Wes Porter
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.
Most Recent Articles by Wes Porter:
Successful Seed Raising
January 17, 2025
Like it or not, GM has come to the rescue of several important crops when they fell foul of disease. Weed control has been more controversial
Catalogs: Best of times for Gardeners
January 15, 2025
Cuke Tales
April 17, 2024
All of which seems to add confirmation to the observation that humans are 90% water – basically cucumbers with anxiety. “Cool as a cucumber” simply does not hold water.
Leeks for the Emperor Nero
April 8, 2024
‘Leek’ derives from the Old English lēac, meaning ‘onion.’
Questions We’re Often Asked: Easter Lilies
March 31, 2020
Lily a symbol to Christians of the Resurrection
Follow Up: The King’s Vegetable Garden
March 30, 2020
The French Sun King's Potager du Roi at Versailles
Flowering Tobacco Plants Make Scents
March 29, 2020
Jasmine Tobacco, Persian Tobacco, Sweet Tobacco, Tanbaku, even Winged Tobacco
Mary Emily Eaton, English Botanical Artist
March 22, 2020
Many of her paintings are at the British Museum of Natural History; her water colours are also part of the permanent collections of the National Geographic Society, The New York Botanical Garden and the Smithsonian Institution.
Tiger Lilies
March 15, 2020
Despite folklore, sniffing a Tiger Lily flower will not cause freckles. It may, though, like all lilies by fatal to felines
Dig That Garden!
March 8, 2020
Given the work involved, double digging is largely a thing of the past. Little wonder that some gardeners throw in the trowel
Composted Manure May Contain Antibiotics
March 1, 2020
Questions We’re Often Asked: Snowdrops
February 28, 2020
Follow Up . . . A Room with a Coo
February 26, 2020
Pigeons
The Fabulous Upas Tree: Fact and Fiction
February 25, 2020
What awaits the unwary traveller in today's tropical rainforests walks on two legs with larcenous intent
Cape Primrose
February 22, 2020
There on the Knysna estate of George Rex he discovered the first of the 'Streps' growing in rocky outcrops on the south coast of the Cape Colony.
Puzzling Pansies and Violas
February 15, 2020
"The difference between a Pansy and a Viola is a question that puzzles many a garden-lover who is not enlightened by the statement that while all Pansies are really Violas, not all Violas are suitable for classification as Pansies"
50th Anniversary Edition of the Richters Catalogue
February 8, 2020
Start Summer Bulbs Indoors
February 1, 2020
Questions We’re Often Asked: Wassailing
December 29, 2019
In more recent years, Wassailing has experienced a revival
Ivy Will Cling
December 22, 2019
Bright College Days: “Ivy-covered professors in ivy-covered halls”
Winter Weather? Don’t Ask
December 15, 2019
"Winter drawers in. Winter drawers on"
Shocker: Houseplants Don’t Clean the Air
December 8, 2019
HOUSE PLANTS: “Admire them, talk to them” but don’t expect them to absorb pollutants
OUTDOOR CHORES, INDOOR PLANT CARE
December 1, 2019
Questions Often Asked: Spruce Beer
November 29, 2019
Modern marketing mavens have created their version the traditional French-Canadian bière d’épinette
Cyanide: Apples, Apricots, Cherries, Peaches
November 22, 2019
Persons maintain an average everyday diet might be surprised to learn that many another food and flavouring may cause medical distress
Broom Bloom: Symbol of Royalty
November 15, 2019
Ever since a Plantagenet has been, as you might say, a sprig off the old plant.
Indoor Plants Clean the Air
November 8, 2019
A Matter Of Mulch, Weeds and More
November 1, 2019
Celebrities are turning to organic gardening – or are they?
Poisonous Food Plants
October 22, 2019
Are there poisonous plants lurking in the kitchen?
Gardens of Empress Josephine
October 15, 2019
Josephine and her encouragement of chief horticulturalist Dupont that laid the foundation for modern roses