Last week I revisited the two gardens I toured earlier. Both David's garden in Beamsville and Eva's garden in Grimsby had more interesting plants to see.

Click on pictures for a better view.




Pterostyrax (Epaulette Tree) is an uncommon but hardy tree in our area.





A large flowered Magnolia in Eva's garden.













The 20 foot tall Magnolia virginiana was covered with sweetly fragrant blossoms.







David's Monkey Puzzle tree is putting on healthy new growth.

I believe this is a Cynara (Cardoon) but not like any I have ever seen.

It is now the middle of June so I thought it was time for an update as to what survived and what didn't.
First the cactus bed came through without a scratch. I wasn't sure that the ones I left sitting in a pot all winter would make it, but they are growing just fine.


The Fargesia (clumping bamboo) sent up many strong new shoots but they topped out at about six feet this year. Maybe it was the cool weather, but I thought they might grow taller this spring. This clump was planted four years ago (I think) as a two foot tall nursery grown clump.
The Phyllostachys nigra (running bamboo, not pictured) is finally producing some new shoots but it will be a few years before these look like anything.

A few plants did not survive the winter. The Loropetalum did not make it, and the Lagerstroemia (Crape myrtle) also did not survive. The Live Oak is sending out new shoots however. I think this is it's third year. The Albizias (both the green and burgundy leaved forms) are leafing out nicely. And the Fig is also sending up many new shoots. It will have to be moved because it is in the way of the burgundy Albizia.

Windmill Palm in Grimsby, Ontario?

Greg from Grimsby shared his technique for overwintering a Trachycarpus (Windmill) Palm in his back yard. He used some methods described in the book "Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths" by David A. Franco, Timber Press 2003. After applying Bordo (a fungicide) to the crown, the palm is bundled up in late-November or December (depending on the forecast) with mini-lights, (to be used later if temperatures dip below about -8C to -10C) netting and a rose cone around the base. Then poles are inserted far enough away from this bundle to allow for an air gap between it and the next layer which consists of several layers of an in insulating fabric. While it sounds like a great deal of effort, Greg says it takes him about 45 minutes. The payoff is that the new leaves on his Palm are growing about an inch per week.

Fall 2008


Winter 2009

May 2009

June 2009

I have visited some more local gardens in the last few weeks. First I visited the garden of Eva in Grimsby. I have been working in the retail plant trade for twenty years and I saw things in Evas garden I have never heard of as well as some surprises like a seven feet tall Pieris japonica, and a 20 feet tall Magnolia virginiana (pictured below).
Click on pictures for a better look.

I'm not sure what type of tree this is (below), but the blossoms open yellow and then mature to an orangy-pink color. I think she called it a popcorn tree.

I hope to post some more pictures of this garden later in the season. Closer to home the Magnolia tripetala in my garden bloomed this week. I recall the person who gave it to me saying to plant it at the back of the yard. And now I know why....it stinks. But a large interesting bloom nonetheless.










I was talking to Greg from Grimsby (Ontario, Canada) this week about his Trachycarpus (Windmill Palm) that he has brought through two winters so far. After applying the required fungicidal treatment to prevent crown rot and spear pull, and a spray of wilt-pruf to slow dessication, he wraps it in late fall with several layers of a product called better than burlap. The whole bundle is then wrapped with mini-lights set to turn on when the temperature dips below about -8 C. It sounds like a lot of effort, but the results speak for themselves. It is still only May and Gregs palm has put on three new leaves this year. Greg also has a Needle palm which is slightly hardier but which does not produce the nice trunk like a trachycarpus. The coldest Greg recorded in his garden this winter was -19 C

It is the middle of May and things are starting to grow. I just finished checking my collection of oddities and found one surprise. The Clerodendron I planted last year is leafing out right to the tips of the branches. I didn't expect it to do that and certainly not this early. I more thought that like the Albezia it would come to life in June. Pictured below is the flower on the Clerodendron last summer.

It looks as though both the green Albizia as well as the summer chocolate Albizia have survived. (Visit the Summer Slide Show in an earlier post for pictures). The Fig is growing new shoots and the little Lagerstroemia (Crape Myrtle) which I thought was dead, is sending up three tiny new shoots. We'll see.

The evergreen cherrylaurel (Prunus laurocerasus) is getting ready to bloom (below) and the bees are getting drunk on the Rhododendron.

The Fargesia robusta is sending up many strong new shoots. This one gets better every year. The tallest new shoots are over three feet already and I expect them to reach about seven feet this spring.