Greektown Spring Garden Cleanup

Another Toronto Spring Cleanup on the Danforth? Opa!

It's still May so I have no hesitation showing you more spring cleanup projects for 2019!

Today's post brings us to the bustling neighbourhood of Greektown near "the Danforth", a main street on which many Greek restaurants are clustered. Getting to this client's place usually involves smelling the delicious odours of grilled souvlaki rather than flowering trees or shrubs!

Brian, the client, usually hires me twice a year to a) tidy up and plant annuals in the spring and b) rake up the fall leaves. The front and back areas are typically small (for this neighbourhood) so cleaning things up and transplanting wasn't onerous.

Toronto Greektown Spring Cleanup Back Garden Before

Toronto Greektown Spring Cleanup Back Garden After 

Toronto Greektown Spring Cleanup Back Garden Before 

Toronto Greektown Spring Cleanup Back Garden After 

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Back Garden Before

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Back Garden After

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Front Garden Before 

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Front Garden After 

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Front Garden Before 

Greektown Toronto Spring Cleanup Front Garden After 

You may notice the large bare spot to the left of the picture above. A huge silver maple was taken down a few months ago and its trunk occupied that bare patch which is along the property line. Brian now is dealing with the owner next door, an absentee landlord, to see if the boulder retaining wall can be extended. During a heavy rainfall, lots of water gushes down that bare slope but since most of exposed area (maybe 75%) is the neighbour's property, my client can only do so much.

A Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup in the Greektown-Danforth neighbourhood

A Few More Leaves, A Few More Weeks....

Half decent days for working outside are fewer as we enter in late November here in Toronto. While it was just above freezing yesterday, working conditions were dry at least. This makes a fall cleanup so much easier and almost enjoyable!

I visit Brian, my client, about three times a year and tidy up the back and front yards. The property located in the Greektown-Danforth area isn't large but being surrounded by trees, the area receives more than its fair share of leaves.

Toronto Greektown on the Danforth Fall Backyard Garden Cleanup before

"Cut down hostas, cut down hostas...." 

is my mantra every November. You can see the yellow 

collapsed hosta mess to the right.

These lilac leaves dropped overnight after 

last week's "flash freeze"; hence, there was 

no appreciable fall colour for this shrub.

 Lots of maple leaves to greet me on this sunny and brisk November morning.

Toronto Greektown on the Danforth Fall Front Garden Cleanup before 

Toronto Greektown on the Danforth Fall Backyard Garden Cleanup after

Greektown on the Danforth Toronto Fall Backyard Garden Cleanup after

Greektown on the Danforth Fall Backyard Garden Cleanup after 

You can actually see the sidwalk and path to the house again!
 

Toronto Greektown on the Danforth Fall Front Garden Cleanup after

I've planted many dozens of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils and crocus in the front bed shown above over the years so we should get another nice show next early spring.

A few more fall cleanups to show so bear with me, dear reader!

A new garden in the Danforth/Greektown area of Toronto: a case study

Formally informal or informally formal...you decide

As you, gentle reader, may know, I occasionally design gardens and when I do, I remember and implement the design principles I learned as a student of landscape design, oh, about ten years ago. We (the students) were taught the process of:

• creating a preliminary scaled site drawing
• site review of existing conditions and deficiencies
• speaking with the client to determine needs, wants and budget
• drawing a functional diagram with "bubbles", based on specific uses and activities
• considering certain geometric styles (square, rectilinear, circular or free-form)
• considering certain garden styles (informal, formal, Western, Eastern)
• creating several preliminary designs, one of which will be selected
• creating a planting plan
• creating a final master plan

Oh, and a last point not usually included in textbooks: getting paid in full.

Of course, to roughly paraphrase German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke, no landscape plan survives contact with the client. (His quote was "no battle plan survives contact with the enemy.") Assumptions surface and promptly blown out of the water. Material and plant lists change depending on budgets or lack of them. And on and on...

But creating the final plan wasn't painful with these clients at all. They're really sweet people!

Since I'm not a landscape architect, landscape gardener, landscape designer, or their variations, I haven't gone through this formal checklist since my final landscape design assignment. But they are ingrained and I recalled them more or less automatically when I was asked to create a planting plan for this garden:

the danforth Toronto garden design before by Paul Jung Gardening Services

Greektown Toronto garden design before by Paul Jung Gardening Services

the danforth garden design before by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

the danforth new garden design before by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

Greektown garden design before by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

Here's my thought process:


A) Site analysis:

The area:

• is a 16' x 14' rectangle with the side bed measuring about 2 ' by 25'
• has compacted clay, mainly due to construction equipment
• receives full sun until mid-afternoon so about 6 hours of direct sunlight
• is in front of the new garage, wall colour is a dark grey or charcoal if you want to get fancy
• bounded by, as you can see, grey concrete pavers making up the patio and path to garage

B) The clients want:

• perennials with a specimen tree or standard
• a green and white motif (green leaves, white flowers only)
• lower garden maintenance, and agree to water with a hose regularly
• an informal garden design (after rejecting my first formal style plan)

C): Functional bubble diagrams not required

 This area was the last piece of the puzzle when the backyard was rebuilt. I imagine the owners viewing the garden mainly from the patio table when entertaining or from the kitchen door. Creating a bio-diverse garden environment isn't important to them.

D) Plant selection:

Based on the green leaf and white flower request, I suggested:

• "Guacamole" Hosta
• "Bridal Veil" astilbe
• "Honorine Jobert" Japanese anemone
• "David" summer phlox
• "Seiryu" Japanese maple as a focal point
• Maiden grass (Miscanthus sinensis "Gracillimus" for the side strip) 

There's a flowering sequence from late spring (the astilbes) until fall (the Japanese anemones). The specimen Japanese maple has green foliage until turning a lovely crimson/orange in the fall.

There's a contrast in foliage texture as well between the finely dissected foliage of the "Seiryu", the hostas' bold lime green and rough, almost hairy, astilbe leaves. 

The maiden grass would accentuate the length of the path, spills over nicely and softens the paver edge and requires very little care.

E) Garden style:

• clients prefer the plants sited informally, no rows or quadrants
• I sited them ad hoc, based on intuition and feel.

F): Soil amended:

25 bags of triple mix dug into the compacted clay. A 2-3" inch of black mulch (clients' preference) applied on top after planting.

Here are the immediate results:

the danforth Toronto garden design after by Paul Jung Gardening Services

Greektown Toronto garden design after by Paul Jung Gardening Services

the danforth garden design after by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

the danforth new garden design after by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

Greektown garden design after by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

The monochromatic colour scheme lends to a formal style but the plant placement (in small groups co-mingling with one another) feels more informal.

I returned recently to clean up the gardens a little (weeded and trimmed away the wilting hosta leaves) and had a perfect opportunity to see the Japanese anemones on full display. The clear white blooms contrast so well against the dark grey garage wall. The "Seiryu" Japanese maple is just starting to change colour but won't peak until November. Lastly, the maiden grass is just forming its seedheads. They will not be cut back until net spring, providing winter interest until, yikes, March.

the danforth Toronto garden design after autumn by Paul Jung Gardening Services

Greektown Toronto garden design after autumn by Paul Jung Gardening Services

the danforth new garden design after autumn by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

Greektown garden design after autumn by Paul Jung Gardening Services Toronto

It will be interesting to see how this garden evolves over the years. I imagine the plantings will get bigger and lusher to balance the hard edges and surfaces of the pavers. And just maybe the clients will invite me over for dinner outside one evening so that I can truly admire the design!


Update as of September 2015:

Yes, the plants have really filled in nicely! It's late September and the "David" summer phlox is still blooming while the "Honorine Jobert" anemones are the real stars now. The clients planted two columnar hornbeams as well in keeping with the green and white monochromatic colour scheme.

 "Honorine Jobert" Japanese anemone x hybrida
and "David" Summer Phlox (Phlox paniculata)
fall blooms in Toronto

"Honorine Jobert" Japanese anemone x hybrida as part of monochromatic colour scheme

Monochromatic green garden design
in this Danforth backyard

 Paul Jung Gardening Services
Danforth new backyard update

Danforth new backyard installed by
 Paul Jung Gardening Services: an update

Mid-summer Toronto garden cleanup in Riverdale

Greektown, Toronto front garden clean up

This small front garden, located just north of Danforth Ave., receives full sun which the perennials and, unfortunately, the weeds just love. Here are some before and after pictures of the clean up. A 2"-3" layer of mulch was applied after to reduce the amount of weeds re-appearing and lower watering needs.

Toronto Greektown garden cleanup before

Toronto Greektown garden cleanup after

Toronto Greektown front garden cleanup before

Toronto Greektown front garden cleanup