Robert Osborne 2025-07-24 Robert Osborne 2025-07-24

July 24, 2014

Garden Continuum

Once the peonies are past and the first flush of roses history, many gardens grow short on colour. This can be, in large part, attributed to the fact that the rush to buy plants in the spring wanes as the weather turns warmer. The gardener tends not to see what is blooming in the garden centers and nurseries.

There certainly is no need for this shortage of colour, especially with the arrival of the daylilies. These magnificent plants offer a perennial with few equals. The modern array of colours and forms is spectacular enough, but the plant itself has a great form even when not in bloom.

These are not true lilies, which are also now in bloom, but plants that are somewhat grass-like in appearance but with wider leaves in a rich shade of green that arch gracefully. The flowers are in form similar to lilies, but most of their petals recurve back and many modern hybrids have wide petals with ruffled edges.

Those familiar with only the older orange daylilies will be shocked to see the colours now available. Hybridizers have gone the distance to provide shades of white, pink, red, purple, orange and yellow.

One thing to bear in mind is that, from a distance, many hybrids with a multitude of colours in the same flower can look awesome close up, but from afar they can have a muddled look. Single colours are usually more effective visually, although some might not agree.

Daylilies make wonderful edges for beds. There are many low growing varieties for the fronts of beds as well as taller ones for the middles and backs of the beds.

They are not fussy about soils. Most will tolerate either light or heavy soils as long as they are not too wet. Of course a rich soil will always produce the best plant. Daylilies can thrive in full sun or partial shade, but will produce fewer flowers in a heavier shade.

Daylilies are not the only stars of the season. The potentillas, now somewhat maligned because they became so common in the past, are the most prolific flowerers among the shrubs. Starting in mid-June, they will continue to blossom till frost. They as well will tolerate various light levels and still perform well, but you should avoid deep shade and wet soils.

Potentillas come in several shades of yellow as well as white, pink and shades of orange. After a few years it is a good idea to cut them back fairly hard in the early spring. They will stay nice and tight if a pruning is done every other year. If not, they have a tendency to fall outward into sections. I gather the plants up tightly in my hands then shear off the top third. When you let go they will form a nice rounded dome shape.

Another plant that is not as well known is the sea holly. This is a perennial with a unique steel blue coloration on the stems and flowers. It doesn’t quite look like it belongs in our world. The flowers are thistle-like in shape but are definitely not weed-like. Similar to the sea holly in colour is the globe thistle, which is a thistle but does not become a pest like its relatives. The globe thistle flowers vary in size but most look like a blue golf ball gone bristly. They will grow up waist high, so are perfect for the center of a bed.

If you are a butterfly lover be sure to plant some of the milkweeds. These attract many pollinators including butterflies, but are essential to the lives of the monarch butterfly. There is the common milkweed, which is often found growing in waste areas with relatively poor soil. Other milkweed relatives include the butterfly weed, which is lower growing and a deep rich orange. A newer arrival is called Soulmate, a tall plant with pink flowers.

We would be remiss to leave out the clematis. Vines can be so effective growing up the walls of a house or up fences or shrubs, which is what they do in nature. This is when the larger flowered hybrids are becoming very showy. The toughest and most dependable is still the Jackmanni clematis, an old variety with deep purple flowers that never fail to be stunning. Give them moist soil with lots of compost and lime.

Having a successful garden for most involves seeking out plants for each season, so that the garden is always a joy to behold. With the wealth of information available to us today, it is easy to find plants for spring, summer and fall. We’re still waiting for winter blooming roses.

Robert Osborne 2025-07-23 Robert Osborne 2025-07-23

July 23, 2015

Dieppe Discovery

There should be an ode written for the serviceberry. This group of native plants has everything-beauty, colour, form, hardiness and taste. The other day I ran across the most exciting serviceberries I have ever seen. It was a group of several multi-stemmed small trees growing not far from the Petitcodiac River in Dieppe. Covering the trees were the largest, sweetest, most luscious fruits this plant fanatic has discovered. Not only were they large, they were prolific.

To a nurseryman such a find makes the heart skip a beat. Here was a population of similar plants that surpassed all expectations for serviceberry, but once found you must act quickly. Too many times I have thought tomorrow, I will pick them tomorrow. By the time you return they are digesting in the stomachs of birds who have stripped them. In this case the birds might have been leaving them because the fruits were so large. They always prefer the smaller fruits, easier to swallow.

I would guess that most people have never tasted a serviceberry. This is in part due to the fact that it is usually found in the wild and there is a natural reluctance to try a berry you do not know. At its best the serviceberry is a more enjoyable treat than any other wild fruit. Forget the much touted haskap. Though they are extremely hardy and have their place, give me a ripe serviceberry any time.

Out west the Saskatoon berry, a close relative of our natives, is the fruit of choice for pies, jams and jellies. There has been a lot of work with this species, Amelanchier alnifolia, and many wonderful cultivars have been developed. Names like Thiessen, Martin and Northline can be found in the many Saskatoon orchards in places like Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. As a rule the Saskatoon is larger than our native serviceberries, so it was a revelation to find fruits even larger than the Saskatoon in our local population.

A quick check of all the serviceberries in this newfound group led to one plant in particular that had the largest berries and appeared the most productive. Though I wanted to stand and eat every one of the ripe berries, I began filling an old cup with them instead.

We will crush the berries, stir them into a tub of water and pour off the pulp that floats to the surface. The good seed, because it is denser and heavier, will sink to the bottom. As a gold prospector pans for gold, we will keep swirling the water and removing the light material until all that remains is a small handful of seeds at the bottom.

Once we have the seeds separated from the rest of the fruit we will plant them in flats. These will be kept moist over the summer and fall and then kept in a cold storage unit till Spring. This moist, cold period, called stratification, is essential for many temperate climate plants for germination. We are mimicking the winter sleep they would experience in the wild. If we are lucky, most of the seeds will grow into small seedlings that must be kept over for another year. The next spring they will either be potted or grown in the field until they reach salable size.

In the case of these seedlings, we will grow them on to see how true they are to the mother plant. The very best will be chosen and planted in a stock block, allowing us to collect superior fruit for seed in the future.

As well, we have taken cuttings from the most promising of the original trees. Terminal shoots are cut from the tree and cut into sections of approximately four leaves. The base is stripped of leaves and dipped in a rooting hormone. These will be stuck in a sand/peat mix in the greenhouse where a fog system will keep the cuttings moist so that they do not wilt and die. The hope is that we will be able to create clones of the original tree.

We don’t expect much to come of this method as the serviceberry is a reluctant rooter. We have not had much success with these species, but one never knows until you try. If we are lucky, a few will root and we will have an exact replica of the tree that excited us so much.

These are the moments plant hunters live for. It may seem inconsequential to most, but the discovery of a new and useful plant can often lead to unimagined consequences in the future. Think of the McIntosh apple or the Bartlett pear. Such discoveries have changed the world of food. Perhaps one day there will orchards of the Dieppe serviceberry.

Robert Osborne 2025-07-21 Robert Osborne 2025-07-21

July 21, 2016

Alien Dust

Recently one of my employees told me a story of driving to work when, from the side of the road, a cloud of yellow dust enveloped her car. Being a twenty-first century woman, she immediately thought about chemical warfare and other nasty scenarios. She was actually quite startled by this incident.

I informed her that most likely the ‘deadly’ dust was actually the very alive pollen of the pine trees she was driving past. This is the time of year when pines and other trees ripen their pollen and release it to the winds. In a large grove of pines the cloud of pollen produced by these releases can be quite astounding. A shake of a pine bough can produce puffs of sulfur yellow.

Recently I was given a book entitled Pollen, The Hidden Sexuality of Flowers by Rob Kesseler and Madeline Harley. This book is a revelation of the highest order. Seen as incredibly fine dust by our eyes, the individual grains of pollen are intricate and entrancing structures of nature that rival any flower we might treasure.

Using electron microscopy, botanists have been able to delve into the intricate details of these drifting male sexual organs. Their shape and surface features remind us of patterns we see, but there are forms that rival any science fiction movie for the bizarre and outlandish.

There are spheres, ovals and every shape you can imagine. Some resemble the round space ships of movies but have fascinating surfaces. The cover shot is of a pollen grain of an iris. It is a sphere of rusty brown but with pentagonal patches that themselves are composed of braids of cells.

Each pollen grain has what are called germinal apertures. These are usually depressed areas and are where the germinating pollen tube bursts through the outer wall and, if lucky enough to land on a receptive flower pistil, grows down to the waiting ovary. Very ancient flowering plants such as the magnolias generally have only one aperture, but more modern plants can sport many apertures.

Perhaps here a little botany will help. The flower has several parts. In complete flowers the stamens, which produce and release the pollen, usually surround a structure called a pistil. At the top of the pistil is the stigma. This produces a sticky substance that catches pollen grains and stimulates the pollen grain to grow.

The process of growth is incredibly rapid. A pollen tube leaves the pollen structure and moves downward through the narrow part of the pistil called a style and advances to the ovary, at the heart of which lies the embryo sac. Once the pollen tube reaches the embryo, it fertilizes it and the formation of seeds begins.

Looking at the bewildering array of pollen grains is like a trip to a different world. In a sense this is true. We cannot see or relate to the microscopic world. When we peer into this world with the help of new tools, we peer into a world that appears to be inhabited by aliens. And yet this is not an alien world, but the very same world we live in. In this world pollen grains have evolved spikes that help it catch onto the stigma. Other surfaces resemble corals or sponges. Some look like an exotic nut or seed. Many have a kind of natural lace covering. Some are weird enough to be hard to relate to.

Whether we peer into the heavens with our telescopes to see further and further into our apparently limitless universe or whether we peer into our microscopes to see further and further into a world that is around and within us, we see layer on layer. Each time we peel a layer there is another layer beyond. What is most startling is how complex these layers are.

For those interested, I would highly recommend finding a copy of this book. You will never look at flowers, or for that matter the natural world, the same way. Just as a photo of a distant galaxy can enchant and enlighten us, the photos in this book will realign your view of reality.

Robert Osborne 2025-07-17 Robert Osborne 2025-07-17

July 17, 2014

Blue Arrival

I passed the first fireweed in bloom the other day. For me the progression of the fireweed blossoms is a calendar whose that takes from mid-summer to the cool nights of early fall, when sweaters are needed on the patio at night. It is a constant reminder of summer’s slipping into the future.

In a sense plants are one of the most sensitive calendars we have. This calendar is not the atomic clock kind of accurate. It is a calendar that shows the amount of heat that has accumulated since the world unfroze, in combination with the amount of daily sunshine or photoperiod.

These two things working together create a trigger that makes the flowering times of species and their varieties occur pretty much on the same day every year, give or take a day or two for unusual heat or cold periods. The seeds and fruits will also mature at the same time, give or take.

I am still shocked by the arrival of each species. We know they will appear, but when suddenly the fireweed is glowing brilliantly in the highway medians, I am shocked again.

If you are a fan of blue you will be shocked by the flowers of anchusa, particularly a strain called ‘Lodden Royalties’. Two years ago this plant arrived in my garden and now its deep rich navy blue blossoms bedazzle the viewer. It is a saturated blue softly toned by violet.

In contrast, the geraniums are sky coloured. The older favorite ‘Johnson’s Blue’ is a deep sky blue. Its stems are lax so you might try growing it with an upright grass that can support their stems. The variety ‘Brookside’ has stronger stems, but still with a flowing form. The colour is lighter, the colour of a clear June sky at noon.

True blues are not that common in plants. Most have shades of violet in them. One of the most famous is the Himalayan blue poppy. It is prized for its purity of colour, almost unmatched in the flowers available to us here. It is a plant that has many things that must be present in order for it to grow well. It prefers cool, moist sites, well drained but rich and moist. These are generally grown from seed or from division and perhaps tissue culture, although I do not know of any labs growing them.

A few clematis might make the claim to being blue. ‘Perle d’Azur’ is an older variety that has always been the benchmark of blue. ‘Rhapsody’ is a newer variety with intense blue flowers, and ‘Bluebird’, a spring blooming selection of Clematis macropetala is a true blue.

Superb sources of blue include the Campanulas. There are several species of this group, commonly called blue bells. One of the best species for true blue is Campanula persica. This is a meter high grouping of stalks with tight umbrella shaped bells arranged down the stems. They bloom for a goodly time and are superb for flower arrangements.

Another common and wonderful Campanula is ‘Blue Clips’. These dwarfish plants form a thick wide dome of bell-shaped flowers in a magnificent blue. These are wonderful as a ground cover around perennials such as daylilies. Choosing compatible early varieties of daylily, or lily, in colours such as yellow, white or pink can create a stunning combination. The ‘White Clips’ campanulas are perfect compliments as well.

Another plant that belongs in this esteemed group is the sea holly. This spiky upright plant somewhat resembles a thistle but their skin is a glowing steel blue that can crank up the heart rate of any blue fanatic, or any normal person as well. It is a tough, underrated and underused plant.

Some of the delphiniums are true blue but many vary from lavender to deep purple. The challenge with these plants is to keep them from falling over. Again, planting them with upright stemmed companions can help, or you can bring out the stakes.

Lastly, we should not neglect the hostas. There are powder blue varieties such as ‘Halcyon’ and ‘Blue Wedgewood’ that are the match of any blue spruce.

We seem to crave the colour blue because it is relatively rare in the natural world. We love blue butterflies and blue silk, and there will always be a special status to those flowers that are blue, and they will continue to shock us with their arrival and awe us with their impact on our mood.

Robert Osborne 2025-07-16 Robert Osborne 2025-07-16

July 16, 2015

Rethinking Roses

Roses still rank as the most popular plant in the world, yet many are afraid to even contemplate growing them, as their reputation as a fussy and delicate plant has turned off people who are thinking about plants for their garden.

This reputation is due, in large part, to the introduction of the hybrid tea roses in the early twentieth century. Tea roses originated in China and were first brought to Europe in the late 19th century. They were called tea roses because their scent was said reminiscent of the smell of tea. These roses re-bloomed and had interesting forms and colours, including yellow.

The tea roses were crossed by breeders with the hybrid perpetuals, the most popular group of roses at the time. The results were initially known by only a few rosarians but the introduction of an orange-yellow cross called Soleil d’Or changed people’s perception of the possibilities of these crosses and soon many were produced, including the world’s most popular, called Peace.

What made these roses difficult to grow was their predilection to disease, their lack of hardiness and their upright, rather sparsely foliated growth habit. Despite these drawbacks, they became prized as show pieces for rose shows, and were further developed by the greenhouse industry, as they lasted better than most other types of roses as a cut flower.

The modern gardener need not bother with these roses at all, unless so tempted. Before the hybrid teas there existed many tough, hardy and productive roses. The alba roses are an ancient group that included many superbly fragrant roses in both semi-double and double forms. Such roses as Maiden’s Blush and Queen of Denmark are icons of this group. The soft pink, very double bloom of Maiden’s Blush is the epitome of the old garden rose, and has been popular for over 500 years. This rose was called Nymphe’s Thighs before the Victorians arrived and decided the French name was far too scandalous for proper ladies and gentlemen.

Other older roses include the gallicas, many of which have bold red and purple colouration. They also are often intensely fragrant. Like the albas, they are remarkably tough and will last for many decades here if tended. In fact some of the gallicas are a bit weedy, spreading outward with their suckers, but oh what a sweet weed!

What is perhaps most exciting in the world of hardy roses is the exponentially growing number of new varieties that are continuous blooming and disease resistant. Diseases such as blackspot and mildew can spoil the aesthetics of a bush, and in some cases can cause defoliation. Finding resistance to these diseases has been the goal of many modern breeding programs.

Canada has been at the forefront of these efforts. The now famous Explorer series and the later Canadian Artist series made disease resistance a prime attribute of the releases. Although not all are completely resistant (if there is such a thing), they are far healthier than many of the older offerings. The new Campfire rose is a prime example of a new Canadian rose that is hardy, healthy, prolific and gorgeous, with its yellow/red flowers that age to deepest pink.

European breeders have also had an important role to play in this quest. The famous Kordes family of Germany has stressed disease resistance in all its work. Although not all their releases are easily accessible in Canada, many can be found. One of most interesting is a series called the Vigorosa series. These are unbelievably prolific bloomers that are very healthy.

One of the most ambitious programs is now taking place at the Vineland Research Station in Vineland, Ontario. This is now a partnership between the Ontario government and private investment. They now own the rights to much of the material that came out of various breeding programs initiated by Agriculture Canada, which is no longer funding breeding on non-edibles.

Crosses are being made each year using the most promising material. The seedlings are tested for disease resistance in the lab and only those that pass the test are released for further testing. Several nurseries across Canada are testing these new seedlings in hopes that a few will turn out to be superior plants in every regard.

So do not be afraid to include roses in your garden. There are so many excellent choices out there today. You can plant one of the super tough rugosas and never have to deal with it again, or choose amongst a host of both old and new roses, hardy plants that will add brilliance and interest to your garden all season.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-30 Robert Osborne 2025-06-30

June 30, 2016

Chasing Colour

One of the greatest joys of being a nurseryman is seeing a new plant bloom for the first time. This year is a banner year for such pleasures.

Coming around the corner of the garden, I was made speechless by a single peony flower. I like red peonies well enough, but this was a stupendous red. While most red peonies have a different colour within the flower, this cultivar was a pure, glowing deep red. The entire flower, petals and petaloids (the smaller central structures) were the same shade. Needless to say, I called everyone over to see this new addition. Its name is ‘Red Charm’, but it is beyond charming.

New colours are constantly being introduced in peonies. Yellow was a very rare colour in the herbaceous peonies, which most of us grow, but a true yellow petaled peony did not exist until breeders crossed it with the tree peony. Now we can grow immense golden flowers or white and purple beauties.

This is rose season. I have a colleague in Alberta who has taken upon herself the task of collecting every old heritage Canadian rose she can find. She is the daughter of a rose breeder and when he died she felt compelled to assemble all his selections. Soon, however, she was traveling the West in search of roses bred by all the prairie breeders. Often she is beating her way through the dense brush of an abandoned nursery to find the last existing shoot of some rarity. She collects cuttings from every find and ships them to me by courier to be rooted. The collection has now become quite staggering.

For the last few years we have examined these bushes and their flowers looking for those that we think are worthy of future production. Many are singles or near singles. While there is a market for such roses, it seems most rose fanciers are looking for those with many petals.

Recurring bloom is another pre-requisite for most modern roses. Re-blooming has nothing to do with beauty but most of the older roses have a single bloom season and this limits the market for them. It is a shame more people don’t grow the one time bloomers, as they are often some of the most spectacular and fragrant of all. Besides which, a single season rose blooms two to three times as long as any other shrub.

Colour is always a factor when choosing roses to propagate. Pink is the most common colour in roses, but there are endless shades of pink-soft pink, bright pink, salmon pink, coral pink, the list goes on. Just when you think you’ve seen them all, a new shade arrives. Finding those new shades is part of the job.

One of the most difficult colours to find in hardy roses has been yellow. Though many breeders have strived to create a great yellow, the successes have been few. We get to see the newest selections from places like Vineland Research Station in Ontario where they are breeding for disease resistance, hardiness and new colours. The quest for a great yellow or orange or peach continues.

Red roses, likewise, come in various shades. There are a few here that re-define true red. One has thick textured petals that resemble red velvet. Some of the newer reds are more double or have contrasting bands of yellow or orange.

Not all the new plants are from well-known species. As an example, we have a perennial called Astrantia. A new cultivar to us has fascinating magenta blooms that have caught our attention. Another low perennial called Anchusa ‘Loddon Royalist’ is a blue as deep as can be imagined.

It’s not all about the flowers either. This year we have begun growing a smoke bush called ‘Golden Spirit’. Unlike the more common green and purple leaved smoke bushes, this one’s foliage is a glowing chartreuse yellow. It draws you like a bee to honey.

There is still lots of growing season to come and, no doubt, more treasures will reveal themselves. It’s a tough job keeping track of these plants, but someone has to do it.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-26 Robert Osborne 2025-06-26

June 26, 2014

The Hedgerow

You may have noticed some shrubs blooming in the hedgerows or along the roadsides with large white flowers. Most likely you are seeing one of two species.

The highbush cranberries are most certainly one. These are large viburnums, specifically Viburnum trilobum. The ‘flowers’ you see are actually clusters or umbels of flowers. Those in the center are the fertile female flowers while those around the outside, which are the larger and showier, are the male flowers.

The highbush cranberry blooms will form clusters of the brightest red berries on the planet. They will hang onto their stems well into the winter if they are not eaten by birds, making for a spectacular contrast against the snow. Usually fall migrating birds do not bother with them. It is the winter birds, particularly the cedar waxwings and grosbeaks that eventually gorge on them.

The fruit is highly regarded by those in the jelly making world. One devotee insists they make the finest jelly of any fruit, although from the old socks smell of the fruit one would be hard put to think so. Regardless, it must be true as many have attested to the wondrous attributes of this berry.

Highbush cranberries are marvelous large bushes that can be very effective where space is adequate. It is not unusual to see these grow to 4m in height. They are especially fond of slightly damp soils and are completely tolerant of acidic soils. They will become denser in cultivation than their wild counterparts, and a light pruning can create an even tighter plant.

These shrubs are related to and closely resemble another species-the European cranberry, Viburnum opulus. The most popular form of this shrub is the well know Snowball viburnum, Viburnum opulus ‘Roseum’. In this variety all the flowers are sterile, creating a ball of white flowers. Though very hardy and easy to grow, this variety is quite prone to aphids and will often have the tips of growth deformed by the insect, although it causes very little long term damage and does not seriously affect the overall effect of the plant.

The second plant you seeing blooming now is the alternate leaf dogwood, which is also called the pagoda dogwood.

The flower clusters are ivory white in colour and can be as large as the palm of your hand. Ideally each small flower will form a berry that turns deep blue-purple by fall and is rapidly consumed by birds as soon as they colour up. As usual, birds love the smaller berries that they can devour in a single nip.

This is a native plant that prefers the edges of woods where there is sufficient light. It is commonly found in hedgerows where birds that have been feeding on the berries hang out and drop their deposits of digested seeds. You can often see these small trees bending toward the light from the edges of forests.

When open grown, this plant has a layered branching habit and is the reason it is called the pagoda dogwood. There is a rare form of this tree with white variegated leaves that is called the wedding cake tree because of its layered form and white colour.

This is an extremely valuable tree for the shade garden, as it will tolerate a good deal of shade. When grown in the open it is an exquisite small tree. It is lovely in form, in flower and in fruit. Because of its small natural size and horizontal branching, it can also create a very interesting espalier tree when grown against a building.

Espaliered trees are pruned to create a two dimensional form against a wall or fence. The pruning is done so as to create a certain form. This might be keeping the branches horizontal, angled or even in a candelabra form. Unlike most espaliered trees that are grown on the south sides of buildings or walls such as fruit trees, the pagoda dogwood is better in the dappled light of an east or north wall.

Both these species are attractive members of the native plant community, giving great pleasure to those who observe them as well as the wild life that uses their fruit. They are wonderful additions to the garden and can add valuable multi-season interest.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-25 Robert Osborne 2025-06-25

June 25, 2015

Mulch

I do not garden without mulches. A clean cultivated garden is an unnatural and often hostile environment for a plant. In hot, dry weather it becomes a desert; the surface absorbs and gives off immense quantities of heat and lose moisture rapidly.

Rains can cause erosion, and the surface layer can become packed from the impact of raindrops. After a rain the sun can bake the muddy soil into a hard shell, reducing oxygen levels in the root zone and leading to even worse erosion problems in the next rainfall.

Most plants prefer a ‘forest floor’ type of environment. In a healthy forest, the mulch layer is an equalizer. A mulch on your garden acts in the same way. Its insulating qualities temper the heat of summer and the cold of winter.

Mulch absorbs and disperses the impact of falling raindrops, eliminating erosion and preventing soil bacteria and fungi from splashing up onto plants where they can sometimes cause problems. The continual activity by worms, insects and other life encouraged by mulch also creates a network of pathways, which increases the availability of oxygen to the roots.

Perhaps most importantly, an organic mulch provides a flourishing environment for the numerous insects and microscopic plants and animals that are necessary to a healthy soil. Organic matter is continually broken down in such an active community. This breakdown of organic matter releases nutrients into the soil where it can be used by plant roots.

Whenever you add a large amount of organic material to the soil, it is important to realize that the breakdown of that mulch will require nitrogen. Nitrogen fertilizers will provide this, although at the expense of some of the soil’s microscopic life, however, if a good quantity of well-made compost is incorporated on the surface just before adding your much, it will provide enough nitrogen and will further improve your soil’s texture and fertility. If the mulch layer is not worked into the soil, simply add new mulch on the surface every year or two and the system will not overtax nitrogen supplies. This gradual layering mimics the annual addition of leaves to the forest floor.

Inorganic mulches such as solid plastic sheeting exclude oxygen from the soil and should not be used, unless your object is to kill existing vegetation. Landscape fabrics do allow for the passage of water and air and will keep weed growth down, but I have two major objections to them. They are a nightmare if you want to work your soil, and pulling them up after a few years in the ground can be a job to tax the patience of any gardener. Weeds that come in as seeds and germinate will work their roots into the fabric and make removing them extremely difficult. Worst of all, these products are created from nonrenewable oil products. It is bad enough that we squander these precious resources on things we consider essential, but to cover our gardens with them is completely unnecessary.

The most objectionable mulch I have found is shredded tires. While such a product might be useful in certain situations such as a playground, where it can be contained and where it can be a forgiving and spongy surface, to use this as a mulch in a garden will inevitably lead to its incorporation into the soil. This is like adding garbage to the soil.

A mulch that I have found very valuable, particularly where perennials weed roots are still present, is cardboard. Use cardboard that is not coated with waxes or plastics and remove any staples or tape. Place the cardboard around your plants, setting them as close to the trunks as possibly. Overlap the pieces of cardboard so it forms a complete seal. To settle it in, wet the cardboard then place a mulch such as aged bark on top.

You can also use several layers of newspaper instead of cardboard. This way you reuse an organic product and prevent weeds from working their way to the light. Within a month or so you will barely be able to find the cardboard and it will be digested and returned to the soil.

One last note is to warn against using a deep layer of bark against tree trunks. The trunks of both deciduous and coniferous trees will often rot if they are kept continually damp. Use mulch around the trees but keep it away from the trunk itself. Your tree will thank you.

Mulches are a wonderful way to keep your garden healthy and to save labour weeding. Used correctly they will provide the same advantages as the annual rain of leaves on the forest floor.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-23 Robert Osborne 2025-06-23

June 23, 2016

The School Yard

I was recently asked to design a classroom garden for an elementary school. I wanted to get some more information on the site so I went to my computer to find an overhead aerial photo of the site. I zoomed into the area and was at first unable to find the school, until I noticed a large brown area where not a single green thing showed. It was like zooming in on a miniature desert. The only place that had no living thing was the playground of the school.

It is true that the school yard can be a difficult place to grow things, as the tread of little feet multiplied by many kids can beat even the toughest grass into dust. Yet if we value the educational and emotional aspects of plants, and the animals that live amongst the plants, we need to encourage the adoption of methods to enhance the living component of school grounds.

These methods do not need to be rediscovered. Many groups have studied the establishment of greenery in school yards and there are papers and books that show how this can be accomplished.

First and foremost is the involvement of the children. If the kids are asked for their input you can bet they will provide it. If a child is given a plant and shown how to plant and care for it, they will have a connection to that plant and will protect it.

Perhaps just as important is that that the landscape must be fun to be in. It should provide pathways to explore, places to run up and down, places where one can escape to, and others where one can interact with others.

It has even been shown that bullying and aggressive behavior thrives in situations where there is boredom. A place where there are endless possibilities directs the energy of the young into more meaningful directions and fosters better cooperation.

Above all a school yard should have things to learn about; why an oak holds onto its leaves, why the maples turn colour in fall, why the butterflies are attracted to certain flowers. It should be a place where a child learns how a tree feeds and pulls water from the soil, how bees learn where to find the flowers with nectar and pollen, how seeds grow into trees and how important plants are to our survival as a species. Children should learn when birds arrive to nest and when beans can be planted. They should know where to look for a salamander and where mosquitoes come from.

That feeling of interconnectedness is perhaps the greatest lesson of a living school yard. What we need now more than ever is an understanding that we are not alone, but one part of a huge diversity of plants and animals whose dependence on each other is the reason life as we know it works.

The most powerful tool for such lessons is the teacher. A teacher with passion combined with a pupil who is open and inquisitive can produce a great biologist or researcher, perhaps a park ranger or forester. At the very least it might produce gardeners and planters for the future, children who learn at an early age the importance of food and where it originates, the importance of our forests, meadows and streams to our health and well being.

It has always baffled me that the most important and vulnerable sectors of the population-children, the sick and the elderly, are often shuffled off into institutions that are sterile, uninviting places where the food is not as delicious and nutritious as possible.

The idea of creating more access to green spaces in hospitals and homes for the elderly is slowing gaining momentum and hopefully such access will become an integral part of the design process. This should not be looked on as an extra, a frill, but as an important aspect of creating a richer and healthier environment in which to heal.

An elderly person confined to a wheel chair will atrophy in a space of plastic, glass and steel but will be rejuvenated simply by time spent in a garden where they can pull a few weeds in a patch of lettuce or smell the fragrance of a lavender plant. It is beyond doubt that the world of plants offers solace and contentment to all people, but especially those confined to areas where such environments are limited.

As a society we need to demand the best for our children, our sick and our elderly, and we must demand that the enhancement of their living spaces should be a priority going into the future.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-19 Robert Osborne 2025-06-19

June 10th, 2024

Azaleas & Rhododendrons

The other day I was immersed in a veritable forest of rhododendrons and azaleas. I felt it might be possible to overdose on the fragrance. Peonies are now floral bombs exploding into red, white, pink, yellow and multi-coloured blooms that vie with any other for sheer size. Some have sweet scents, some strange and unique. And, as if they had caught an early train, the roses have arrived, and with them, the fragrances that have been cherished by royalty and paupers for centuries. Some of the headiest emanate from the old garden roses such as Mme. Plantier, Cardinal Richelieu, Apothecary and Maiden’s Blush, or as the French called it ‘Cuisse de Nymphe’ or Nymph’s Thighs, a name considered by the Victorians as quite naughty. The perfume of Maiden’s Blush has been luring gardeners and encouraging propagators to continue providing them to those gardeners since the 1400s, as this is an ancient rose by horticultural standards. That’s staying power.

Today’s roses are more selected for copious blooms throughout the season. Repeat flowering is a trait that was once quite rare, found only in a few species. However, breeders have been able to use those genes to create a staggering array of roses that bloom from spring to fall. With the exception of a few, most modern roses are not very fragrant. However, the bright light for future roses is that there are now breeders fixed on combining repeat blooming, called remontancy, and fragrance.

Our society seems rather focused on having more of everything. If a rose is once blooming, many will turn away from it and ask for a continuous bloomer, even though they will later pick out a rhododendron, which blooms for but two weeks, instead of the rose’s six weeks. Those gardenrs will not get to smell the most fragrant of roses.

The ephemeral nature of flowering can be seen as a disappointment, or as an unfolding of the wheel of life where everything has its season. Thus, we have the anticipation, pleasure and sadness of fading flowers, but we can shift our thoughts to future pleasures that await their turn.

In the garden, a massive bloom of Lemon Chiffon peony has just opened. It is one of the very few yellow herbaceous peonies. Its bowl of soft yellow petals cradles a spectacular boss of golden stamens. Breeders are a persistent lot who challenge themselves to create plants that are thought beyond their abilities. Take the Japanese breeder Ito. He crossed the hardy herbaceous peony most of us are familiar with using the pollen of the more tender but spectacular tree peonies. The results of this hybrid line s are now called Itoh hybrids and sport massive blooms in brilliant yellow, purple, apricot and white petals that turn lavender at their bases.

In the garden massive rhododendrons try to outdo each other with the size of their trusses. The air is filled with the scent of a Rosy Lights azalea. We are in the moment when the world goes carnival, the apex of colour and scent. This will all end, but next spring we can again eagerly await the opening of the first fragrant rose blossom and the unfolding of the first daylily bud. Nature does not stand still, but the wise will watch and cherish as much of the show as they can.

Robert Osborne 2025-06-02 Robert Osborne 2025-06-02

June 02, 2016

Transplanting

When you transplant a plant into the garden, the way you place it in the ground will influence the speed with which the roots of the plant will adjust to its new surroundings and how quickly it will become connected to the soil life web that helps feed the plant.

There are many different kinds of plants we transplant. Most are containerized, placed in a medium, usually composed of peat, bark and compost, and grown in plastic pots. These make handling easy but can contain hidden problems that should be dealt with.

Perhaps the most common problem is with plants that have grown for over a year in the container. Often you will find the roots thick around the outside and sometimes growing in a circle around the circumference of the pot. After pulling the plant out of the pot, examine the roots. If possible, gently tease the roots, separating them until they can all point outward, away from the center of the plant. After creating a hole that is as deep as the pot, spread the teased roots in the bottom of the hole and then cover with soil. This will allow the roots to grow outward and avoid creating strangler roots that can stunt or even kill a plant later.

Once the roots are spread, cover with a soil that has been amended with organic material such as compost and add a light sprinkling of materials such as blood meal and bone meal. These should be mixed into the soil that is being packed around the root ball. As the roots grow, they will be surrounded by a nutrient rich soil. Tamp this soil firmly enough to eliminate air pockets but gently enough so you don’t damage the roots. I often go around the plant, pressing with my heel on the circle of new soil. After a firm tamping the new soil, I gently press the outside of the root ball, being careful not to harm any stems or leaves.

Whether you are planting a hosta or an oak tree, it is wise to create a low dam in a circle around the site and fill this small crater with water. Let it soak then reapply. Wait then apply again. This is particularly important with large root balls such as those on big trees. A light watering will not saturate the root balls of such large trees and the initial watering is so important to give the tree adequate moisture to begin root and top growth. Keep watering into the summer, especially if the season is dry.

Another important factor is what is called textural continuity. If you are planting in a heavy clay soil you should avoid filling the planting hole with a light soil. The hole you dig can act like a pot, filling up with water in wet weather and drying out in dry weather. Once dry, it is often difficult to adequately rewet the soil mix. Refilling the planting hole with the same soil, although amended, is usually the best option.

Loose sandy or gravelly soils are not as critical, however it is still best to use a similar textured soil, but the addition of organic matter such as compost, rotted leaves or old manure will help maintain moisture and will provide nutrition in the coming years.

When planting large trees it is advisable not to dig a hole much deeper than the soil ball. Loose soil under the root ball will eventually compress downward and can leave the crown of the tree below the soil level. When this happens, the bark may become consistently damp and fungal diseases that cause crown rot may kill the tree.

The timing of transplanting is critical as well. If you are transferring a bare root plant, all will be well if the plant is dormant (buds are not expanded or in leaf). However, if you dig a plant in leaf, that plant will continue losing water through the leaves and it may wilt. Once this happens, it is unlikely it will recover. If you need to transplant while it is in leaf, cut the plant back very hard, at least to wood that has no leaves. This allows the roots to reestablish contact with the soil. Eventually new buds will emerge from the crown. Transplanting like this is not recommended unless there is no other choice.

Good soil, adequate tamping and watering, soil texture continuity and a good site are the prerequisites for success in transplanting. Without looking after these factors, the plant may remained stressed, often for many years. It may survive, but will rarely thrive.