Landscape Ontario's Horticulture Review Online

Emerald ash borer confirmed outside Ottawa-Gatineau regulated area

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:25:02 -0400

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed, on Aug. 31, the presence of the emerald ash borer (EAB) in the City of Ottawa, outside the current Ottawa - Gatineau regulated area. An adult EAB was retrieved from an insect trap south of Fallowfield Road near Richmond Road.

Movement restrictions on regulated wood materials are placed on the affected property. Further regulatory measures will be considered once survey work is completed for the year.

The emerald ash borer can spread rapidly if moved by people. The key challenge in limiting the spread of this beetle is to prevent people from moving potentially infested ash materials - such as logs, branches, nursery stock, wood chips and firewood of all species - to non-infested areas. The public can play a key part in helping to control the spread of EAB by avoiding actions that would promote its spread.

The CFIA continues to work with federal, provincial and municipal governments towards slowing the spread of the EAB. Additional information is available on the CFIA website at www.inspection.gc.ca/pests, or by calling 1-866-463-6017.

Exciting changes announced for 2011 IPM symposium

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 11:08:30 -0400

A new format and a new energy are promised at the 2011 IPM Symposium.

Over the past few years, the symposium has been a road show. In 2011, it will be a one-time event only, scheduled for Jan. 10 at the Toronto Congress Centre in the Cohen Ballroom.
The impressive program includes some very topical speakers, such as Cam Wilson, chief technical officer of Neudorff North America, and Ministry of Environment officials, as well as Dr. Michael Brownridge, Vineland Research and Innovation Centre, Pam Charbonneau, OMAFRA, Roger Funk, The Davey Tree Expert, and David Shetlar, professor of Urban Landscape Entomology at Ohio State University, who will speak about bees and bugs.

For the first time in the history of the IPM Symposium, lunch and a reception are included in the program. Landscape Ontario's Integrated Pest Management Symposium has been a unique and respected event since 1965.

For more information, go to IPM Symposium.

Trial gardens on display for two days

Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:36:03 -0400

The buzz at this year's California Spring Trials was Ball FloraPlant's black petunia, Black Velvet. Is it truly black? Both industry members and the public may see it first-hand at the open houses at the Landscape Ontario trial gardens. Black Velvet is among the 500 plants that are being evaluated this year.

The gardens will open to members of the industry on Aug. 20, while the public will have an opportunity to see the new plants on Aug. 21, and as part of the Milton Horticultural Society's annual garden tour.

Industry open house (9 a.m. to 12-noon)
The open house for the horticultural industry is co-hosted by Landscape Ontario, Ontario Parks Association and University of Guelph.

Educational Speaker Sessions: Soils Amendments for Healthy Plants - The basics of soil enhancement - Keith Osborne Understanding Soil Nutrition - Getting the most out a soil analysis report - Jack Legg
Plant material from: Ball Horticulture, Blooms of Bressingham, Dummen, Floranova, George Sant Greenhouses, Goldsmith Seeds, Jelitto Seeds, Ontario Seed Company, PanAmerican Seed, Proven Winners, Seeds of Change, Suntory, Syngenta, and American Takii. You can vote for your favourites.
Ontario Parks Association - view and vote for your favourite hanging basket from participating municipalities.
Test your plant ID skills - compete against yourself and others in the Friend or Foe seedling identification display.
Light Refreshments (12-noon) sponsored by the Gro-Bark (Ontario).

Afternoon in Guelph (1:30 p.m. - 3 p.m.)
Guelph Trial Garden at the Turfgrass Institute, 328 Victoria Rd. S., (at College Avenue, Guelph)

Flower Program

All-America Selections Flower and Bedding Plant Trial
New plant cultivars for containers and ground beds
Perennials from Blooms of Bressingham, Jelitto Seed, Vanhof & Blokker and Ball

Turf Program

Research for residential and public park turf maintenance in conjunction with the Guelph Turfgrass Institute. Note: attendees must provide own transportation from Milton to Guelph.

This is a free event, but an rsvp would be appreciated to Kathleen Pugliese at kathleenp@landscapeontario.com

The day is sponsored by Gro-Bark (Ontario) Ltd., A.M.A .Plastics Ltd., Goldsmith Seeds, Inc. Agri-Food, Agrium Advanced Technologies, Fafard, KAM's Growers Supply, Perlite Canada Inc., Plant Products and Land Source Organix.

Public open house and Garden Tour following day
Landscape Ontario is also holding a public open house the following day on Saturday, August 21, 2010 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and will be a stop on the Milton Community In Bloom Garden Tour the same day. The open house is free to the general public and tickets for the garden tour are $25 and include lunch at Landscape Ontario.

In memoriam: John Thiebaud

Wed, 07 Jul 2010 08:52:14 -0400

John Thiebaud, of Green Turf Irrigation in Brooklin, died at home on Wednesday June 30th, after a brief, hard fought battle with cancer.
A Celebration of Life gathering will be held at Armstrong Funeral Home (124 King Street East, Oshawa) on Thursday July 8th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., followed by interment at Thornton Cemetery, Thornton Rd., Oshawa. For online condolences please visit For online condolences please visit www.armstrongfuneralhome.net .
John was a beloved and caring husband of Patricia for 40 years. Devoted and cherished father of Danielle (Mark), Stephen (Teresa), and Jonathan. Proud and loving Papa of Meghan, Matthew, and Carys. John is predeceased by parents Rene and Reta, and mother-in-law, Lola. He will be greatly missed by siblings Jacqueline (Fred), Marc (Cheryl), Annette (Alec) and Rene (Kathy) as well as sisters-in-law, Cathy (Peter), Brenda (Robert), Ann-Marie (Christopher), brother-in-law Kevin (Roseanne), father-in-law Edward, nieces, nephews and family friends.

Two Ontario projects part of sustainable sites study

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:35:27 -0400

Two Ontario projects are part of an international pilot project to evaluate a new rating system for sustainable landscapes. The Sustainable Sites Initiative announced the selection of the Humber Arboretum Centre and Wildflower Farm.

The new landscape rating system will be used in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program, used in both Canada and the U.S. Presently, the LEED system contains only basic landscape requirements.

Over 150 other pilot projects were approved to take part in the Sustainable Sites program, 34 from the U.S., Iceland and Spain. One other Canadian site - the Alderwood Rest Home, Baddeck, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia - was named to participate in the program.

Wildflower Farm

The pilot project at Wildflower Farm in Coldwater will include the establishment and growth of a native plant nursery, demonstration gardens and seed production fields to help demonstrate the low maintenance and sustainability of native wildflowers and grasses on a large commercial scale without the use of irrigation.

Miriam Goldberger and her husband Paul Jenkins launched the Wildflower Farm (see Member Profile article, Horticulture Review, October 2008) with her husband in 1997. They grew to specialize as a leading native plant nursery and natural garden centre. This led the couple to Eco-Lawn, a blend of fine fescues as part of a sustainable lawn.

Humber Arboretum

Humber Arboretum was selected because of its existing environmentally friendly elements, as well as its potential to implement and model new sustainable technologies.

Established in 1977, the Humber Arboretum is a joint venture of Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, the City of Toronto, and Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. The arboretum features 250 acres of land and more than 10 kilometres of paths and trails through public gardens, meadows, forests, wetlands, wildlife corridors and waterways.

The program runs through to June 2012, with the final rating system and reference guide issued by early 2013. More information is available at www.sustainablesites.org.

LO members ready for another golf season

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 09:15:37 -0400

Registrations and sponsorship opportunities are now available at the seven Landscape Ontario golf tournaments this summer.
You can access brochures, contact information and registrations forms by clicking here. Check out all the golf events that LO chapters are sponsoring this summer.

Horst

Wed, 19 May 2010 15:36:23 -0400

By Tony DiGiovanni CHT

LO executive director

Editorï¿½s Note: Horst Dickert passed away after a long illness on Fri., May 7, at the Trillium Manor Nursing Home in Orillia. He was 77. The funeral service took place at the Simcoe Funeral Home in Orillia on Sat., May 15.

I first met Horst over 20 years ago, when I began at Landscape Ontario.

Horst was on a committee of pioneers and experts. Their job was to develop a series of landscape guides and standards.

The committee met one evening a month. It quickly became one of my favourite meetings, because I got to hear many stories of the early days of the industry. The meetings were lively, stimulating and long. They spent a lot of time debating the best ways of doing things, based on real knowledge in the field and years of experience. It was not the most efficient way of writing a Landscape guide, but it was certainly a lot of fun.

At these meetings it became clear that Horst Dickert was an extremely knowledgeable man. He delighted in sharing his expertise. He was a natural teacher. It was easy to listen to him for hours, because of the depth of his experience, enthusiasm, very strong opinions on how things should be done, his refusal to compromise quality, his constant striving to make things better, his inquiring mind and his keen observations.

Horst had integrity, and he was a real gentleman and a wonderful role model.

His contribution to the industry has been immense. He touched thousands of us. Horst influenced the standards of the industry and helped to shape the association community. He developed new techniques. He freely gave thousands of hours and a good deal of his life to help improve an industry he loved.

I donï¿½t know anyone with such a diverse base of knowledge. Even though his real passion was for plants (especially plants in their native habitat), he was equally proficient working out the hydrological mathematics of complex fountains (the Casa Loma fountain is an example). He tested concrete to ensure that the formula was just right, and was not averse to sending the concrete truck back if it did not pass the ï¿½Dickert Test.ï¿½ He installed beautiful rockeries (he built one for us at the Landscape Ontario home office site) and developed magnificent water features. He was truly a renaissance man in the landscape field. He knew a great deal more than most of us about both hard and soft landscaping. I always believed there should be a Horst Dickert School of Landscaping.

Horst loved teaching for Landscape Ontario. Each winter, we asked him to teach some courses. He delighted in doing this. He was very popular with his students, because they could easily see his genuine passion, enthusiasm, knowledge and experience.

Years ago Horst was one of the first industry members to dream a vision of the association owning a large piece of property that would host a school and an arboretum. He was really pleased when the dream became a reality, and even more so when he became the main teacher. At one point, he was teaching five different courses for Landscape Ontario. At the same time, he shared his knowledge as a consultant for some of North Americaï¿½s premier landscape architects, such as Janet Rosenberg, Laura Starr, Julie Moir Messervy, Stefan Bolliger and many others.

In the municipal world, he led a one-man campaign to raise awareness for the importance of soil preparation to ensure success of tree planting. He was responsible for changing tree planting specifications in many municipalities.

Recently, I had the pleasure of listening to an interview that was done with Horst in 2006. The recording tells his story about his coming to Canada in 1953, working on a vegetable farm and then as an explosive technician in Niagara Falls. His first landscape job was with Cedarvale Tree Experts. He then moved to RLink Associates, where he received experience in large fountain installation.

When RLink ceased operations, he went to work for Bill Schrieber and John Northwood in the legendary company, Lakeshore Landscaping. It was involved in many signature and leading-edge projects and Horst was in the centre of it all, ensuring that quality and innovation always came first. Horst stayed with Lakeshore for 23 years and became the president after it was sold to Aldershot.

Lakeshore Landscaping was responsible for landscaping Expo 67. As the job neared completion, they ran into some trouble. They needed to plant trees before Expo was to open in the spring, however, the harsh winter and compacted, frozen soil would not allow even a backhoe to dig a hole.

Horst came up with the idea of using dynamite to dig the holes. This method proved to be brilliant. The dynamite opened the earth, creating excellent drainage. Since dynamite is made from nitrogen, it fertilized the tree at the same time. From this experience, they called him Dynamite Dickert. He went on to teach a course on ï¿½Tree Planting with Dynamiteï¿½ at Humber College.

One of the most important things about Horstï¿½s life is his legacy of benefit that now lives on through the memories of those he influenced and touched. It is fitting that the family has started a fund in the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation to be used for an Award or Scholarship in the name of Horst Dickert. It will promote the use of native plants. You are welcome to participate in that effort. Charitable donations for this purpose can be made to the Ontario Horticultural Trades Foundation. Email kathleen@landscapeontario.com for information. Horst left more than his great technical and horticulture knowledge. Even more importantly, he left an example on how to be a truly caring individual.

Rest well, Horst.

In memoriam: Landscape Ontario pioneer Tony DeGroot

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:44:38 -0400

Landscape Ontario lost a founding member on Apr. 11, when Tony DeGroot passed away peacefully at the age of 88, while at home in his garden. DeGroot was the co-founder of Hensbergen and DeGroot Ltd., near Markham, now operated by son Andy.

An original member of Landscape Ontario, DeGroot visited LO's Legacy Room at Congress in January of this year. He was born on Oct. 31, 1921.

He leaves behind his wife of 57 years Ria. Tony DeGroot was the dear father of Marion (Eugene) DeGroot, Hedy (Kevin) Edwards, Susan (Terry) DeGroot-Kavanagh, and Andy DeGroot. He will be sadly missed by his grandchildren Andrea, Courtney, Nicolle, Jeremy, Sydney and Hayley, and his great granddaughter Eden.

The family has announced that a celebration of Tony DeGroot's life will take place at a later date. Those who wish to honour his memory may donate to the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.

Further information and condolences may be sent to www.chapelridgefh.com/english/obituary.htm.

Lawn Care Sector Group chair reviews work to resolve pesticide issue

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:30:59 -0500

By Steve Tschanz

I would like to thank everyone in the association for their loyal support over the last few years, as our industry worked hard to survive the changes that were imposed upon us. Landscape Ontario went the extra mile as we worked in the background with a lobbyist, while the new act and regulations were still under the pen of government officials.

We were also in touch with lawyers and other groups, discussing ways in which we could have more products available to us, or rework the regulations. This process even had us looking at going through the court system.

The Lawn Care sector group will continue to look at the whole industry, as it investigates different avenues to pursue. We welcome suggestions from members on new areas to investigate. Remember, we are your voice, but if we do not hear it, then we cannot act upon it.

The results of the pesticide act are far from what we had hoped for. It is especially frustrating for members after the many hours put forth in an attempt to allow our industry to maintain some important tools in the toolbox. In that vein, I would like to thank Gavin Dawson, Kyle Tobin, Mark Goodman, Alan White, John Wright, Roger Mongeon and Dan Passmore for their patient and extended contributions to the industry in the past year.

As we continue to live with the new regulations, we have new challenges on the horizon. These include the HST, Stewardship Ontario and fertilizer bans. Landscape Ontario and the sector group are working to create seminars and meetings to find out more information on these topics.

The horizon is beginning to look brighter, as new products are registered and older ones improve. Fiesta is a new broadleaf herbicide that is expected to be available this spring, while Sarritor has a revised label with the addition of clover and plantain. Also, a new liquid non-selective herbicide is available. As for the Scotts living herbicide, the registration application was made late last year and will be potentially available in 2012, if not sooner.

Hopefully, everyone will have a great season.

Environmental benefits posters available

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:26:06 -0500

The Canadian Nursery Landscape Association (CNLA) Environment Committee has created two posters to promote the benefits of our industry. The posters were developed to provide members with a means of highlighting these benefits to their customers.

A limited number of posters were printed by CNLA, and are being distributed to the provincial associations for their own use. Posters are also available on the CNLA website (and below) for members to download (with a national, and provincial version available) and print for their own needs. Please feel free to post them in your offices and use at various trade shows and public events.

Please feel free to use this description while promoting the use of these posters to members:

Focus on the environment!
CNLA's Environment Committee has created the following posters to help members promote the environmental benefits of our industry to your customers. Download and print your own copy from www.canadanursery.com (or below) and post them in your office or in your garden centre.

If you have any questions about the posters and their use, please contact Julia Ricottone at the CNLA office at 1-888-446-3499 ext. 8615, or julia@canadanursery.com.