Naturalizing Wildflowers New Rhododendron Beds Brueckner Rhododendron Garden Mississauga

Cardinal Plants, Orange Jewelweed, Bioswale plants, New Rhodo Beds

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While waiting for Spring at Brueckner Rhododendron Garden, we can enjoy these pictures of greenery and flowers from BRG Stewardship Committee member David Culham.

Bioswale East Garden at BRG Port Credit Ontario

The bioswale finished its first full year in lush greenery. See how the bioswale began here. The bioswale is planted with native plants that don't mind 'wet feet'.

Red Cardinal Plant in Bloom at Brueckner Rhododendron Garden

Red Cardinal plant (Lobelia cardinalis) is a native plant that is attractive to hummingbirds. It grows from 2 ft. to 5 ft. tall, and blooms from July to September. Look for Red Cardinal plant along the west bank of Tecumseh Creek east side of the Waterfront Trail as you enter the Garden from the Lakeshore parking area.

Orange Jewelweed ~ Touch-Me-Not ~ Impatiens capensis

Orange jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) is another native plant in Brueckner Rhododendron Garden. Look for it to bloom in mid to late summer along the west bank of Tecumseh Creek. Another common name is Touch-Me-Not, named for the way its seed pods 'explode' when touched.

Brueckner Rhododendron Garden East Garden

The East Garden at BRG is on the east side of Tecumseh Creek that roughly bisects the Garden and to the west of Godfreys Lane that marks the eastern boundary of the Garden. The picnic table (lower left) is immediately north of the bioswale and east of Tecumseh Creek. Before the installation of the bioswale, this area was prone to flooding.

New Rhododendron Bed BRG East Garden

In this picture, Godfreys Lane is to the right, out of view, and the new rhodo bed can be seen to the left middle of the frame. All new rhodo beds were mulched in the fall (pictures this post).

More New Rhododendron Gardens in BRG East Garden

In 2010, the long-neglected BRG East Garden was cultivated and 7 new beds planted with rhododendrons and azaleas, along with new shade trees to filter the sunlight and provide protection from cold winter winds. Garden staff, volunteers and visitors alike are looking forward to Spring (late March to June) to see for the first time these new plantings in bloom.

White Pine and Rhododendron Beds East Garden

Another view of one of the new rhododendron beds in the East Garden at BRG. This  photo was taken looking towards Godfreys Lane that marks the eastern boundary.

East Garden BRG Picnic Tables

Currently there are picnic tables set up throughout the meadow lands of the East Garden. The trees in the background line the east bank of Tecumseh Creek, and are part of the naturalization area. This photo was taken from one of the new rhodo beds in the north east area of the BRG.

2010 saw the addition of many new beds with new plantings throughout the Garden (see details here). There are now more than a thousand rhododendrons alone, making the Brueckner Rhododendron Garden one of the largest collections in the country.

There is still more work to be done (with gardening, there's always more work to be done!) and volunteers are more than welcome to come help grow the garden. Contact us if you and/or your group would like to volunteer.

Prune Trees, Raise Canopy, Improve Sightlines, Bioswale Watch, Canada Geese

Still in the grip of winter, things are pretty quiet at Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens here in Port Credit.

While we wait for the dog fence to fade and blend into the scenery, here are some pictures from the past year when garden staff pruned many of the large trees, raising the canopy and improving the sightlines throughout the Gardens.

Evergreens at BRG Pruned, Canopy Raised

Purists may indeed have a point when they state that lovely Copper Beech trees should be left to their natural growing habits (see pictures this post on Snapshot Travel).

Copper beech send out branches almost at ground level, a distinctive trait. But the selective pruning of a number of trees, including the beech, means that one can see through the gardens from the Waterfront Trail along Tecumseh Creek to the top of the hill by the main rhodo beds.

 

Pruned Maple Tree Near Rose Garden

Also getting their limbs trimmed were several maple trees, like this one to the west of the Rose Garden. Again, the raised canopy will make the roses more visible from a greater distance, but more importantly, the higher canopy will allow the sun-loving roses to get their fix of sunlight.

 

Pruned Branches Mulch Ready

All the pruning was done by one younger, strong garden staff chap, who used an extendable power saw pruner to do all the work in one day. Part of the reason he was able to prune so many trees in such a short time is that he could do all the work from the ground, without needing to use a ladder.

 

Bioswale in Winter - BRG East Garden

As well as these pruning pictures from late August, I took some new ones yesterday showing Canada Geese foraging and squabbling on the east side of Tecumseh Creek near the area where the bioswale was added late last fall.

Water still seems to be pooling above the bioswale, so some fine tuning may be called for this spring.

 

Canada Geese in East Garden at Bioswale

 It's unusual for Canada Geese to venture this far into the Gardens. Most often, they forage along the Lake Ontario waterfront. This day, I counted 15 geese in this area.

With Port Credit, known for its micro climate, experiencing an even milder winter interspersed with sharp cold spells, I am thankful we (volunteers and staff) took the time last fall to mulch the rhododendrons and azaleas throughout the Gardens.

Bioswale, Roses, Rhododendrons, Tree Stump Removal, Mulch - Getting Gardens Ready for Ontario Winter

 It's been a busy few weeks at the Gardens in Port Credit: The new bioswale is in place to improve the drainage in the east garden; The tree stump removal specialist came with a remote controlled grinder to remove tree stumps (video below); and volunteers and staff continued preparing the rhododendron and azalea beds for winter.

Warm fall weather in south Mississauga made for pleasant November days along Lake Ontario, and a few late bloomer roses cheered all that came to visit.

Bioswale Created East Garden BRG

The gardens area east of Tecumseh Creek at the middle bridge are prepped to create a bioswale -- basically a shallow ditch -- to receive runoff and improve the drainage.

Bioswale to be Naturalized

With the bioswale in place, the shallow ditch will be naturalized -- planted with wildflowers and other native species.

Bioswale Brueckner Rhododendron Gardens

The near end (bottom of photo) of the bioswale slopes towards Tecumseh Creek.

Here's a short video of the bioswale :

BRG Lake Ontario Waterfront

Warm sunny days made more pleasant the task of placing pine needle mulch around rhodos, azaleas, and hydrangeas, and the benches overlooking Lake Ontario were a great spot to take a break.

Front End Loader at BRG

Mississauga staff used the front end loader to shift larger amounts of needles to the rhodo beds where volunteers made fast work of spreading among the acid-loving plants.

Young Rhododendrons Get Winter Prep

These newer-planted rhodos are nicely tucked in behind snow fencing faced with burlap and snuggled under a blanket of mulch, ready for cold winter weather.

Wild Cucumber Gourd

Underneath one of the large evergreeens shading the rhodos, I found this delicate, dried gourd like shell. New to me, but David, who really knows his wildflowers, identified it as wild cucumber, the fruit of a  vine. See the complete life cycle on this page.

Late Blooming Roses

Tess of the D'Urbervilles is one of the roses still blooming in the Rose Garden but is showing signs of black spot. This late in the season, black spot is to be expected.

And a week or so ago, the tree stumps dotting the Gardens were removed -- well, chewed up and spit out --  with help of a technician and a self propelled, remote controlled grinder. The  remaining small roots left underground are not a problem.

See video self propelled tree stump grinder remover or view below:


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While the warm fall weather holds, volunteers and staff will continue to prepare the rhododendron and azalea beds for winter. The lily garden also needs a few good days of weeding and mulching, so if you have any free time, do give David a call. See  Volunteer link in right menu.