Trip to Edwards Gardens in Toronto, early May 24th, 2010 - large slide presentation

Now that really is something,thank you.

-- Moose Jaw,Sk.CA Z3B

JRoot: What a nice slide show! I am thinking of going to Toronto this coming weekend. It is Open Doors- there are over 126 buildings that will be open to the general public. This is an annual event and these buildings are usually closed for viewing. A complete list of buildings will be listed in the May 27 Toronto Star newspaper. It should be an interesting event. And a lot of the architects of these buildings will be available for tours. Also, High Park is a nice place to visit with its gardens and animal attractions. It is a green oasis with nature near the beautiful lakeshore. There are lots of bike and hiking paths too. Thanks for the photos.

Breathtaking, John. Thanks for sharing your tour with us.

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

Your so lucky to have such beautiful gardens so close. We don’t have anything like that in our neck of the woods. Virginia Tech, in the next town has a small garden. Though Monticello's Historic Gardens are about 2.5 hours away. The Biltmore Estate is about 4 hour drive.

-- Ronnie | Radford Virginia | www.ronsgarden.com | ronnie@ronsgarden.com

Absolutely beautiful gardens, so much color and variety and so well tended. Thanks for photos, How large are the gardens?

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

How pretty!

-- Gardening is Great Therapy!!.....Georgian Bay area....zone 5b

Monticello’s Historic Gardens are beautiful. I’ve been there a few years ago. I’ll have to check out the Biltmore Estate when I’m in that “neck of the woods”.

Robin, I don’t know for sure how large it is in acres, but I would estimate 30. A lot of it is in woods with paths running through it which many people use for jogging or biking, so one has to be careful when one is on the trails lest one comes across a quickly moving force. LOL Then there is the part by the river which is gorgeous, and we don’t see the runners there.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

What a beautiful show of flowers already in the season.Loved the tour. Thanks.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

OH! I loved the tour. Thanks for taking us with you!

I tried to id each of the flowers as they appeared. But there was one picture that I couldn’t tell what flowers are in it. It’s the one with the tall blue flowers, the 2nd or 3rd picture. Are they delpheniums? I’m surprised at how advanced so many of the flowers are.

Aren’t the rhodeniums (sp?) amazing? They must have the perfect setting for them.

Thanks again, jroot , for the May 24 treat.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

Iris, I am not sure what it was for sure. Initially, like you, I thought it might be delphinium, but the leaves are very different. Here is a closer view of the shot.

Does anyone have any idea as to what it is? I’ve seen it before somewhere, but the name slips my “maturing” mind.

John

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

I don’t know what it is, but I would like to have it growing in my garden!

-- "To forget how to dig the earth and to tend the soil is to forget ourselves." M. Gandhi

oh what a beautiful tour—see, this is what makes me want to plant flowers instead of vegetables every year!!!

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

I was visiting a friend this morning and she had a clump of flowers in her garden that looked just like the one I asked jroot about yesterday. She called them ‘gas plant’. Supposedly they smell like diesel fuel. I couldn’t smell it but it sure looks the same.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

No, Iris, they aren’t the gas plant. I have it here. Mine is somewhat rare in that most are purple /blue tones, but mine is white. It should be out in bloom soon. They are quite pretty, but if you brush up against them, they release their “gas” odour which is not entirely pleasant. Mine is located next to the entrance to the property from the lower trail, so if I get someone coming up from the river, they are greeted with a “not so pleasant” odour.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown

jroot, I had google ‘gas plant’ to double check what they looked like and the info said that they can have an adverse effect on some people. Apparently they can cause a rash somewhat like poison ivy for some people. I brushed the plant at my friend’s yesterday to see if I could ‘smell’ it, no smell (that I could detect) and no rash, thank goodness.

-- 'To plant a Garden is to believe in Tomorrow'

I’ve never had a reaction to it, but some people are more sensitive to certain chemicals. Me with bees causes an anaphaltic reaction …. and my dad was a bee keeper. LOL.

-- jroot ....... Southern Ontario .......... grow zone 5A ...................."Gardening is an exercise in optimism." ....... . . Author Unknown