Flower Moon - May (1) 2026

What better way to celebrate the flower moon than to view the cherry trees blossoming in High Park? Afterward Rob and I went for ramen at Musoshin to pretend we were back in Kyoto.

 

Sakura!

We went to the Japanese Cultural Centre for a Sakura Concert on April 22, the date picked based on last year's peak blooms in Toronto. Buds were still far from open. Of course, sakura are always there, just not always how we would like to see them. Traditional Japanese instruments, including the koto, samisen, and Taiko drums. Canadian artist Ron Korb played a variety of flutes from all over the world. At the end of the concert, an Irish flute accompanied by Taiko drummers did a rendition of South American music with Japanese dancers. Now that's improv. 

When Rob and I went to High Park on May 2, the blossoms weren't quite at their peak - but then, neither were the crowds. We were able to drive into the park, and even found a parking space close to the groves. Clear skies and lots of hanami. 

After soaking in the cherry blossoms we went for ramen at Musoshin restaurant  and reminisced about Japan in cherry blossom season. Also picked up a couple loaves of shokopan (one for us, one for our granddaughter Nora). What fun!

  

sakura mochi - yum!

Japanese Gardens

How wonderful knowing I walked these paths and soaked in these visions.

I don't think there was a day on our trip we didn't make time to admire some aspect of a Japanese garden in one form or another: zen gardens, strolling gardens, moss gardens, pond gardens, borrowed scenery gardens, traditional gardens, formal gardens, tea ceremony gardens, bonsai, national gardens and sites registered for their scenic beauty. 

I could sit in any one of these for hours or days, and yet we had such brief moments. Knowing that each changes almost an infinite number of times in a season: as trees and plants are pruned, as light and shadow play, as different species come into leaf and bloom. 

Now that I am home I will continue to visit these places in memory, but also look for books and films to transport me again and appreciate the details. Kenninji is on that list, as well as Tenruji. Well, they all are! Links below.

TOKYO * Sansoji Temple Denboin * Meiji Jingu Inner Garden (Gyoen) with bonsai  * Imperial Palace East Garden * Shinjuku Chuo Park * Hibiya Park* Ikutokuen Shinji-ike Pond * Chodorigofuchi Park *  Yasakuni Shrine Outer Garden * Shinjuku Gyoen National Gardens *  HAKONE Shinsenko Garden and Teahouse * KYOTO * Higashi Honganjo Temple Garden * Ryoanji Zen Rock Garden * Golden Pavillion and strolling garden * Kenninji Cho-en-tei;  Hojo rock and moss garden; Circle, Triangle Square Garden * Kyoto Gyoen National Garden * Tenryuji Zen Temple, Sogenchi Teien (Sogen Pond Garden), Shoun-kaku and Kan'u-tei teahouses, Hyakka'en (Garden of a Hundred Flowers) * Okochi Sanso Villa and Garden * Sanjusangendo Temple and thousand statues of Kannon and strolling garden * Shosi-en Edo period strolling garden* Maruyama Park * NARA * Yoshikien Garden* Isuin Garden * OSAKA * Nishinomaru Garden Osaka Castle * Kema Sakuranomiya Park *

 

Dreaming of gardens in St. Lucia

In St. Lucia, both the properties we stayed at had beautiful trees in their gardens. Palm, banana, cashew, calibash, cacao, papaya, golden apple. 

Lush lush lush. 

If lived there I would definitely try to start a forest garden. Pots of snake plant and cactus on the terrace!  Along the path to the front door, frangipani and jasmine for scent. And some bougainvillea and hibiscus for the hummingbirds!

Cacti on the terrace in Laborie

Calibash on the path in Laborie

We did get to Diamond Falls botanical garden, as well as the Tet Paul Nature Trail.

It seemed like exotic plants and flowers were at every turn.

Plants that would only survive indoors back in Canada, like Snake plant and Prayer plant, were naturalized in the hilly landscape. Unfortunately,  so was invasive bamboo.

Fascinating Flora

Wow! Plants in Costa Rica are fascinating and could inspire plots for science fiction.

Gigantic houseplants everywhere! Bird of paradise, ferns, heliconia, monsteria... 

Many of the plants we purchase as annuals here in Canada become perennials in the tropics. Exotics are natives there. Plants are pollinated by ants, bees, hummingbirds and bats (apparently if flowers point upward they are pollinated by bats, and downward they are pollinated by hummingbirds).

Ficus trees that live for centuries.

Banana trees with their florid blooms.

Walking palms sending their phallic roots downward as they inch their way across the jungle floor. 

Wild orchids that live for hundreds of years. It's illegal to pick them in Costa Rica even if they are growing in your own backyard.

Epiphytes surviving on air. 

Parasitic plants like the strangling fig that overtakes its botanical victim by germinating in the canopy and then wrapping itself around the host to steal the nutrients.

Miracle medicinal botanicals said to cure everything from high cholesterol to cancer.

What an amazing planet!

walking palm

Ficus

Ecological Gardening

I finished the Master Gardener's Technical update feeling inspired by the theme of ecological gardening.

Three speakers emphasized the need to be intentional and work relationally. 

For decades now, there has been a bit of a subtext of "humans bad, nature good" in the environmental movement. The idea of leaving natural spaces untouched was a continuation of the thought that humans are apart, rather than a PART, of nature. Absence, not presence.

Speaker Jennifer Grenz shared insights into aboriginal land management practices such as forest gardening, of finding value in edible 'weed' populations, of how getting rid of some invasive species needs to account for re-establishing others (i.e. berry populations).

Dr. Karen Christnsen-Dalsgaard talked about how self-perception can either be paralyzing or empowering. We need to think about optimizing our footprint and not minimizing it. The simple act of planting a garden enhances urban ecology. With 50% - 80% of the world's population living in cities, we have to challenge our notions of built environments to incorporate greater plant diversity and less concrete and asphalt. When I walk Toronto's trails, such as Tommy Thompson park above, I admire how we are re-wilding barren spaces.

Ben Futa got us thinking about gardening smarter and not harder. Manage, don't maintain your garden. Use the time you save to truly observe. Get to know 20-30 plants very well and use them intentionally to create your garden. Remember any soil left exposed to light will become weedy, so notice where those weeds are and replace them - not with bark mulch but choosing the right plant for the right place.  When removing weeds, take into consideration whether they are annual/perennial and choose the best method to eradicate (compete/cut/pull/smother/spray if necessary). When it comes to design, a simple approach is to pick two or three stunners per season (for colour, shape or form); then repeat those patterns (ordered or eclectic). If you must have lawn, think about using it as a frame rather than the painting.

Gardening is made of fleeting moments


Repeat clusters of patterns

Framing an ecological garden with lawn

4 types of salvia are used here to paint a swath of colour in season

 

Notes to self 

- how are the plants looking in my winter garden

- consider expanding salvia in front yard and intermixing with Canadian anemone 

- keep an eye on the thimbleberry and if necessary - relocate! maybe somewhere on BPYC or in Bluffers - but needs shade!

Summer inspiration

Lots of photos in this post, so a bit of a preamble while they all load.

Whenever I visit gardens I spot something I'd like to try in my own backyard. Not everything is practical - like the pitcher plants and ladies slippers on the Bruce Peninsula alvar, some species just won't thrive. 

My garden is small, with limited real estate for planting. Although not as shady in years past, most places are 'part sun.'  I still want a prickly pear!!

Choices must be made, so although I might not be able to execute on a grand scale, I could bring in small elements. 

Sources of garden inspiration on my summer travels:

Toronto Island, for the kales and lettuce planted at the Toronto Island cafe and the Willow Square mosaic. 

Music Garden in Toronto, for the flow of the garden and choice of plants attracting pollinators.

Stratford Theatre, for the stories behind the plants and a willow trellis.

Mugwort's protection from evil spirits...

Killarney Lodge - mass plantings of astilbe, bergamot and ladies mantle / ox eye daisy and potentilla combo.

Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton for cardinal flower and blue indigo. 

I have some blue indigo seeds I want to try to germinate in the spring.

Master Gardener in Training

I was accepted into the Toronto Master Gardener program, so now am a Master Gardener in training!

I am thrilled to play a part in inspiring home gardeners all across our wonderful city. 

Tending even a small patch of green can do wonders for the environment, for neighbourhoods, and for the gardeners themselves.

As an avid home gardener since 1990, I’ve developed a keen appreciation for native plants, while cultivating a haven for birds and pollinators in my front and back garden.

Being a longstanding member of the Toronto Botanical Gardens, I’m a frequent visitor and enjoy attending presentations, listening to speakers, and learning about horticulture.

I’ve been writing and blogging about my garden (and other topics) since 2008, including some of the gardens I’ve visited on my travels.

When I retire I will have the time and energy to devote to the cause.

I'll also need to upgrade my knowledge of horticulture. I chose the University of Guelph courses and have already signed up for the first of three required online courses: Soils and Plant Growth.

Exotic beauties

Earth is thawing and spring is working its wonders. Out walking in a park, I spotted a bog filled with tiny exotic beauties. They looked like pitcher plants at first, but on closer inspection, and with the help of google image look up, we were able to identify them as skunk cabbage. I was sorely tempted to dig one up and take it home, but luckily didn't have a trowel with me. My backyard isn't boggy enough, and I think one specimen would be lonely all on it's own. What a little miracle of a plant - when the ground is still frozen, it gives off enough heat to melt its way through. How fantastic is that?

skunk cabbage

skunk cabbage bog

Toronto Botanical Gardens was bursting into flower. Tulips and daffodils and magnolia buds, and tender pink flowers on viburnum.

Viburnum at Toronto Botanical Gardens

When the scilla were coming up in our own backyard, Rob and I went to check out the spot in Rosedale Valley where they've naturalized into a corner of blue. Years previous, we have anticipated their brief appearance and dramatic hue on our morning commute. This year it became the destination rather than a drive-by.

Scilla at the Rosedale corner