Toronto's James Gardens, in Technicolor

Why do people love bedding plants so much?

Every summer visit I make to my client D.'s house in the western part of Toronto called Etobicoke, I  spend a few minutes at James Gardens nearby. Why? I can be assured that the flower beds will assault my retinas with electric blasts of yellow, pink, and orange foliage and petals. A little masochistic, I admit, but after tending a few "white and green only!" gardens, a little colour therapy is helpful to jolt the creative juices. So, if you are blessed/cursed with a ton of space, full sun and deep pockets,  follow the lead of the Gardens' planners and go Victorian with these bedding annuals I seen used (the list is not comprehensive, I'm sure I missed some): catharanthus, celosia, angelonia, zinnia, canna, salvia, gerbera daisies, gloriosa daisies, gazania, ricinus.

The castor bean plants are always impressive with their foliage

Same feeling with the dark cannas!

Coleus in full sun, with the requisite irrigation system in place

Pink and yellow, pink and yellow....

Why I love lantana!

Softer pastels with the Russian sage and pink hibiscus

Late summer means Perovskia, Hydrangea paniculata, Echinacea, Hibiscus

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

The "municipal" style of planting and garden design?



James Gardens in Toronto: you better like annuals coming here!

Today's post is more rant than muse so, with this caveat...

The archetypical municipal bedding arrangement,
 just missing the cannas in the middle



Near my client D's place is James Gardens in Etobicoke (west-end Toronto) which I try to visit after work. I'm curious to see the large beds in the park and garden areas, their condition and types of plantings. Inevitably, I always think/ask about: a) how many thousands of annuals are planted and b) the small army of seasonal staff in charge of planting, deadheading, and removing the plants once we get hard killing frost in early winter.

Flying in formation

These photos are examples of what I call the "municipal" style of plant design within an overall landscape design style perhaps labelled as picturesque. (If Capability Brown was around, he'd contract out the placement of some moats, lakes, hills, and a few cows in the park.) 

We have row upon row of annuals in military order designed en masse to attract your eyes from a distance. 

Imagine deadheading and preening these beds to ensure the public is presented with a neat, tidy, and highly controlled garden style.

I'm getting dizzy...

Perhaps it's no surprise that I became visually fatigued/ overwhelmed/ bored with the beds in very short order because you can see everything in a few glances from a distance. Take the detail of the bed above. Every plant is blooming its pretty little head off and by focussing all your energy on the blooms, your eyes never get a rest. It's like a neon sign that's on all the time, day and night. Maybe you were drawn to it originally but discovered how quickly you lost interest.