the same blast of scent when you walk through the doors. And this year Canada Blooms amalgamated with the National Home Show, and it is now one MEGA show, at least four times bigger and lasting twice as long. Of course this means that some of the smaller merchandisers just can't come. Ten days is a long time to commit to a show. And it's really hard for the floral competitions as it is a bit of stretch for cut flower arrangements to look good for10 days.


In the past, there were many feature gardens built by larger professional landscapers who created spaces suitable for outdoor entertaining. This could include a dining area; a lounging area, often complete with flat screen TV or fireplace; or perhaps a kitchen or bar.  This is great if you have no bugs, and is certainly interesting and something that one could aspire to, but is definintely not "must have" for the Kelly Gardeners.

This year there were fewer such large, ostentatious displays.Here's my favorite for its elegant simplicity.

"Dinner Party" by Allweather Landscape Co.

One of my favorites this year was the "International Garden of Taipei, Taiwan" garden by Ron Holbrook. Unfortunately, I'm limited to uploading Youtube videos, so if you want to see some videos of the Taipei garden please visit the following links:http://vimeo.com/38699636
http://www.stylegui.de/newcacom/newca-com-taipei-garden-at-2012-canada-blooms-6036814

The garden was chock full of orchids and also featured the "must have" plant of the year:

Medinilla magnifica a native of the Phillipines

What I liked the best was the clever use of boxwoods to emulate tea plantations, seen here planted with phalaenopsis set out like bedding plants!

There were also a number of incredibly creative gardens. My favorite was the Reford Gardens feature garden, Surface Deep by Asensio Mah, which won the prize for the most imaginative garden at the show. 

Surface Deep

And then there are the themed gardens that I don't quite get the point of. This year's was the Juno Rocks gardens:  four gardens inspired by Juno Award winning performers. Perhaps if I was actually familiar with these performers' work, I would have appreciated the gardens more.

We did have fun though. We met Becky Fox (the Editor of Garden Making) again, and once more we were struck by how wonderfully genuine and self-effacing she is.  We had watched her latest video the night before and we told her what a lovely job she had done introducing the 15 new and noteworthy plants that were featured at the Garden Making Booth. She was touched by our praise as she doesn't find making videos easy.  If you want to see for yourself, visit www.gardenmaking.com and you can watch the video and see the booth.

Garden Making Booth at Canada Blooms

But the real highlight of the show for me was the Rose Garden ...  make that 2 rose gardens.  Very simply 2 fifteen foot square beds, crammed full of roses! Mmmmm, wonderful.

Roses in March!

I really love roses. Even though they are too fussy for our climate and they are a magnet for all kinds of pests and diseases, nevertheless, there's something magical and deeply romantic about the rose. And they beg you to stop and smell them. I do hope we'll be able to grow roses on our lot.

So, why do we go to Canada Blooms (especially now the tickets are $20)?  I don't know. Perhaps it is because after a long hard winter, we are anxious to experience a bit of Spring. Perhaps we hope to be inspired by new ideas. Every year we say we won't go again next year. But every year we do.  The count down begins.... Dare I say that I'm looking forward to Canada Blooms 2013 as a welcome harbinger of Spring.

"Colours are the smiles of nature." Leigh Hunt

It was a nice treat to see the Gervase Amaryllis sending out a second flower scape. It was doing very nicely and growing quite tall (Gervase has a 2.5 to 3 foot stalk).  Then one morning I went to look at it, and the stalk had fallen to one side and cracked right across the base!  There was nothing for it but to detach it and treat it like a cut flower.

I filled a vase with some warm water and flower preservative, then re-cut the stem to a better length. Next, I inverted the flower and filled the hollow stem with water. I plugged the hole with my thumb and quickly re-inverted it into the water in the vase. If that is a bit tricky for you to do, you can always fill the stem with water and them plug it with a cotton ball. This helps against the dreaded air bubble in the stem which prevents the flower from drawing up water.

Hopefully, the flower would now have a chance to fulfill it's potential.  It had 5 buds, and when it bloomed it had a real surprise for us!

Remember that Gervase is a lovely red and white candy-striped Amaryllis.

 But the next bud was totally red (bottom right).

And then in between was a bloom that was half red and half striped!

So there are 2 solid red blooms, 2 red and white striped blooms and 1 half and half!

And to cap it all, the bottom of the cut stem decided to go rococo on me.

David and I have been very entertained by this antics of this plant.

Photo Credits:  David Kelly