Summer's end at High Park



Spending an afternoon at Grenadier Pond

During the last days of summer, we had some sunny and gorgeous weather in Toronto. While we see a lot of green tree canopies, there are other unmistakable signs of autumn around us. The oaks and maples in High Park have not turned crimson and violet yet but the goldenrods are in full force.

Goldenrods exploding

I took the kids for a nice walk along one of the park's many trails starting at the north end. Our intention was to wind up at the southern boundary at the bottom of Grenadier Pond. We saw many other folks enjoying the sunny beautiful weather having picnics, fishing and good old fashioned loitering.




The north end of Grenadier Pond

It's hard to believe that a very busy highway (the Gardiner Expressway) is about a kilometer due south of this location. You can imagine the view from the houses behind the cattails. The perfect example of borrowed scenery. I seriously regretted not bringing my fishing rod as this is bass heaven! (For those inclined, fishing is allowed from shore. There are pike, bullheads and panfish to be caught, although eating your catch isn't advisable.)



Highly ornamental, for a "weed"

I don't know what attracted me to this flower. Obviously, it wasn't about the colour. I mean, a green flower?These were weeds growing among the naturalized goldenrods, asters and gray dogwood. Perhaps I didn't expect a green rosette and my brain was trying to fill in the centre with another colour. "Cabbagey" is the made up word that crosses my mind. I find the structure and symmetry intriguing.









Second place peeps!

You like me...you really like me!

I'm gonna toot my own horn so if you're not into reading about self-congratulatory slaps on the back, just exit. (But this is gardening related so it could be illuminating or humourous at the very least.) If you read my earlier post about entering in the Canadian National Exhibition's Patio Planters competition last month, you might have concluded that the planter I submitted on behalf of the Riverdale Horticultural Society had very little chance of winning. And as it turned out, it didn't!

No, I didn't steal this!

But I did garner second place, to my surprise and shock. As a reminder, the planter had no flowers (now, how can that be?) and didn't follow the "thriller-filler-spiller in Maniller" formula you read about in better gardening magazines. Given the resounding passive support (i.e., silence) given to me by the other members of the garden club, I can only conclude that they all "got it" or are mortified that the RHS' good name is attached to the container. Nevertheless, I thought that you, gentle reader, should hear the good news straight from the source.

I shall keep the ribbon and rosette in a safe spot to remind me that it wasn't all a dream. The kids think the prize is very cool and have absconded it and pinned it on their stuffed domo toys I got them at the Ex on Labour Day. I'm very proud of the result although, truth be told, the first place winner container was a trifle monochromatic, a sleep-inducing green on green on green creation.

Yes, that was the smell of sour grapes in the air.

Anemone x hybrida "September Charm": Awww, they didn't name this after me?

I'm in love with a Japanese anemone called "September Charm"

She's charming indeed! Fall-flowering anemones or Japanese windflowers (Anemone x hybrida) shine this time of the year. The little clump shown below is a cultivar called "September Charm" that does its thing reliably every August and September under an oak tree at my clients A and M's garden. I love recommending these fall bloomers (varieties include the classic "Honorine Jobert" and "Queen Charlotte") for their height, transparency and lightness.

Anemone x hybrida "September Charm"

The cute flowers are a bonus to me, even after they become seedheads left for winter interest. Everything about this plant is graceful, refined, and classy. (You can accuse me for being anthropomorphic, there's more to come!)
     
Anemones tend to prefer moist and fertile soil to allow them to "run" but this clump is well-behaved because it shares this bed with the spring blooming snowdrop anemone (Anemone sylvestris). 

It's like a death match between variegated goutweed vs. spearmint (true thugs!) but more refined. Yes, gardeners have a little bloodlust at times!

If the title of the post is a little cryptic, let me explain. My birthday is on the 18th and my wife will be the first to tell anyone that I'm her "September Charm", gag! Well wishes to fellow Virgos and Snakes among you!

A hungry visitor on a Japanese anemone flower

Worth the wait: Oakleaf hydrangeas in bloom!



Oakleaf hydrangeas in bloom in a Toronto shade garden

It's late August now in Toronto and things seem to on hold in the garden. Temperatures, humidity and mosquitoes have mercifully dropped to more humane levels for working outside. My clients S. and D. often have a coffee while enjoying views like this one in their backyard. This oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) has annually confounded me and S. due to its reluctance to bloom on new or old wood. We accepted with chagrin that the shrub would provide a fine fall show of deeply lobed plum/wine/russet-coloured leaves and interesting winter peeling bark, which it did unfailingly. Maybe it took a terrible spring (remember the rain/snow/sleet in April?) and that torrid week of plus 40 humidex to spur this fellow to bloom.

Who knows? 

Varying texture and form with hostas and oakleaf hydrangeas

We are simply enjoying the heavy cone-shaped panicles and the contrast between the shrub's leaves with those of the in-your-face "Sum and Substance" hosta. The paper birch in the back doesn't hurt the composition either.

This shot was taken two weeks ago and when I returned yesterday, the blooms already faded to tan and brown. The large sterile cream-coloured sepals have a light pink blush while the inconsipicuous fertile flowers are set in the background. We'll probably leave them on over winter for further interest. The snow should clump on them nicely.

Oakleaf hydrangea detail of flowers

 I find oakleafs need a little more protection in our zone compared to H. macrophylla  and H. paniculata and bloom less-reliably; nevertheless, they definitely merit a spot. You'll likely find cultivars like "Alice", "Snowflake" or "Pee Wee" in better stocked nurseries. I remember seeing a grove of 6 feet plus high oakleafs covered in blooms at the Columbus (OH) Zoo and Aquarium several years ago. I know Columbus is a couple of zones warmer (5b) than us but we should give this hydrangea a try more often. You might be pleasantly surprised or shocked when (if?) they bloom.



Let's All Go to the Ex (and see my planter)

One Toronto gardener's very amateur attempt at container gardening

I joined the Riverdale Horticultural Society earlier this year and was asked/begged if I wanted to enter a container in this year's Ontario Horticultural Association's Patio Planters competition at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE). I thought, "what the hay", why not submit something that is guaranteed an honorable mention and could land the top prize of $100. Subversive little me would really love to play with the judges' sense of design so I created the container you see below.

If you know a little about me, I absolutely hate axial symmetry, especially in containers. Asymmetry all the way baby! Thus, I loaded the lower left side with the Golden Japanese Forest Grass and thrust the energy diagonally to the "Jade Princess" Ornamental Millet flower in the upper right quadrant. The croton and "Pewter Veil" Heuchera provide an unsettling contrast to the limes of the grasses. I chose the Tricolor St. John's Wort to the lower right as it has a touch of hot pink to upset the viewer more  add more visual tension.

I had no input about the container as it was loaned by the RHS but I think it is perfect. The conventional thinking is to throw in a "thriller", "filler", and "spiller" for a "perfect" container, design-wise. You might expect, therefore, a canna or lantana standard for height, maybe zonal geraniums and coleus as blocking material, and perhaps potato vines as trailers. (I can see it in my mind too!) The black urn practically begs for such an arrangement so what did I do? Created a disconnect between the viewer's expectation of what this wannabe cast-iron urn should hold versus what it actually does contain.

I would love to see what the other 3 competitor patio planters look like but I'm out of town during judging. But if you are in the Direct Energy Building during August 19-26 during the first week the Ex is open and are horticulturally inclined, take a peek.

I suggest you look at my planter, though, before you visit the food building.