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Telling Tales Oct 3-5:  Hendrie Park will be CLOSED to visitors October 3 in preparation for Telling Tales, a festival open to the public October 4 and 5. See tellingtales.org for visiting details.

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Inside RBG’s Iris Collection: Past, Present, and Future

June 5, 2025

Inside RBG’s Iris Collection: Past, Present, and Future By Gianna Bazinet, Curator & Plant Records, Royal Botanical Gardens Past Irises have deep cultural significance, appearing ...

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What’s in Bloom? May at RBG

April 30, 2025

What Blooms in May? Note: this is a general guide of what typically blooms this month at RBG. Bloom periods may vary by up to ...

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Help Create Gardens that Inspire, Educate, and Flourish

April 3, 2025

For nearly a century, RBG has been a leader in horticulture, conservation, and education. But our work is far from done. Right now, we’re embarking ...

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What’s in Bloom? April at RBG

March 27, 2025

What Blooms in April? Note: this is a general guide of what typically blooms this month at RBG. Bloom periods may vary by up to ...

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What’s in Bloom? March at RBG

February 27, 2025

What Blooms in March? Note: this is a general guide of what typically blooms this month at RBG. Bloom periods may vary by up to ...

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Celebrating Black History Month: Jamaica Kincaid

February 25, 2025

Jamaica Kincaid, Garden Writer Acclaimed novelist, essayist, and garden writer, Jamaica Kincaid (b. 1949) brings to garden writing her rich thinking on colonialism and race. ...

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Celebrating Black History Month: George Washington Carver

February 19, 2025

George Washington Carver, Botanist and Environmentalist Born into slavery in Missouri, George W. Carver (1864–1943) dedicated his life to improving the lives of poor Black ...

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Celebrating Black History Month: Edmond Albius

February 13, 2025

Edmond Albius, Horticulturist Vanilla beans are the seedpods of Vanilla Orchids. These plants grow in the tropical forests of Mexico, Central and South America. In ...

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What’s in Bloom? February at RBG

January 31, 2025

What Blooms in February? Note: this is a general guide of what typically blooms this month at RBG. Bloom periods may vary by up to ...

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Beyond Pumpkins: Peculiar Plants for Halloween

October 29, 2024

Beyond Pumpkins: Peculiar Plants for Halloween By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns is a popular Halloween tradition whose ...

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Irises, Roses, and Peonies in Botanical Folklore

October 22, 2024

Irises, Roses, and Peonies in Botanical Folklore By Gianna Bazinet, Horticulture Curatorial Assistant, Royal Botanical Gardens Autumn is a season rich with folklore. The changing ...

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Botanical Oddities: Gingko Biloba ‘Thelma’

September 27, 2024

Botanical Oddities: Gingko Biloba ‘Thelma’ By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens The ginkgo tree is one of the oldest living tree species ...

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What’s in a Plant Name? How Cultivar and Trade Designations Shape the Rose Garden

September 17, 2024

What’s in a Plant Name? How Cultivar and Trade Designations Shape the Rose Garden By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Rosa ‘AUSorts’ ...

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Force of Nature: Japanese Beetle at RBG’s Rose Garden

August 1, 2024

Force of Nature: Japanese Beetle at RBG's Rose Garden By Nolan Lake, Entomology Student, Royal Botanical Gardens The Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica) has been a ...

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The Mediterranean Garden Rejuvenation Project

June 27, 2024

The Mediterranean Garden Rejuvenation Project  Opened in 1986, the Mediterranean Garden features plants native to the five Mediterranean climate zones around the world. The lush, ...

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Environmental Responsibility and the Art of Mulching

May 28, 2024

Environmental Responsibility and the Art of Mulching By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens As responsible gardeners we need to consider the impact ...

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Voodoo Lily: A Sinister Stench and A Five Star Meal of Death!

March 4, 2024

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Are you interested in botanical curiosities? If so, we have a surprise for you! Three of ...

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2023 Botanical Year in Review: How Did Our Garden Grow?

January 10, 2024

By: Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens RBG’s cultivated gardens now have a total of 9,500 living accessions and over ...

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What’s in Bloom? January at RBG

December 28, 2023

What Blooms in January? Note: this is a general guide of what typically blooms this month at RBG. Bloom periods may vary by up to ...

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Bulb Brilliance: Behind the Scenes of the Breezeway

November 17, 2023

As the leaves fall and winter's chill sets in, a magical transformation is underway behind the scenes at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG). Spring is ...

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Monitoring an Invasive Species: Spotted Lanternfly

July 19, 2023

By Abbie McHardy, Student Entomologist, Royal Botanical Gardens Be on the lookout for the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula), or ‘SLF’! This insect is native to ...

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Host Plants for Butterflies and Moths

July 12, 2023

By Karin Davidson-Taylor, Education Program Officer, Royal Botanical Gardens We see bees, butterflies and moths going from flower to flower feeding on nectar and transferring pollen, ...

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The Life of a Canadian Iris

June 12, 2023

The Life of a Canadian Iris: The Story of Forensic Curation, Detection and Discovery. By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens One of ...

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Blooming with Pride

June 7, 2023

By Christie Brodie, Erin Aults, Kathleen Hutcheson, Royal Botanical Gardens. June is an exciting time of year at RBG as some of our largest collections ...

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War of the Roses: Parasitic Wasp vs Aphid

May 30, 2023

By Abbie McHardy, Student Entomologist, Royal Botanical Gardens As the weather gets warmer, spring and summer wildlife is becoming more active at RBG. Of course ...

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The Force is Strong with These Plants: Star Wars-Inspired Flora

May 3, 2023

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens I was seven years old when the first Star Wars film came out and it was ...

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Earth Day Pictorial Nature Map

April 21, 2023

By Kerilyn Perron, GIS Mapping Technician, Royal Botanical Gardens Celebrated annually, Earth Day is a global event to create awareness for environmental conservation and to ...

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Radiant Ranunculus

March 17, 2023

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens If you have visited the Breezeway at RBG Centre recently you will have noticed the fabulous ...

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Why Xeriscape? What You Need to Know About This Hot Garden Trend of 2023

March 6, 2023

By Andrea Berwick CLD, Landscape Designer, Royal Botanical Gardens It probably doesn’t come to much of a surprise that as we look at gardening trends ...

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The Perils of Spring Fever

February 22, 2023

By Jessica Veter, Volunteer, Royal Botanical Gardens. Last year, my grow op–which had started as three smallish trays of seedlings at the end of January–grew ...

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Solstice Botany and Christmas Celebrations

December 21, 2022

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Have you ever stopped to think why, in the middle of winter, when the northern world ...

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Fungi, Winter Solstice, and …Santa Claus?

November 23, 2022

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Did you know that the modern image of Santa Claus was devised as recently as 1931 ...

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Low Waters and Ecological Implications

November 10, 2022

By Tys Theysmeyer, Head of Natural Areas, Royal Botanical Gardens A truly dry summer and fall has led to challenging conditions for fish and wildlife.  ...

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Put the rake down. Your garden, and local wildlife, will thank you

October 24, 2022

By Jessica Veter, Volunteer, Royal Botanical Gardens. I have been gardening since April and, frankly, I’m exhausted. I’ve dug a set of stairs into a ...

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All About Sunflowers: Native Species & Beloved Cultivars

September 8, 2022

By Tys Theysmeyer, Head of Natural Areas, Royal Botanical Gardens Few plant species bring a smile to peoples face like sunflowers. The smiles can get ...

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Smart Water Management in Your Garden

August 9, 2022

By Jessica Veter, Volunteer, Royal Botanical Gardens. Have I mentioned before how lazy I am? Why do I bother gardening at all? I’d rather lie ...

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Top 5 Long Blooming Perennials to Try This Summer

July 13, 2022

By Andrea Berwick CLD, Landscape Designer, Royal Botanical Gardens I don’t know about you but when I walk into a garden center, I become overwhelmed ...

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The Scent of Roses

July 8, 2022

By Ali Brown, Volunteer, Royal Botanical Gardens As you walk along a trail you don’t notice them right away, hiding just off the main path ...

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Lost & Found; the Creelman Lily Blooms Again

July 8, 2022

The “dean of hybridists”, “Grand Lady of Canadian Horticulture”, Isabella Preston (1881-1964) was a self-taught plant hybridist who began her horticultural journey as a student ...

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Foliage & Living Fossils: Summer Breezeway Display

July 5, 2022

As the heat warms the gardens outside, indoors the Breezeway transitions from bright spring bulbs to a lush landscape of foliage and subtle flowers. This ...

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8 Ways to Attract Beneficial Insects to your Garden

June 10, 2022

By Jessica Veter, Volunteer, Royal Botanical Gardens. I’m a live-and-let-live kind of gardener, though that was sorely tested when an army of caterpillars were stripping ...

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In Memoriam – Freek Vrugtman

March 31, 2022

By Dr. David Galbraith, Head of Science, Royal Botanical Gardens. An institution with an 80-year history has seen many amazing people participate in its development and ...

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Growing in 2021

December 9, 2021

By: Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens Photos by Jon L. Peter The 2021 growing period was a relatively good ...

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One Hundred Years of Remembrance Day Poppies

November 11, 2021

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Remembrance Day poppies are artificial flowers worn to remember those who died for their country. They ...

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Introducing Heptacodium miconioides

October 14, 2021

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens With the sun having recently crossed the celestial equator and welcoming the autumnal equinox, many of ...

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Joy in the Rose Garden

July 22, 2021

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Exciting things have been happening in the Rose Garden based upon information gathered in 2020. Last ...

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Lilacs and Living Collections

May 26, 2021

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens. Canada has produced several notable lilac hybridizers over the years. When it comes to female ...

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Ravishing Redbuds

April 21, 2021

By Jon L. Peter, Director of Horticulture, Royal Botanical Gardens. Thanks to hybridization and selection efforts, the redbud has become a very popular plant in ...

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Mediterranean Garden 2020-2021

April 14, 2021

By Chris Tarrant, Plant Propagation and Production Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens. Since my arrival at RBG in 2017, the Mediterranean Garden (or “Med House” as ...

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A Seasonal Display Primer

February 18, 2021

By Jim Mack, Head of Horticulture, Royal Botanical Gardens. The transition through the seasons may be slow and subtle, but from a horticultural point of ...

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Exploring Conifers

November 24, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens. As we approach the holiday season and winter ahead, there is one division of ...

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The Importance of Rose Evaluations

August 10, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Living Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens. As beautiful as the rose garden is it also provides RBG with several great educational ...

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Solar Flares & Purple Rain: Funky Plant Names

June 18, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Perambulating around the garden this week again offers an insight into some interesting plants not just ...

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Collecting Clematis

June 17, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens. Clematis is a highly collectable genera of herbaceous perennials and climbing vines. There are ...

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Rejoice! It’s Peony and Iris Peak Bloom

June 15, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Its an interesting time to be in the plant collections and gardens this week. Mid season ...

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Fantastic Foliage

June 11, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens As we approach the summer solstice, we come to the time of year when ...

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Lilacs: What’s in a Name?

June 5, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens The lilac collection has reached peak bloom perfectly in time for the reopening of the Arboretum. ...

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The Malus Collection

May 29, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens The genus Malus is a member of the Rose Family (Rosaceae) and includes edible ...

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Boraginaceae Botanicals

May 28, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens The borage or forget-me-not family (Boraginaceae) includes approximately 2,000 species of woody and herbaceous ...

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A Celebration of Lilacs

May 27, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections, Royal Botanical Gardens Lilacs (scientific name Syringa) are beloved garden plants and much admired for their showy and fragrant ...

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Scrumptious Succulents

May 14, 2020

By Jon Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager, Royal Botanical Gardens Have you jumped on the succulent bandwagon? For the past ten years or more, ...

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Botanical Bloodroot

May 8, 2020

By Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager Bloodroot is a timeless spring ephemeral from the genus Sanguinaria, which comes from the Latin sanguinarius ...

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Sakura Zensen: The Advance of Cherry Blossoms

May 7, 2020

By Alex Henderson, Curator of Collections Flowering cherries are deciduous trees with showy, ornamental flowers in spring, oval serrated leaves, with many species or cultivars ...

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Spring Bud Break

May 5, 2020

Contributed by Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager As spring continues to unfold, it reveals a multitude of delight from early spring flowers, ...

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Dazzling Daffodils

April 14, 2020

Contributed by Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager Daffodils, the genus Narcissus, are prized plants for historical, ornamental and economical importance. This is ...

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Wicked Witch-Hazels

April 6, 2020

Contributed by Jon L. Peter, Curator & Plant Records Manager The Hamamelidaceae family contains some of our finest trees and shrubs. From the intricate bark ...

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