Spending part of Labor Day weekend at the TBG
Work has slowed down a little to give me some time to write about....flowers! My recent posts have covered garden maintenance "befores" and "afters" which, while perhaps cathartic for the clients, are not pleasing to the eye for the rest of us.
This Labour Day weekend was spent just relaxing around the house and enjoying the fantastic weather in Toronto. Sunny, upper 20s (Celsius) and no humidity. I'll take that anytime, especially given the torrid weather we've had in July and August.
Linda and I spent one morning at the Toronto Botanical Garden, along with many other visitors and more than a few wedding parties who were creating memories along side their respective brides and grooms.
Here are some "late summer/early autumn" pictures showing many plants that bloom at the TBG and elsewhere in Toronto right about now.
I can't/don't want to think about fall until after (Canadian) Thanksgiving in October, knowing what will soon follow! So enjoy the sun and warmth with me for a little longer...
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| Allium florets and a hungry bee |
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Anemone x hybrida "September Charm"
Japanese/wind anemone
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Backlit Brugmansia flower:
I was trying to be "artsy"!
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Blue and white Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica)
at the Beryl Ivey Knot Garden |
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| Blue and white Lobelia siphilitica among the boxwood hedges |
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| Blue Anise Sage (Salvia guaranitica "Black and Blue") |
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Echinacea purpurea (Coneflowers) and
Bear Breeches (Acanthus hungaricus) |
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| Hardy Hibiscus "Kopper King" |
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The token succulent:
Kalanchoe thyrsiflora (Paddle plant) |
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| "Kopper King" hardy Hibiscus, dinner plate size |
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Phlox paniculata "Robert Poore" Summer Phlox and
Goldenrod (Solidago spp.) screaming for your attention |
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| Pink Brugmansia flower, nicely lit for me |
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"No I.D." Pink Phlox paniculata (Summer Phlox).
Perhaps a reader can help identify? |
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My kind of flagstone path: Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia)
and Rudbeckia beg to touched as we pass by. |
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Tall Bearded Iris "Immortality".
I assumed wrongly that all Irises have
finished blooming by now.
Such a clear and clean white! |
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Vernonia noveboracensis
(New York Ironweed)
Why don't we see more of this
native plant in Toronto gardens? |
Next to the TBG is the older Edwards Gardens section. I call the seasonal temporary plantings here "municipal" because of a reliance on bedding plants to create island beds of which Queen Victoria would approve and such a style is a favourite throughout the several municipalities making up Toronto in their public parks. These "show gardens" provide the colour many visitors (and taxpayers) expect to see in public spaces. (Will there a shift in the public's attitudes towards more sustainable horticultural practices and plants which require lower maintenance and other inputs?)
As the song goes, these tender bedding plants are "here for a good time, not a long time" and will be tossed away soon and be replaced by fall mums and other frost hardy annuals. So we might as well enjoy them for now!
