A Chaplin Estates, Midtown Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup

Spring 2021 Has Finally Begun!

Enduring a pandemic winter was challenging but another April finally emerges and this Toronto gardener is getting busy again. I hope, dear reader, you and your family have remained safe and healthy during these tumultuous times.

I don't believe I've profiled this midtown Toronto garden before. I visit the client twice a year to "open" and "close" the garden, in her words. It's interesting that she (and many others) use the analogy of a garden being a store that requires to be opened for business from spring to fall and closed for the winter break. 

My "opening" process here mainly means raking out last fall's leaves, removing old stems and flower heads and spreading some composted manure on the beds. I'll duplicate these tasks many times in May so get ready!

Here are some "before" and "after" pictures of the the "U" shaped beds around the central lawn which are enclosed with a 20 foot white cedar hedge:

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Spring Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring  Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup Before 

Chaplin Estates Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates Before 

Toronto Spring Garden Cleanup in Chaplin Estates After 

Chaplin Estates Midtown Toronto Spring Cleanup Before

Chaplin Estates Midtown Toronto Spring Cleanup After 

Midtown Toronto Summer Front and Backyard Cleanup

When Mulching Doesn't Preclude Actual Weeding

I was half-expecting being contacted by Alex, the client in this post, to weed his rental property's front garden this spring. And why wouldn't I? I installed his new garden last May as profiled in my blog post mundanely titled Mid Toronto new front garden installation and have seen how the new transplanted perennials have coped with wave after wave of weeds germinating and thriving in the garden bed over the past year.

I last visited this garden in October 2017 for a fall cleanup so for the past eight months, nothing has been done in terms of weeding, watering and other garden maintenance tasks. (As a reminder, the tenants in this rental property naturally don't get involved and the owner lives off-site.) Last autumn, I asked Alex to provide me with more mulch as the existing layer was very thin and patchy; consequently, weeds would easily gain a foothold (roothold?) again. He didn't drop any mulch off so the garden has been like a lab experiment: it will have shown what weeds have germinated, their growth rate and how the new perennials have responded to such competition for sunlight, water and nutrients. 

Alex did contact me after all and we scheduled an appointment. When I finally arrived several days ago, I wondered what the state of garden was and then saw this...

Midtown Toronto 
Front Garden Cleanup Before

Midtown Toronto Summer
Front Garden Cleanup Before

Toronto Midtown Summer
Front Garden Cleanup Before

Toronto Midtown Front
Garden Cleanup Before

Avenue Road Midtown Toronto
Summer Front Garden Cleanup Before

Midtown Avenue Road Summer
Front Garden Cleanup Before

A Toronto Midtown Summer
Front Garden Cleanup Before

Quite a weed patch, no? To be perfectly honest, I wasn't shocked. I knew the conditions were very good for weeds to flourish here. The garden is in a very exposed and windy site so weed seeds travel very easily here. There is a layer of mulch but it is quite thin (only about one inch in depth) as it has decomposed slowly over time. The garden, also receives full sun from the morning right until late afternoon. And, lastly, two downspouts drain into the garden so there's plenty of moisture accumulating after every shower or thunderstorm.

Still, I was surprised to see how well the weeds have grown in relation to the perennials planted last year.

I started to pull out the weeds, roots and all, and quickly entered my zen-like "weeding state of flow." Seriously, I just think about what's for dinner, the clients I have to see the next day, and my achy knees.

 Here are some weed "all-stars" I yanked out which made the list:

• Perennial Sow-thistle (Sonchus arvensis)
• Wood Sorrel (Oxalis stricta)
• Canada Thistle (Cirsium arvense)
• Common Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris)
• Petty Spurge (Euphorbia peplus)

and more than few run of the mill dandelions and broad-leaved plantains.

More than a few hours later...

Midtown Toronto Front
Garden Cleanup After 

Midtown Toronto Summer Front
Garden Cleanup After 

Toronto Midtown Summer Front
Garden Cleanup After 

Toronto Midtown Front
Garden Cleanup After 

Avenue Road Midtown Toronto
Summer Front Garden Cleanup After 

Midtown Avenue Road Summer
Front Garden Cleanup After 

 A Toronto Midtown Summer
Front Garden Cleanup After

After cleaning out the bed, I spread a good 3" layer of cedar mulch over as much of the bare and exposed soil as possible and away from the crowns of the perennials. While the mulch will greatly reduce the quantity of weeds germinating, it won't automatically result in a "no-maintenance" garden, at least in this location.

I evaluated the growth progress of the perennials I planted last May and the results were mixed. One Fountain Grass (Pennisetum) died surprisingly, the Tickseed (Coreopsis) didn't grow a lot, maybe due to being smothered by weeds, the Echinacea, Little Blue Stem grasses and butterfly weed (Asclepias) grew very well while the Blazing Star (Liatris) was so-so. 

The adage that perennials "sleep, creep and leap" in the first, second and third years after transplanting seems to be true! Or it's just a random thing. 

I still like how it rhymes though.

Bonus cleanup in the backyard

The tenants at this property also have the ability to use the backyard patio to rest, relax and have a few drinks and nibbles. 

Toronto Midtown Summer
Backyard Garden Cleanup Before 

But apparently the invitation was never accepted. I wonder why? Hmmmm...

Toronto Midtown Summer
Backyard Garden Cleanup After 

I tried to make it a little more cozy back here by weeding in between the pavers, cutting back the wild grape, weed tree saplings and rambunctious Euonymus (winter creeper) and just sweeping up. Now the space doesn't look like raccoons have been squatting there.

A Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup

A New Toronto Perennial Garden Matures

I don't think I've profiled the same garden on this blog three times in the same season so this gives me a chance to show you how a garden I designed and planted this past spring has progressed into the fall.

(Here are the two earlier blog posts titled "A Mid Toronto new front garden installation" and "Maintenance is Gardening" going over the design, transplanting and weeding processes for this midtown Toronto front garden.)

But first, I had to deal with weeding the garden one last time before winter descends upon us here in Toronto.

Midtown Toronto Fall Cleanup before 

I'm very happy to see how the new perennials have grown during their first year in situ. The garden is in full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sun a day) and receives all the rainfall nature provides. Still, an automatic irrigation system helped greatly during prolonged periods of heat and drought. The weeds take full advantage of such conditions, naturally!

Midtown Toronto Fall Cleanup after 

The purple coneflowers and maiden grass (Miscanthus) to their right have established well with regular watering during the first season.

Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup before 

This raised bed is isolated so all weeds present are wind-borne. It's always interesting to me to see which weeds are found in the different gardens in which I work (dependent on the amount of shade, soil types, moisture levels, etc.) and it's no different here. With the absence of surrounding trees (especially maples), I didn't have to deal with yanking out hundreds of seedlings but other weeds dominated the spaces between the perennials like petty spurge (Euphorbia peplus) and narrow leaved plantain (Plantago lanceolata).

Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup after

 Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Clean up before

 Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Clean up after 

I pruned the five butterfly weed plants on the right side of the picture above to the ground (hence, the empty space) since the stems were covered with aphids but the other perennials planted in May survived the summer, seem to have doubled in size and will provide excellent winter interest over the next five months (!). I'm especially happy with the growth of the little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) located in the lower right and the fountain grasses ( Pennisetum alopecuroides ‘Hameln’) seen in the upper right of the picture but I knew they would thrive in full sun without a worry.

 Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup before 

Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup after 

 Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup before

 Midtown Toronto Fall Garden Cleanup after

Below are three pictures showing the garden from my initial visit this past May to October's latest cleanup (after weeding, of course!) This will give you an idea how quickly some perennials will grow under ideal conditions and that one should consider their mature size during the design stage.

May 2017 before a design was created

Immediately after transplanting in May 2017

July 2017

October 2017

They are not visible but there are two pipes running into the garden which are connected to the house gutters (we call them "eavestroughs" locally) so in a way this garden is a rain garden of sorts. I don't think any supplemental watering is necessary in the future since the plant root balls are on their way to becoming established.

This feature fulfills the homeowner's request for a low maintenance, functional (attractive to pollinators and birds)  and visually interesting front garden. For a rental property, this is not the norm I find and I'm glad the client agreed with my suggestions as these perennials will only get larger and striking with time.