By Sharleen Pratt, Master Gardener
I recently attended a Master Gardener’s Technical Update at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. The subject was Facing Climate Change: What Gardeners Need to Know. The speakers were Dr. Jon Warland, Dr. Steven Hill and Lorraine Johnson. As we sat listening to how our climate is changing and the impacts that this has on current gardening practices, it was not lost to us that we were about to experience an upcoming ice storm at the same time that Australia was dealing with horrific fires. And then on January 17th, Newfoundland is hit with one of the worst winter storms they have ever had!
Some interesting facts I took away with me that day were:
- Plants that were once borderline hardy are now easily surviving our winters.
- Severe storm conditions are damaging many of our trees.
- The Sugar Maple could disappear in this century from the Greenbelt area.
- Invasive plants are taking hold and pushing out some of our woodland native plants.
- The average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere was about 250 parts per million (ppm) in pre-industrial times. Now it exceeds 400 parts per million (ppm).
- The peak bloom date for cherry trees in Washington, D.C. has shifted earlier by approximately five days since 1921.
- The current climate in the Golden Horseshoe area will be in Algonquin Park by the end of the century.
Lorraine Johnson spoke at great length about our perception of what was a ‘nice’ garden. She believes that we need to understand the benefits of growing native plants that will be hardy enough to withstand the unpredictable extremes in climate. She presented several examples of people who had replaced their front lawns with native plants or vegetables and had been instructed by the cities to remove the plants or had received bills when the city moved in and cut it all down only because it was considered ‘messy’ and ‘unappealing’!
What we can do as gardeners:
- Consider using native plants. You will be rewarded with lots of birds, butterflies and insects to help cultivate a natural ecosystem.
- Grow as many plants as possible (I won’t have a problem with this one). Gardening is a journey and learning what plants work best in your conditions takes time and patience.
- Learn to live with some weeds, nibbles in leaves, as well as leaf spots. Focus on cultivating plant health.
- Stop watering your lawns as it is estimated that nearly one-third of all residential water is lost in the watering of lawns. Your lawns will go dormant in dry periods but will return with the fall rains.
- Consider a rain garden to minimize surface runoff.
- Include a diverse mix of plants, shrubs and trees to prepare for the possibility of losing certain plants due to climate change.
- Leave grass clippings on your lawn to add nutrients
- Mulch fall leaves and add to your lawn or flower beds to avoid having leaves sent to the landfill where the organic material undergoes anaerobic (without oxygen) decomposition that produces the greenhouse gas methane with is worse than CO2.
- Grow your own vegetables or buy locally from farmers markets to help reduce greenhouse gases when food travels thousands of kilometres from farm to grocery store.
- MOST IMPORTANT … Get out in your gardens and be thankful for the beauty that surrounds you!
Resources:
The Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation have put out a good report on Gardening in a Changing Climate.
In 2018, Cornell University produced Gardening in a Warmer World.
African violets like bright indirect light. A sunny, warm window is okay in winter but in summer, place your plant in a north or east window or just sit it back from a south or west window so that it does not receive direct sunlight. African violets prefer cooler temperatures at night around18C (60F) and up to 27-29C (80-85F) in the day. Too cool temperatures will stunt their growth.
This book is, without a doubt, one of my favourite go-to gardening books! The new revised third edition of Lorraine Johnson’s book, 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardens, is a testament to Lorraine’s expertise. She writes in the forward that “one of the greatest satisfactions of growing native plants is that you are supporting a complex web of ecological relationships that are the basis of a healthy, resilient ecosystem.” Lorraine Johnson is the former president of the North American Native Plant Society and the author of numerous other books. She lives in Toronto.
The photos by Andrew Layerle, along with detailed descriptions of the plants, make this book most helpful when trying to decide what native plants you would like to incorporate into your garden. I think many of us can relate to her point that “gardeners tend to be voyeuristic creatures and plant lists are our chaste form of porn”! We all crave the perfect plant and often browse through books over the winter months with dreams of starting a new garden and we wait patiently for the spring weather that allows us to once again get our hands dirty.
The plants are divided into a number of different categories and Lorraine does a good job at listing the common name (although she warns there are sometimes many), the botanical name, the height, blooming period, exposure, moisture, habitat and range. She gives a good description, the maintenance and requirements, along with suggestions on propagation and good companions. I love that she also mentions the wildlife benefits of each plant.
Lorraine has also included Quick-Reference Charts at the back of the book that separate the plants by region as well as specific conditions, such as acidic soil, water requirements, etc. She has lists of plants suitable to prairie habitat, drought-tolerant plants, plants for moist areas, and plants that attract butterflies and other pollinators.
The Peterborough & Area Master Gardeners 