Paul – the owner of the company ripped out an article from the paper the other day and placed it on my desk – “for the blog” – he says.  It is kind of interesting.  Without copying the whole article I will briefly reiterate what it said.  There is an older gentleman that hangs out with his pals near the bocce courts at the Eglington Flats Park, his name is Charles Nemeth.  He came here from Hungary in 1956.  There, he was a student leader and a freedom fighter.  In Canada he was in the restaurant business and is now retired.  He now spends his time in the park with his buddies and gardening in the park.  For the three months in the summer he tends to the gardens of the park – pulling weeds, sowing the soil and planting perennials.  He has planted lilies, mint and some bushes that produce berries for the birds.  He does it for the exercise and to help people.  He received a certificate from the former mayor Mel Lastman in recognition of his role in helping plant 1000 trees along the Humber River in 2001.  Last July 3 guys from the city came up to him while he was weeding and asked him for his permit.  He said he didn’t need a permit.  In response to this Charles was issued a ticket for his crime of weeding a garden.  The ticket was for $350.00 – which he still hasn’t paid.    Will keep you posted…

Check out the new videos in the ‘About Us’ section of our website.  One video is a tour of our new farm and the other one is a job that we recently finished.  Watch how we craned a large tree over the house into the backyard!!!

I can’t believe the amount of calls and emails we are receiving regarding trees with poor leaf showing.  Even the Ornamental Pear that I have had in the front of my house for 15 years looks sparse.  We here in the GTA region have been lucky for the last 20 years – we have had relatively mild winters in comparison.  The last two winters have been really hard on our trees.  Two years ago our trees suffered from ice damage.  Last year it was cold – particularly for three weeks in February -30 to be exact.  So what does that have to do with leaves?  The trees have set bud in the fall and are ready to pop in spring.  However, with the cold temperatures for so long the roots have frozen.  Thus, when spring comes and the trees begin to leaf out there is not enough nutrients for all the leaves.  This maybe why alot of the tops of trees are sparse.  Another problem with the frigid temperatures has been the freezing of the buds at the union – where the bud meets the branch.  The initial bud is frozen but the tree may generate a secondary bud below the union. My tree which every year since I got it produced a beautiful profusion of flowers – this year it really pooped.  What to do?  You can try adding some bone meal.  Bone meal is a natural root stimulant and will aid in repairing the roots. So don’t give up on your trees yet!

Crimson King Maple

Crimson King Maple

Ornamental pear