Garden Muses: A Small Toronto Gardening Services Company Blog: May 2022

25.5.22

New Gardens in East York, Toronto

Adding Colour and Form to an Empty Canvas

I come across, occasionally, requests to plant gardens in newly constructed spaces which has its pros and cons. On the con side, the soil that's unceremoniously dumped in the garden by the contractor can be full of pieces of brick, glass and used coffee cups. On the other hand, if the contractor is kind and considerate, the new space (in this post, a raised bed) has brand new topsoil:

East York Front Garden Installation Before

I didn't want to show the front of the house, for privacy reasons, but the bed is located right below the front windows. New stucco can have an overpowering look so some short plants are needed to soften the house's appearance. I avoided planting shrubs which would hide the windows sooner than later so I chose shorter (3 feet tall or less) perennials which offer flowering throughout the season and give pollinators a reason to visit.

East York Front Garden Installation After

In the backyard, the client wanted to develop this small area below the deck which is also clearly visible from the backyard:

East York Back Garden Installation Before

I wanted to show you more proof that, long term, landscape fabric is useless. The weeds you see have germinated on top on or grown up and through the black textile. I pulled his "rug" of weeds off and dug out the many deeply-rooted weeds in order to prepare the bed for new perennials.

East York Back Garden Installation Before

The existing soil was adequate in texture but I added more composted manure to give the new perennials a head start. The picture below shows gaps between the plants due to a small tree stump which wasn't dug out. The client also didn't get all the plants I suggested for this area as the garden center was short stock. Hopefully, she'll get the rest of the list this season to fill in the spaces.

East York Back Garden Installation After

14.5.22

A Spring Cleanup in Toronto's Wychwood Park

Removing the Winter Interest, Now That Spring is Here

It's May, the magnolias and ornamental are finally blooming (some are done) and the beautiful May weather is upon is. I just love outside during these May days: sunny, warm and not humid. It won't last long as by late June the humidity and bugs will make their presence known.

On the flip side, it's pure chaos with the scheduling but every May is like this. I guess that's still a good problem to have from a business perspective.

Part of that chaos is the number of spring cleanups being ordered. This post covers a front yard cleanup for a new client in a central Toronto neighbourhood near Wychwood Park.

The two front garden beds weren't touched from last season which allowed the owners to enjoy the "winter interest" provided by ornamental grasses and sturdier perennials. Of course, that interest loses its charm by May so the clients hired me to tidy up and transplant a few new perennials.

Here are the before and after pictures of a very typical spring cleanup I do: