It will be another year at least before Canadians can grow their own marijuana. Following Royal Assent, the Liberal government intends to bring the proposed Act into place no later than July 2018, announced Health Canada. At that time, adults would legally be able to possess up to 30 grams of legal cannabis in public, and grow up to four plants per household at a maximum height of one metre from a legal seed or seedling. But, warns Health Canada, Until the new law comes into force, cannabis will remain illegal everywhere in Canada, except for medical purposes. But if you're renting your home, you may have to think again. The national landlord group Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations says the federal government should change its proposed marijuana legislation bill to ban people from growing plants in rented homes of multi-unit buildings.
Diversion No. 1
A honeybee can carry up to 30 percent of its body weight in pollen because of the strategic spacing of its nearly three million hairs. The gap between each eye hair is approximately the same size as a grain of dandelion pollen, which is typically collected by bees. The keeps the pollen suspend above the eye and allows the forelegs to comb through and collect the particles, a study in the journal Bioinspiration & Biometrics reveals
In addition to their beauty, tulips have borne a special meaning for Canadians ever since Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and her two daughters reached safety in Ottawa during the Second World War, writes artist Sharon Argyle, Canada's History. In appreciation for that safe refuge and in recognition of the Canadian Army's role in the liberation of Holland, the Dutch government in 1945 sent 100,000 tulip bulbs to Ottawa, followed by thousands more over the years. The latest example of Dutch benevolence is the Canada 150 tulip, develop to mark the country's sesquicentennial. The red-and-white blooms will be among the more than one million tulips blooming in annual May event, brightening Ottawa as it has done since 1953, giving lie to Ian Fleming's description "a massive block of grey masonry built to look stodgily important and to withstand the long hard winters" (1959).
Diversion No. 2
Research into space farming has resulted in numerous Earth-based advances (e.g., LED lighting for greenhouse and vertical farming applications; new seed potato propagation techniques, etc.) There are still many technical challenges, but plants and associated biological systems can and will be a major complement of the systems that keep humans alive when we establish ourselves on the moon, Mars, and beyond suggests the journal Open Agriculture
Canada, Britain, Australia, everywhere gardens are getting smaller. For gardeners viewing wistfully reduced domains, how to plant more plants? The answer is to reduce the size of the specimens and, perhaps, severely pruning back larger species. A good start is to check out catalogs specializing in dwarf and miniature selections. Beamsville, Ontario Vineland Nurseries in the Niagara Peninsular, for example, has been offering 'special plants for small spaces' for 35 years (vinelandnurs3eries.com). As they say, their plants are often used (but not limited to) rock gardens, garden railways, bonsai, pool and small garden areas.
Diversion No. 3
An upstate New York poplar tree dating back to before the Civil War has grown around three famous farm tool blades and needs pruning. A man who joined the Union Army placed a scythe in the tree's crotch and told his parents not to remove it until he came home. He later died in a Confederate hospital. During World War I two brothers placed scythes in the tree. They both came home. The poplar is in Waterloo, between Rochester and Syracuse [The Statesman, The Post-Standard]
Named third greatest male film star by the American Film Institute, Jimmy Stewart was an avid gardener, talking about gardening during his Tonight Show appearances. He had taken some of the earnings he had made with The Glenn Miller Story and Rear Widow and bought out his neighbour on North Roxbury Drive. The existing house was razed and the property turned into an enormous garden for wife Gloria to use as her retreat and they could both grow flowers and vegetables. Born 20 May 1908, he proved to be another gardener enjoying a long life, living a full 89 years. True though, in January 1997 he tripped over a plant in his bedroom and required stitches for a gashed forehead.
Diversion No. 4
Dust from as far away as the Gobi Desert in Asia is providing more nutrients than previously thought for plants, including giant sequoias, in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains, a team of scientists reports in the journal Nature Communications
This month's flowers are lily-of-the-valley or hawthorn and there is plenty more going for gardeners with May being declared 'Garden Month.'. The 3rd is 'Garden Meditation Day,' and the 8th 'Iris Day' with a day later 'Public Gardens Day.'
As usual the second Sunday is Mother's Day--14th May this year. As Ogden Nash observed:
Oh, Mother's Day is a very fine day,
And not alone for mothers,
The florist finds it to his taste,
And so do a lot of others.
'Endangered Species Day' falls on 19th May, and unfortunately many plants fall into this category. On 22nd May in 1455 the unfortunately named Wars of the Roses commenced--not a pleasant event for participants or gardeners. Better, the 29th is 'Learn About Composting Day. Finally, 30th May is National Mint Julep Day in the United States. It is claimed that you can always tell the grave of a southern gentleman by the mint growing on it). Elsewhere it is 'Water a Flower Day.'
Wes Porter is a horticultural consultant and writer based in Toronto. Wes has over 40 years of experience in both temperate and tropical horticulture from three continents.
