This is it, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief: winter is over. It’s also time to enjoy the abundance of great gardening events in the city.

First, one of my favourites, Through the Garden Gate, is going to Toronto Islands! I’m drooling already. We’re going to get a peek into the gardens of one of Toronto’s most unique communities. These are the private gardens of artists and plant lovers. Each one will have a Master Gardener on site to answer your questions and point out what’s most unique and interesting.

Celebrate Mother’s Day at the Toronto Botanical Garden. This year they are offering a Mother’s Day Tea and Floral Workshop. Bring your own teacup to create a take-home floral arrangement, then enjoy a delicious lunch as part of the event.

Right now is also the perfect time to enjoy my favourite aromatherapy venue: Allan Gardens Conservatory greenhouses on Jarvis Street.

t looks like an old-fashioned plow—in miniature— but it does the job of sowing grass seed better than just about anything else.

LPGC’s new slit seeding machines will make a real difference in how well our clients’ lawns grow this spring.
Growing great grass is a challenge. Like almost everything in the garden, it all begins with good soil conditions.

Grass loves a neutral soil, weeds love acid soil. When we reduce the acidity in the soil we are encouraging better grass growth and discouraging weed growth.

Traditionally, grass seed is laid on top of your lawn and covered with peat moss to keep it moist so it will germinate. Two problems: seeds are germinating into the air, and peat adds acidity to the soil.

Slit seeders rough up the soil, depositing grass seed where it will germinate best: under the soil. Now we’ve got an ideal situation: seeds will germinate and establish themselves at a much higher rate, plus acidity is reduced so weeds are discouraged.

And, a few months down the road, when you’ve got a wonderful, lush green lawn, you have another layer of protection against weeds: you’re crowding them out.
Just one more innovative way LPGC is meeting the needs of our clients—and keeping it green.

Heads up! There’s a new Celosia on the block—and it’s spectacular! ’Fresh Look Orange’ has all the great qualities of this reliable flower, now with a brilliant orange bloom. Perfect for mass plantings, accenting smaller best or in mixed containers.

This is a salvia to salivate over. The stunning purple colour is just one of the great features. It is, like all salvias, one of the most easy care flowers in our gardens. These are drought tolerant, cold tolerant, award winning plants are a must have for 2006.

It’s name says it all: ‘Zowie! Yellow Flame’ Zinnia is one of those flowers that can give you a pop of brilliant colour as an accent anywhere in your garden. Plus, they love the heat so won’t droop in the height of summer.

Echinacea are one of my favourite plants. Not only are they easygoing, tall and gorgeous, they also attract both butterflies and birds into the garden.

This year, plant breeders are presenting a raft of great new varieties. I’ve chosen this wonderful earthy gold flower to feature. I love the way these nice, wide flower petals curve back slightly and overlap to give the bloom a full, substantial presence in the garden.

All Echinacea are members of the Rudbeckia family which means they provide a great show in the garden from mid-summer to fall. Look for new varieties of white, orange and rose-purple for 2006.

Last year I talked about the new Endless Summer Hydrangea series. The feedback on these new shrubs was unanimously great: they are reliable re-bloomers that have done well wherever we used them.

The good news is last year’s ‘Quick Fire’ Hydrangea has a new sister: ‘Blushing Bride’ is a pure white bloom that matures into a blush pink or blue, depending on the acidity of your soil.

Breeder Dr. Michael Dirr of the University of Georgia calls this plant “my most significant introduction to date.”
The only bad news is that we may have to wait until mid-summer to get our hands on this one.