A Most Civilized Plant Sale

We got the rain last evening - not a lot, but enough to lift the most listless plants from their fainting couches. It is spectacularly sunny for my next adventure of the week - off to National Grocers Lawn & Garden Program luncheon. We'll visit several of the growers - I love looking inside nurseries - and then go to lunch. There's a whole gang leaving from Toronto early this a.m., but being halfway between here and there decided to go it on my own down to Beamsville.

Yesterday I went to the members-only pre plant sale at the Toronto Botanical Gardens - many of you probably still remember the site as Edwards Gardens. The gardens are as lovely as ever. There is a tonne of parking and the TBG site is planted with wonderful bulbs and bushes and perennials that are moving along at an amazing rate.

This is the first TBG plant sale I've been to. It was wonderfully organized. There was enough time and space to be able to talk to fellow members and compare plant performance and encourage each other to go ahead and give a plant a try (as if we needed encouragement?).

I got just annuals this time - a lovely golden salvia - blooms orange-red toward the end of the summer; an asarina - they have lovely tubular blossoms - sort of like an individual foxglove bloom; two oxalis that are yellow/orange/peach - yum; and I was able to replace my Fuchsia 'Gardenmeister' that I had for many years, but died (mea culpa, I didn't get it inside soon enough last fall). I didn't even look at the price of the Fuchsia - I just grabbed and said under my breath "You're coming home with me."

After I loaded up the car I took a brief spin around the gardens, just to see how they're looking, and I think you'll agree, they're looking just fine. A wonderful jewel of a public park.

There were a group of beautiful Asian ladies having their photos taken with the flowering trees creating Postcards from Canada.

The site of the TBG is very open - full sun.

This gentian was a better blue in person even - awe inspiring.

One of my favourite memories visiting my Toronto grandparents when we were in from Montreal was going to Edwards Gardens and having my Grandma Phillips famous sandwich lunches in the park. I don't think she'd be too impressed that we wouldn't be permitted to picnic any more. Quite sad. Doesn't say anything about taking signs down does it now.....

Lots of pretty tulips.

These are Don Quixote - you would not believe the size of them - the petals were almost as large as my hand.

Lots more to come in the days ahead. These grasses should completely obliterate the dead tulip leaves.