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Horticulture Posts

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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