Changing….

Posted on August 3, 2012 by paohorticultural.com

Yes things are changing. Everything has changed since we got rain! Yahoo! As much as I like the sunny days the plants needed the rain. The Pee Gee Hydrangeas are in full bloom and just down the road from the them the Yellow Bird Magnolias are putting out their second flush. There are lots of buds so they should look great next week. The nursery looks good even with the drought. Of course some trees are suffering and showing signs of burnt tips on the leaves – but we are hoping they will pop back in the fall. In the heat of the summer not much is happening bloom wise, and just as I was thinking that, I see some Viburnam Wayfarer bushes all covered in berries. It looks so vibrant in the sun. The lady I work with in the office pointed out the sumacs the other day. She is waiting for them to ripen to she can pick them – apparently they are edible. I can’t rememeber what she does with them and she is on holidays so I can’t ask her. I will find out though. There also some lovely Tiger Eye Sumacs that look funky. She also pointed out some knarly Black Pines in the island bed – she loves them – not my favourite but I can see them in a cottage setting. Speaking of changing – I am starting to see the small changes happening around the yard. We are moving our location down the road and for the life of me, I dunno how we are going to do it. But today it struck me. We are starting to get prepared. The polyhouses are coming down and are to be moved down the road. The Ash trees are being cut down as we can’t sell them due to the ash borer. It is a shame to see the process. They have been growing for years in the back field and when you are under the canopy of the leaves you can’t tell that they are sick. But alas, they have to be destoyed. The orange tape signifies trees to be cut and the roots lifted up and removed from the ground. As much as I like to photograph the happenings of the nursery, this made me a little sad. It’s a day in the life…

Pee Gee Hydrangea Stds

Pee Gee Hydrangea

Yellowbird Magnolia

Viburnam Wayfarer

Viburnam Wayfarer Berries

Tiger Eye Sumac

Sumac Bush

Sumac Fruit

Black Pines

Polyhouses coming down

The dreaded orange ribbon!

More ribbon

The cutting of the trees

Cut trees

Roots being removed

The corpses!

The berries are ready…the trees are blooming…

Posted on June 22, 2012 by paohorticultural.com

It is already the middle of June – where has the time went? Within a week the Amelanchier berries have ripened and we have been sampling them along with the birds. The Dawycki Gold Beech trees have spectacular gold foliage I noticed while eating berries so I took a picture. In the Spring they were brighter and they will return to that brightness in the fall. These columnar plants are small now – only 10′ to 12” feet but they will be spectacular in a few years. The Hydrangea Standards are just pushing to bloom and there should be some fabulous photo ops next week. The mulberry trees are fruiting – I went to pick some berries to eat and it took days to get the purple juice from the berries off my fingers. The birds love them, they are really pretty colours with a combination of pinkish, red or purplish violet multi drupe berries. The trees are nice and full with their weeping form. The Gledistias are now forcing out new growth – spectacular yellow new foliage looks neat against the lime green older leaves. Beside them in the field is the Paperbark Maple. I noticed it because of all the neon green keys (seedlings). These are one of my favourite trees. The picutre doesn’t do it justice but the bark of the Paperbark Maple is similar to that of a Birch only it is brown in colour which looks magmnificent in the winter. Not to mention the bonus of beautiful red fall leaves – so typical of the maples. Some of the plants that arrived last week are now healed in their beds. Check out the huge Japanese Maple – just gorgeous! And look how the sculpted pines look in the ground – looks like they have been there forever. The Hostas are starting to bloom – I could almost do an article on them alone! Next blog I will focus on the island bed – and add some of the pictures I took this week. Too many trees, too many plants, too many pictures, too much to say…I almost have to start doing this daily!

Serviceberry Berries

More Serviceberry Berries

More Berries!

Fagus sylvatica ‘Dawycki Gold’

Pee Gee Hydrangea Std

Mulberry Berries

Paperbark Maple

Gleditsia Foliage

Sunburst Locust Foliage

Acer palmatum ‘Crimson Queen’

Sculpted Pine

Queen of the Seas Hosta

Hosta ‘Elizabeth’

Abies conclour Lift, New shipment from out west…

Posted on June 15, 2012 by paohorticultural.com

One thing about working in a nursery there is never a dull moment! As well as you plan your day – you never get enough done, there is always something changing. On Wednesday we had to move a 25′ foot tree from your yard to Vaughan. We had no notice and it had to be dug, burlapped, roped and lifted on out truck and delivered to the crane site by 3:00. We got notice of this at 11:00. It is remarkable what can be accomplished when everyone works together. Not only was this beautiful specimen tucked in a back field – we had to move/lift it between trees! The Abies concolour (White Fir) has a beautiful conical shape and a wonderful bluish to grayish foliage – take a look at the photos below – it really is a gem of a tree. As usual with Mother Nature the plants are flowering and doing their things all the time – I can hardly keep up. The Amelanchiers (Serviceberries) are now producing their berries which you can eat (soon). The Pee Gee Hydrangea standards are setting to bloom and I will keep an eye on them. They will put on a spectacular show! Noticed a neat Ulmus caripnifolia (Elm) on my journey – notice its neat weeping shape and leaves. This time I did have my camera with me. To add to the excitement, we received a new shipment from the West Coast. Two trucks arrived at the same time (although they left a day apart). Some gorgeous product to look at – Japanese Maples, Boxwood specimens, large Beech trees and an assortment of evergreens. I will have more pictures shortly. As it is now I have enough pictures to view…more than usual this week…enjoy! It is always something different…