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Just in time for Christmas gifts we commence our VIEW OF WHAT IS NEW for the coming season. In future we will take a look at many other different, frequently innovative inventions. Also, since these columns are for plant people introductions in what is undoubtedly the growing business.

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Bird Feeder Packs a Peck

Beak Bites from Quest Plastics of Mississauga, Ontario is something to be expected of a company well past its quarter-century to come up with. The Chalet™ suet basket is a diamond-shaped box of sturdy black plastic mesh, topped on the upper two sides by a copper-toned sloping metal roof. Small birds can swoop down, grip the one-inch-square bars and enjoy a free and easy feast. This can be of a number of offerings embedded in beef suet. The ‘Peanut Treat,’ for example rather unsurprisingly contains roast peanuts along with oats, corn and, for fastidious feeder, peanut flavouring. Worried about the little bird buddies receiving acceptable nutrition? Quest even supplies a ‘guaranteed analysis’ of, in this case a minimum of 8% crude protein and 35% crude fat and a maximum of 10% crude fibre. The square cake this is composed of slips neatly inside the plastic basket. The peak of the roof features a convenient hook to hang The Chalet™ on a convenient support of low branch. This is just the thing to attract our feathered chums to the miniscule modern urban yard or close to a window in more spacious situations. Even Toronto’s tony Annex area 80 species may be seen, including a rough-legged hawk according to Graehme Gibson: The Bedside Book of Birds (2005). In Toronto as a whole, 300 species are often seen. Beak Bites from Quest Plastics www.beakbites.ca

Hanging Gardens from Keast

Bill Keast of Belleville, Ontario is an artist with a different in hanging gardens. Babylon’s famed Hanging Gardens of Queen Amytis were one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Hanging Gardens By Keast™ will surely equally intrigue visitors to your patio, deck, pool area or elsewhere in the home garden. Traditional art is unsuitable for placing in most outside areas but by using exclusive “Weather Print” technology, Bill Keast has created a series of 24- by 32-inch and 24- by 24-inch art prints. Such subjects as “Woodland Wonder,” “Golden Iris,” or “Luscious Lilies” will appeal to the gardeners everywhere. More general is “Roadside Wonder” and “Gnarled Giant.” There are six different subjects so far, with doubtlessly more to follow. The images are printed on aluminum and are guaranteed not to fade, rust or crack for five years. In fact, says Bill Yeast, the UV resistant inks have withstood for eight years so far and show no signs of deterioration. The prints are waterproof and weather resistant, withstand all temperature extremes and can be wiped clean and dry without harming the surface. They would make a fine focal point for condominium balcony walls, along with sunrooms or spas. A unique bracket secures the print to a wide variety of surfaces, including brick, cement, stone, wood and vinyl siding, so that mounting is not a problem. Any one (or more?) would make and ideal gift. Your name doesn’t have to be Nebuchadrezzar to present Hanging Gardens by Keast™ to your queen. www.paintingsbykest.ca

Orchid Champion™

Want to grow like a champion, asks Orchid Champion™? The secret of master growers or the Orchidaceae lies in maintaining an optimal environment not unreasonably claims Orchid Champion™. In fact it “may well be the greatest breakthrough in floriculture in the last decade,” according to claims. It could well be in the wonderful world of orchids. Thanks to more recently developed growing techniques, transportation and – let’s admit it – modern marketing, orchids are more readily available than ever before. When you see such varied sources as Sheridan Nurseries, Dominion supermarkets and Zellers all vying for the potential of these wonderfully exotic plants, something must have clicked. While many orchids are far easier than is believed by the black-thumb brigade, they do have their little quirks. Unsanitary conditions are undoubtedly their bete noir. Orchid Champion™ is a natural cleaning formula based on an enzymatic solution. It aids in the expulsion and breakdown of dead matter in the growing media and can also be used on tools and equipment. While it is not a fertilizer, it is compatible with standard forms of such. Bottled, it keeps indefinitely. Made by Sipco Industries in Canada, it is also available in the United States and Australia. According to the manufacturer, “our secret formula cannot be reversed engineered, so don’t be fooled, we may be imitated but never duplicated.” Doubtlessly this will disappoint Beijing-based entrepreneur. Orchid Champion™ helps to keep things clean. As they ask, “isn’t an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure?” Check out their web site at www.orchidchampion.com.

Swedish for Plant Protection

Many wonderful ideas have come out of Sweden: IKEA for one example, Anita Ekberg for another. In horticulture Plantskydd® is, they say, Swedish for ‘Plant Protection.’ The 100% natural formulation has now travelled to North America where it provides long lasting, year-round proven protection for ornamental plants from deer, moose, opossum, elk and rabbits. Outside Canada, it has also been found effective against squirrels, chipmunks and voles. Unfortunately, we are told by company representatives it would take six years of tests to prove this to the satisfaction of Ottawa’s bungleaucrats (they were too polite to describe that strange form of life as such). So the here in the Great White North labels and literature can’t claim these creatures also shy away from Plantskydd® treated gardens. Deer are more prolific than they were when white colonists arrived in Upper Canada. They are well known in Toronto’s Rouge, Don and Humber river valleys, from which they emerge to feast on lush, well-tended gardens. Nor is this limited to the outskirts of the metropolis: they are far from unknown in gardens abutting on the Lower Don Valley a mere 15-minute drive from Bloor and Yonge. These same river valleys and their ravines also provide cover for populations of rabbits, as do railway lines reaching out far beyond the suburbs. In short, you can expect anything and everything dropping in for more than a single nibble. Plantskydd® has already found favour with foresters, professional foresters and along with many gardeners. Treatments last up to six months over winter under dormant conditions, about half that time on most broadleaf plants. It stops your unwanted guests in their tracks – they don’t even start to sample the bill of fare. For further details visit the web site www.plantskydd.com


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Wes Porter -- Bio and Archives

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.


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