Peonies Envy at the Toronto Botanical Garden

Bigger is better

When it comes to peonies, there's no point being subtle. You want big and heavy flowers for those two magical weeks of the year (the leaves and woody stems aren't exactly ornamental.) 

The timing was right for me and my lovely family to visit the Toronto Botanical Garden on Father's Day for an impromptu picnic. The weather was fabulous and the peonies were in full force when I took these pictures. 

Love them or hate them, the gaudy blooms can't be ignored. And when the flowers disintegrate, they'll be a fleeting memory.

I'm envious of those who have the full sun and space to grow peonies. My backyard is way too shady for their liking and, anyway, I don't want to bother with hoops and stakes. Better to admire them without any of the care!

Paeonia "Kopper Kettle" Hybrid Itoh Peony
 Toronto Botanical Garden 

"Sea Shell" Paeonia lactiflora herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Cora Louise" Hybrid Itoh Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

Paeonia "Sequestered Sunshine" Itoh Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Sequestered Sunshine" Hybrid Itoh Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Bartzella" Itoh Peony
 Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Bartzella" Hybrid Itoh Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia lactiflora "Celebrity" herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

Paeonia lactiflora "Krinkled White" herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia lactiflora "Sea Shell" herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

Paeonia "Kopper Kettle" Itoh Peony
 Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Cora Louise" Itoh Hybrid Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

Paeonia lactiflora "Festiva Maxima" herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

"Festiva Maxima"  Paeonia lactiflora herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia lactiflora "Flame" herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

"Flame" Paeonia lactiflora herbaceous peony
Toronto Botanical Garden 

Paeonia "Yankee Doodle Dandy" Hybrid Itoh Peony
Toronto Botanical Garden

Peonies Envy at the Toronto Botanical Garden: Bigger is better

Written by Paul Jung on June 17, 2014

When it comes to peonies, there's no point being subtle. You want big and heavy flowers for those two magical weeks of the year (the leaves and woody stems aren't exactly ornamental.) The timing was right for me and my lovely family to visit the Toronto Botanical Garden on Father's Day for an impromptu picnic. The weather was fabulous and the peonies were in full force when I took these pictures. Love them or hate them, the gaudy blooms can't be ignored. And when the flowers disintegrate, they'll be a fleeting memory. I'm envious of those who have the full sun and space to grow peonies. My backyard is way too shady for their liking and, anyway, I don't want to bother with hoops and stakes. Better to admire them without any of the care!

June blooms in Toronto

June blooms in Toronto 

More sights from various gardens I've visited during my work hours so far this month. Summer is upon us with the past cruel winter a distant memory.

Some of these flowers you'll likely recognize immediately, others maybe will take a while to recollect. I'm fortunate to come across a wide range of perennials, shrubs and trees everyday. 

If I can only remember to bring my camera!

Anemone sylvestris 
(Snowdrop windflower)

Geranium sanguineum
(Bloody cranesbill) 

Iris virginica
(Southern blue flag) 

Paeonia lactiflora "Duchesse de Nemours"
("Duchesse de Nemours" herbaceous peony)

"Duchesse de Nemours" peony
Paeonia lactiflora "Duchesse de Nemours"

"Sarah Bernhardt" herbaceous  peony
(Paeonia lactiflora "Sarah Bernhardt")

Paeonia lactiflora "Sarah Bernhardt"
 ("Sarah Bernhardt" herbaceous peony)

Red tree peony
(Paeonia suffruticosa) 

Rubus odoratus
(Flowering raspberry) 

Wild columbine
(Aquilegia canadensis)

Threadleaf bluestar (Amsonia hubrichtii)
Toronto Botanical Garden

Indigofera kirilowii (Kirilow's Indigo)
Toronto Botanical Garden 

"Purple Sensation" Allium behind Dwarf Fothergilla
 Toronto Botanical Garden

X Sinocalycalycanthus raulstonii 'Hartlage Wine' Sweetshrub
 Toronto Botanical Garden 

In love with my doublefile viburnums!

Lilacs vs. doublefile viburnums

Not really a fair contest for me. I actually like the scent and bloom colours of lilacs but they (lilacs) are two week wonders. What do you have after the flowers turn brown? Yes, you get a green blob for the rest of the summer, culminating with a boring yellow autumn "show" which really isn't. Still, customers are buying lilacs like toilet paper on sale (selling anything flowering is child's play it seems) so what do I know?

And yet...

Viburnum plicatum "Popcorn"
("Popcorn" doublefile viburnum) 

Mid-may usually means viburnums are blooming in Toronto. I won't show a picture of my Viburnum lantana "Mohican" bloom because my brother in law has scarred me forever by mentioning that he smelled, er, semen when the wayfaring tree was recently blooming next to our deck.

Thank you, Mike!

Instead, I'm posting a few pictures of other viburnums (3 doublefile, one not) that reside in the Lee-Jung backyard.

Sorry, no lilacs!

Viburnum sargentii "Onondaga"
("Onondaga"  Sargent viburnum) 

No, not a hydrangea but a viburnum!
"Popcorn" doublefile viburnum blooms 

"Popcorn" doublefile viburnum
(Viburnum plicatum "Popcorn")

Viburnum plicatum "Popcorn"
("Popcorn" doublefile viburnum blooms) 

"Shasta" doublefile viburnum
(Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum "Shasta")

Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum 
"Summer Snowflake"
("Summer Snowflake" doublefile viburnum)
in front a client's house

Viburnum plicatum f. tomentosum
"Summer Snowflake" doublefile viburnum 

York (Toronto) front garden cleanup and renovation: weeding and new perennials

A new front garden in the York area of Toronto

Wendy and Connie desperately needed some colour (besides the green from the weeds) in their front garden and asked me to help. This small raised bed faces east and gets full sun until about early afternoon when the house blocks out the sun. It's completely choked with creeping bellflower (Campanula rapunculoides) with one very dead globe cedar rounding out the picture on the right. The existing "Emerald 'n Gold" euonymus on the left was not to be moved, unfortunately!

York front yard before renovation
by Paul Jung Gardening Services

Digging out the finger-thick roots of the bellflower was tedious but necessary to weed the bed without herbicides. I added composted cow manure to amend the mediocre (at best) existing soil.


New plants include sun-loving perennials like "David" summer phlox, "Autumn Joy" sedum, "Moonbeam" Threadleaf coreopsis and "Jacob Cline" beebalm. I re-purposed/recycled a languishing "Crimson Queen" Japanese maple. After watering, a 2-3" layer of cedar mulch was applied to reduce watering and weeding.

We should see good results in 2-3 years as the perennials establish themselves with regular watering and weeding.

York front yard after renovation by
Paul Jung Gardening Services in Toronto

Blooms around Toronto

Spring blooms May 2014 around Toronto 

Working as a gardener has its benefits, blog-wise. I'm able to show readers pictures of plants found in other gardens that I can't grow in mine!

May is always a crazy time for me but I was able to take the following as just a sample of what's blooming across the city.

Pink fringed tulip

Allium  "Globemaster"

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

"Valentine" Bleeding heart
(Dicentra spectabilis "Valentine")

Pink fringed tulip
with "Golden Tiara" hosta

Hot pink azalea blooms

Purple violets: very weedy but pretty!

Red tulipa kaufmanniana 

Trillium grandiflorum 

Fothergilla gardenii 
(Dwarf fothergilla) blooms