Toronto spring cleanup yields hellebore love

Spring 2013: it's finally here (I think)

Sorry for not posting lately but I've been busy doing spring garden cleanups for new and old clients for the past several weeks. Temperatures are finally increasing so that it feels like spring in Toronto, although not as warm as last year. 

I took the following pictures after cleaning up last autumn's debris from a client's backyard the other day. Maybe you'll feel inspired to plunk down some bucks for a few hellebores in your garden after viewing this post?

The new varieties of H. hybridus under the "Winter Jewels" and "Gold Collection" trademarks are so nice!


The "hot" hellebore this spring is "Ivory Prince",  it was all over the place at Canada Blooms last month.

"Pink Frost" Hellebore

Same clump of "Pink Frost" hellebores backlit

Siberian squill (Scilla siberica) blooming in many ravines now in Toronto

"Pink Beauty" Hellebore halfway doing its spring thing

Sorry, I can't identify this cultivar. Anyone can help?

Common purple crocus. I like the shadow of the pistil and stamens!

Enjoy spring while it lasts, wherever you are!

By Paul Jung, author of "garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog"

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Allan Gardens Conservatory Easter Flower Show 2013: part two

You want hydrangeas? I'll give you hydrangeas!

Easter has come and gone but there's still a chance to take in some nice colour in a city currently awash in brown. During my last visit to the Allan Gardens Conservatory Easter Flower Show, most of the hydrangeas were still not fully opened so I came back and took some better pictures.

I prefer the lacecap varieties over the big mophead types (more subtle and I like plants blooming on the horizontal plane.) Some of my clients receive these hydrangeas for Easter and then plunk them in the ground outside after the blooms fade. I'm surprised that some of them overwinter successfully but they never thrive and flower as much as the "real" Hydrangea macrophyllas.

I hope you enjoy these big balls of colour!

I like the cute blue Easter eggs hanging from the two bare "trees"

A drift of Easter colour, the variegated ivy ties everything together

Some may find the palms and bananas incongruous but they do add drama

An overview shot, smells nice too!

Drift of two types of hydrangeas, different forms and feelings

Massing works well here

I just like the blushing pink tones

Pink Florist's hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla)
 Allan Gardens Conservatory Easter Flower Show 2013

By Paul Jung, author of "garden muses: a Toronto gardening blog"Google Google Find us on Google+ Find us on Google+