green house nettles

nettles growing against a low west facing wall of the Allan garden greenhouse. not as one hopes a demonstration by torontos parks and recreation of the edible herbs growing in the land bay. only a few garden weeds enjoying their place in the sun.

stinging nettles are a favorite of herbalists, the fresh leaves lose their irritating effect when dry or heated thoroughly allowing them to be used as a herb tea or added to soups.

nettle plants look like mint plants. one time when we were living on the quarter-section I was telling my sister to watch out for some nettles we were walking towards, mother said "what is that mint, is that mint" I said yeah she tore a few leaves off one plant and held them to her nose, said she couldn't smell any mint so she rubbed them harder and pressed them closer to nose and them let out a yelp as the stinging took effect.

 

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acanthus--sowthistle

summer 2016, sow-thistle ( as in a pig) enjoying the sun and heat at the intersection of Yonge and bloor. some of the flowers have set seeds, ensuring another generation of plants in the years to come.

the leaves give a classical effect to the street corner, they have that acanthus leaf quality without being acanthus. against the curb of the walk and concrete moulding at the base of the light post the sow-thistle calls to mind one of the basic elements of euroese temple style architecture.

 

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transparenzy

walls with literal and phenomenal transparency at the eaton centre tower

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townscape--ttc salt box

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rough mown lawn

that way of mowing a lawn so the edge meeting the angle of the perennial flower beds is left longer than the larger centre area of the lawn.

 

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petunia--self seeded

the petunia, a plant originally from southern regions of South America where it grows as a common weed. it can also be found in Toronto gardens and along the cracks of the pavements. here a single petunia has found a home on the curb of Yonge street near bloor. self seeded from one of the hanging flower brackets parks and recreation fills with petunias and other garden plants.

 

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wallgarden--cathedral spire

wall with a garden beyond, cathedral spire in background.

painted a dark shade of veridian green, anchoring the trees and providing a base for the invisible pyramid the spire suggests

 

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laurentian tempietto

facade and dome of the tempietto crowning the laurentian hall at king and jarvis. townscape reflected in the window of another piece of townscape.

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allotment garden soil

 

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wastebook--sketchbook

 

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wild asparagus

video of asparagus, one asparagus growing in the toronto landfill park at the south end of Leslie street. compiled from photos taken over several weeks, it shows the early branch less stems, the branches with flowers and then the berries.

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