Echinocactus grusonii

Echinocactus grusonii, known in English as "golden barrel cactus", "golden ball", or "mother-in-law's cushion", and in French as coussin de belle-mère, is a fast-growing roughly spherical cactus native to Mexico. Golden barrel cactus can reach a diameter of up to a metre. Although it is popular in cultivation because it is easy to grow, it has become rare in its native habitat. The flowers, the remains of which can be seen in the photo above, are yellow.

In Toronto, golden barrel cactus may be grown as a houseplant or in a greenhouse. This photo was taken in the Allan Gardens conservatory.

Cleistocactus winteri

Cleistocactus winteri, known in English as "golden rat tail", is a low-growing, sprawling cactus native to South America. It has showy reddish-orange or fuchsia flowers (which I have never seen in real life, but here are some images courtesy of Google).

In Toronto, golden rat tail is grown as a houseplant or in a greenhouse, like this specimen at Allan Gardens.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea, known as bougainvillée or bougainvillier in French, is a genus of woody vines native to South America, whose insignificant flowers are surrounded by very showy coloured bracts, in pink, red, orange, yellow, white, or purple.

Bougainvillea is not hardy enough to survive Toronto winters outside, but it can grow outside in the summer and move indoors for the winter. My dad grew a lovely bougainvillea as a houseplant. The specimen shown is in a greenhouse at Allan Gardens.

Euphorbia milii

Euphorbia milii, known in English as "crown of thorns", "Christ plant", or "Siamese lucky plant", and in French as couronne d'épines, couronne de Christ, or épine de Christ, is a viciously thorny shrub native to Madagascar. The small flowers are surrounded by red, pink, or white bracts.

This is another tropical which is nowhere near hardy enough to grow in Toronto, except as a houseplant or better still in a greenhouse (this one's in the Allan Gardens conservatory). Because it's poisonous and the thorns would be hard to live with, I think I'll just admire it from afar.

Brunfelsia pauciflora: flowers

Brunfelsia pauciflora, known in English as "yesterday, today and tomorrow" or "lady of the night" and in French as brunfelsie pauciflore is an evergreen shrub native to Brazil. The English name "yesterday, today and tomorrow" refers to an unusual property of the flowers—they change colour daily from purple to mauve to white.

Since this is a tropical plant, it's not going to survive outside in Toronto for long (it can be grown as a houseplant, or in a greenhouse like this specimen at Allan Gardens). Even with the right conditions, BackyardGardener.com describes Brunfelsia as being "high maintenance". It's also poisonous according to many sources. So I don't think I'll be attempting to grow this flower, beautiful as it is, any time soon.

Rosmarinus officinalis: in bloom!

Rosmarinus officinalis, known in English as rosemary and in French as romarin, is a tender woody perennial native to the Mediterranean region. Its fragrant, greyish, thin, needle-like leaves are used as a culinary herb. The flowers are pale blue.

Rosemary is not hardy enough to survive Toronto winters. It can be grown in the garden as an annual, which I tried last year. It never got very large, 30 cm at best, and of course it's dead now. Rosemary can also be grown as a houseplant, though some find it a struggle. My first boyfriend managed to quickly kill the rosemary plant he tried growing in his dorm room for sentimental reasons, probably a combination of insufficient light and too much heat in the winter. (I married him anyway.)

The rosemary plant at my parents' house on the other hand lived for years. It too never got very big, about 30 cm, and never bloomed. My budgie enjoyed nibbling on it.

The rosemary in the photo is the biggest, most beautiful rosemary plant I have ever seen, and the first time I have seen rosemary in bloom in real life! It's growing in the Allan Garden's conservatory. I'm not sure if it's even possible to grow a rosemary plant this big (well over a metre) in Toronto without a greenhouse.

If you want to see it in person, after entering the centre greenhouse go through the door on the left to the next greenhouse (the one with the pool and the statue of Leda and the swan). The rosemary is in the centre bed.

Ambitious indoor gardeners in Toronto may be inspired by this goregous rosemary bonsai! If I had a sunny window I'd like to try this myself.

Allan Gardens: a tropical escape from Toronto's winter!

This Sunday I spent an enjoyable hour on a tropical vacation, at the Allan Gardens greenhouses, located on Carlton east of Jarvis. (Not only a convenient location for me, but free too!) The entrance features a high domed ceiling and some very large plants. The tree on the left is a common screw pine (Pandanus utilis). In the background you can see the very large leaves of a banana tree (Musa spp.). In the greenhouse south of the entrance hall, seasonal bedding provides a carpet of colour beneath the larger permanent residents. Currently the bedding plants include azaleas (Rhododendron spp.), Cyclamen, daffodils (Narcissus spp.), and snowdrops (Galanthus spp.), with tulips (Tulipa spp.) and Crocus in bud. Also in the south greenhouse, a pond features a statue of Leda and the swan. The white frond like things in the background are actually ornamental cabbage or kale (Brassica oleracea) which has bolted. In person they looked like little white Christmas trees. In a greenhouse to the north of the entrance is a collection of cacti and other succulents.

I've got close-ups of some individual plants in the Allan Gardens greenhouses. I'll be posting them with short profiles as time permits.

Learn more about Allan Gardens:

• Allan Gardens site by Toronto Parks and Recreation
• Allan Gardens site by Toronto Botanical Garden, with information on adult ESL tours offered January through March
• Allan Gardens site by toronto.com