Late summer blooms at the Toronto Botanical Garden

Purple coneflower, Joe Pye Weed, Rudbeckia and other late summer bloomers at the TBG

Where did the summer go? You may be asking where did "garden muses" go? 

Yes, I haven't posted for almost two months which defeats the purpose of having a blog in the first place. My excuse reason is a combination of exhaustion and laziness. I'm often too tired to take pictures,  don't want to carry a camera around and/or preoccupied with the business side of things to post pictures and write commentary.

I agree, it's lame but there you go, faithful reader!

Today is a rain day so I'm taking a break from weeding and decided to write about a recent trip to the Toronto Botanical Garden ("TBG"). I had 2 hours to kill before meeting a client near the TBG so I made my first visit for the year.

Here are some highlights from my late summer visit. I'd post more pictures but of course my camera batteries died.

Another excuse!

I hope you're having a good summer (winter for those in the southern hemisphere.)

Ligularia,  Rudbeckia and Joe Pye Weed
 late summer blooms at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

This perennial border is showing its summer flowers wonderfully. Pink and yellow may not be your favourite colour combination (it isn't mine) but the butterflies and bees visiting don't have this prejudice.

Late summer perennial border
at the Toronto Botanical Garden

What will this bed look like in winter? When I design gardens, I always think about structure during the winter months. TBG's gardeners know better than to level plants to the ground as part of the "fall cleanup" offered by landscaping companies. Birds have to eat too!

Toronto Botanical Garden's
late summer perennial border 

A closeup of a hungry visitor on this Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum) set of blooms. This native perennial does well at the back of the border in a big mass, of course.

Joe Pye Weed (Eutrochium purpureum)
at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

Eutrochium purpureum (Joe Pye Weed)
at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

In the Knot Garden, the "White Swan" and species Echinacea and Gaura were in full force. Again, I can't love these enough in masses. The formation remind me of a river/stream or clouds of coneflower.

Toronto Botanical Garden's "White Swan"
purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea spp.) 

"White Swan" purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
at theToronto Botanical Garden 

Echinacea purpurea White Swan purple coneflower
at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

Here are four pollinator favourites. I'm discovering Agastache cultivars are truly versatile and bee magnets!

Geranium "Rozanne" Cranesbill
at the Toronto Botanical Garden

"Kudos Gold" Agastache (Dwarf Hummingbird Mint)
at the Toronto Botanical Garden  

Buddleia "Nanho Purple" butterfly bush
at the Toronto Botanical Garden  

Blazing Star (Liatris spicata "Floristan Violet")
 at the Toronto Botanical Garden

I'm not a rose fan (a lot of effort yielding low results) but this David Austin shrub rose called "Mary Rose" could change my mind. Nice scent and luckily not ravaged by Japanese beetles.

Mary Rose David Austin shrub rose (Rosa "Ausmary")
 at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

Rosa "Ausmary" Mary Rose David Austin shrub rose
 at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

On display were several containers to give condo owners and gardeners who like colourful containers some inspiration. I was attracted to the containers made up of succulents which offer excellent contrasts in shapes and textures.

Echeveria elegans (Mexican snowball)
at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

Echeveria "Perle von Nurnberg"
at the Toronto Botanical Garden 

Summer container
at the Toronto Botanical Garden

This container definitely has a big wow-factor. Here's the list of plants making up the design (see if you can identify each component):

• Pink Diplandenia ("Rio Pink" Mandevilla")
• Bidens hybrid
• Indian Feather (Gaura lindheimeri "Belleza Compact Light Pink"
• Verbena "Lascar Compact Pink"
• Red Cordyline
• Globe Amaranth (Gomphrena "Fireworks") 
• Heuchera "Berry Smoothie"
• Fountain Grass (Pennisetum x advena "Cherry Sparkler")

I won't even bother showing the containers in front of our house. Compared to this one...

Leslieville front garden summer clean up

Helping another Leslieville client with a front yard summer clean up

It's late summer and the weeds haven't stopped growing! 

Here are some before and after pictures of a small front garden in Leslieville that needed some TLC. The mulch under the spruce helped but weeds like plantain and quack grass were problematic near the sidewalk, path and driveway. I asked the client to apply some more mulch to keep these weeds at bay.

Leslieville front garden cleanup before 

Leslieville front garden cleanup after

Leslieville front garden cleanup before

Leslieville front garden cleanup after 

Leslieville Toronto front garden clean up before

Leslieville Toronto front garden clean up after 

Leslieville Toronto front garden cleanup before

Leslieville Toronto front garden cleanup after

Leslieville front garden clean up before 

Leslieville front garden clean up after 

A Riverdale front garden cleanup

Before and after pictures of a Riverdale front garden cleanup

I completed another small front yard cleanup in the Riverdale neighbourhood of Toronto this week. The yard was full of quack grass, "ditch lilies" and goldenrod. Once the garden was weeded and mulched, I discovered there were actually some nice perennials buried under all of this!

Riverdale Toronto front garden cleanup before 

Riverdale Toronto front garden cleanup after 

Riverdale front garden cleanup before Paul 

Riverdale front garden cleanup after 

Riverdale front garden clean up before 

Riverdale front garden clean up after 

Riverdale garden clean up before 

Riverdale garden clean up after