Annual Trip to Richters

-
When Winter seems endless, I take off with a car-load of friends to spend an hour a Richters Herbs in Goodwood, just outside Toronto.
It is a real treat to enjoy the warmth, light and fragrance at a time when only the hardiest of early Spring flowers have shown themselves outside.

One of the many attractive garden-worthy plants in bloom right now are Salvia greggii and its hybrids. 

David Leeman tweedy and bow-tied considering the purchase of a variety of mint.
Mojitos anyone?

Comments

danger garden said…
It's outings (and friends) like these that keep us sane during the non-gardening times.
April 5, 2013 at 9:42 PM
Barry Parker said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
April 6, 2013 at 4:55 AM
Barry Parker said…
Loree, You're right! And the fun continued at luch at a nearby restaurant.
April 6, 2013 at 4:57 AM
Paul Jung said…
Nothing like ambling through a greenhouse at this time of year, time well spent!
April 6, 2013 at 2:27 PM
Doc said…
This sounds like a place I will have to visit soon.
April 6, 2013 at 8:29 PM
gardener said…
A perfect destination for a road trip. What was your best find? Richter's looks loaded and ready for spring sales. Our local nurserys are still gearing up for the growing season.
April 8, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Helen said…
I took almost that exact picture, Barry (the first one) when we were there the weekend before last. And Sarah and I stopped at the pie place in Goodwood for lunch -- is that where you dined?

Was also checking your blog to see if you'd be mentioning the Super Plant Sale on May 5th.
April 8, 2013 at 1:32 PM
Barry Parker said…
Hi Gardener, It was a great trip. My best buy was Salvia peruviana, a trailing plant with silver leaves and almost black flowers.
April 8, 2013 at 3:09 PM
Barry Parker said…
Hi Doc, It's a great way to kick start the Spring... and you can buy plants too!
April 8, 2013 at 3:10 PM
Barry Parker said…
Hi Helen,
We always go to the Tin Mill in Uxbridge. Very nice!
April 8, 2013 at 3:13 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sidewalks of San Francisco

-
Image
For a person visiting San Francisco from "The Great White North", one is struck not only the weather but also by the plant life that flourishes in this ideal mediterranean climate. I've just returned from a week in this lovely city, and again I was impressed by the quality, variety and creativity of gardening that I found there. In this post I am paying particular attention to the gardens I found in the front gardens which often  overflowed onto the sidewalks and boulevards. Many of the plants that I saw there are the same that I grow outdoors and have to move indoors from November to April. And since the San Francisco plants are grown in the ground they are huge compared to my container grown collection.
Read more

Plants at My Front Door

-
Image
Last year I had a rather autocratic message from the UK suggesting that my love of limey, gold and chartreuse plants could lead me down the path to "brassy" tastelessness. I bristled at this, but tried to ascertain whether this was a fair comment. My critic, perhaps had not taken into account that I live in a completely different environment from her, and that the quality of light and extremes of climate affect our reaction to colour in a different way. In our hot, humid summers and brilliant sunshine, I find that these yellow/greens are actually cooling and rather than being strident, are very subdued and complimentary to other colours in the garden. Well, judge for yourself. I'm showing here an arrangement of plants at my front door, which I find very pleasing, A cooling vignette in the last few days of a very hot summer. Plants at my front door. Durantia, Angelonia 'Purple Stripe' and purple Callibrachoa. Coleus 'Fishnet Stockings...
Read more
-
Image
Many succulents have bloomed for me this year, perhaps this is not so remarkable in more temperate climates, but here in Montréal these plants have to be wintered over indoors and live a life with considerable human intervention. This I believe might discourage their normal flowering cycle. So for whatever reason, this has been a bumper year for flowers on plants that I grow mainly for their foliage. The most recent to bloom is  Crassula rupestris sap. marnieriana, it has curiously beautiful foliage that forms chains of compact succulent leaves that take on the apperience of a bucket of worms as they snake out of their pot.
Read more