"Six days after Deborah Dale gave a city-sponsored seminar on growing natural gardens filled with native species, the garden that is her front lawn in Scarborough was razed – clipped to the stem by the city after neighbours complained the plants were weeds. "

http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/250460

Last week we busied ourselves cutting flower heads off the phragmites. (The flowers are called panicles. According to that article, the pesky reeds also have ligules, glumes and culms. Wikipedians are so hardcore.)

It's an interesting experience to make your way into the phragmites patch, as the stalks are about twelve feet tall (even taller in metric) and you can't see much else. It feels like some kind of tropical forest. Bamboo?

Look down:

Look up:

Look straight ahead:

Turns out, a phragmites flower is a gorgeous thing, all subtle colours and flowing tresses. (Phragmites was the Greek god of really nice hair.)

Here's a little bunch of them:

If they weren't full of viable seeds they'd be a lovely thing for a flower arrangement. The reeds were also chock-full of snails and katydids.

Elderberries ripening:

A beetle checks out the great height of the goldenrod:

I've been out of town and haven't attended a Beechwood stewardship evening for weeks. I offer instead these lovely photos of beach wood.

I played hooky from stewardship last night. With an extreme heat alert and the humidex approaching (or reaching?) 40, this delicate flower recognizes her limits and stays inside. Hats off to anyone who showed up. No, wait, keep your hats on if you're in the sun!

Last week we found a gypsy moth in our equipment box. No surprise, as this is where I found a lot of gypsy moth caterpillars several weeks ago. This is a male:

Dude is a bit menacing up close:

Some of our plantings from earlier in the season, coming along nicely:

Joe Pye weed brings a welcome change of colour amidst all the green and yellow:

Meadowsweet: