This is it: the spring glut. These are the days and weeks in late spring/early summer when the majority of the perennials in our gardens are in full bloom.

Now is the time to get out and see the great city gardens at their finest, bursting with colour and life. Take some time to enjoy the sights and scents of Toronto’s botanical best.

Doors Open Toronto
The 8th annual event features a special focus on 30 green, sustainable buildings: see the greenest church in Canada with a solar glass wall in the sanctuary, a revitalized 1913 industrial building with a living breathing plant wall, a new office that captures rain water on its ‘white roof’ and many more innovative sites. May 26th & 27th
Contact: 415-397-1340

Birthday Parties for Kids at the Toronto Botanical Gardens
Amazing animals, entertainment and unique natural experiences are just some of the things you’ll discover at TBG’s nature themed birthday parties. For more information call: 416-397-1355.

Gardens in the Sky Tour
On June 23rd the tour will take you to some of the most innovative and exciting rooftop gardens in the city. Call 416-397-1340

Stimulating your children’s curiosity about nature and gardening is one of the best gifts you can give them.
Toronto Botanical Garden offers both recreational and school programs in their ‘Teaching Garden’.

Here children get hands-on experience with growing vegetables, cultivating flowers and shrubs.
When they’re ready to harvest, kids will donate their produce to the North York Harvest Food Bank.

For more information about day programs and summer camps call: 416-397-1341

Q. How long has Lawrence Park Garden Care been in business?
A. Twenty years—that’s seventeen years longer than 90% of the garden care companies out there.

Q. Is there as much turnover in your company as there is in most businesses?
A. Of our twenty-five ‘field workers’, ten have been with us for over five years, five have been with us for over ten years, and three have been with us for over fifteen years.

Q. How green is LPGC?
A. LPGC is always researching and incorporating the most environmentally friendly products and techniques we can find.

For example, we now have seven vehicles in our fleet with turbo diesel engines, most of which meet the Kyoto Protocol emissions levels.
As we retire each of our remaining vehicles, we will replace these with even cleaner bio-diesel (veggie oil) vehicles in the future.
Our cultivation techniques are fully organic. We’ve used organic fertilizer for over a decade. And haven't used chemical pesticides and herbicides for over two years. All pest control is now handled organically.
Our Water Management Department is focused on improving water conservation for all our clients.
LPGC has limited our use of equipment powered by 2-stroke engines due to emissions and oil consumption issues. We’ve moved to 4-stroke engines for over 50% of our equipment.

Q. Do you work year round?
A. Yes, we’re a year round, four season business. We take care of everything from the first growth in spring up to the first big snow fall in December or January. January and February are our training and staff development months.
We like to support our team of Horticulturalists, Landscape Architects & Technicians in their efforts to keep their base of knowledge current, by sending them to courses at that time.

Q. What would happen if your staff got hurt working on my property?
A. LPGC is registered with the WSIB. This agency provides coverage if any of our workers was injured on the job. It is important for homeowners hiring contractors on their property to feel secure about having this level of coverage.

Q. If there is a problem on my property while I’m away, can LPGC contact me?
A. Yes, we would follow up fast with any serious problems we found. For example, one of our foremen noticed that phone lines had been cut on one of our client’s properties. He knew police consider this a prelude to a break-in and contacted the homeowner , who was away on holiday, and they were able to get it repaired on the same day. This can be a great side benefit to having a garden care company with eyes on your property once a week.

On May 5th, LPGC helped celebrate the second annual Arbor Day Tree Party sponsored by the Lawrence Park Ratepayers Association.

Arbor Day was our chance to honour the legacy of a century and a half of homeowners who planted, cared for and maintained all these great trees that give Lawrence Park so much of its character.
Todd Irvine, from Leaf Toronto, gave a great tour, introducing us to some of the most interesting trees on our streets and in the ravine.

The good news is that, because of the number of quite large properties in Lawrence Park, we are home to some very well-maintained and unique ‘legacy trees’. There are a number of two and three hundred-year-old Red Oaks, some magnificent Douglas Firs and even a small handful of spectacular Gingkos.

The bad news is that most of the trees that line our streets were all planted around the same time and are now approaching the end of their life cycles. These are primarily Norway and Silver Maples that homeowners back in the early 1900’s believed made great landscape trees.
Time has shown that we also need more diversity in our urban forest, so ideal replacement trees would be Red or Bur Oaks, White Pines and Common Hackberry to name just a few. All of these are native species that will do very well in the soil, weather and urban stress conditions characteristic of Toronto.

As well as providing free bags of mulch to people who attended the event, LPGC presented a tree planting demonstration. For those who missed it, here are Craig’s top three tips before planting your new tree:

1. Know your yard: is your soil sandy? Clay-based? Acid or alkaline? How much sunlight do you get? Knowing the conditions will help you chose the right tree for your property.
2. Choose your tree carefully. Take a walk in Sherwood or Alexander Muir Park and see which native trees are flourishing. These are your best bet for success—and for maintaining the health of our urban forest.
3. Buy the best tree you can afford. Good plant stock is vital; the healthier your young tree, the better it will survive ‘transplant shock’ and thrive in its new home.