Upon entering we were greeting with a free herb! I took a coriander and James received a sweet basil. There were a tonne of booths set up with information on plants, insects and general wildlife. There were also some seeds and plants for sale, both indoor and outdoor. The total booth area was about 5 times what you see below.
The greenhouses were built in three main phases from the mid to late 1900s. They grow most of the plants for the nearby Springbank Park and for decorative beds throughout London, Ontario. All of the greenhouses have sunscreens, fans for air circulation and heating pipes. The yellow sticky papers are for mite control. After the woman giving the tour mentioned that, I may have muttered "I f!cking hate those mites!" Which apparently was a little more than a mutter because Jame started laughing. Sometimes I have trouble modulating the volume of my voice... It's what makes me special. ;)
Attached to the complex is The Samuel R. Manness Conservatory which was donated in memoriam to the grandfather of Keith Manness, an avid gardener. Although it feels larger than the UWO Tropical Room, the planting is nowhere near as lush and their is a lot of open space.
We spent about an hour in the complex before returning to some beautiful spring weather...
Random point of the day. I learned from my IPM instructor in school that those little yellow sticky traps really don't do much for control. They are more of an indicator to let you know how bad the infestations are and if you need to spray.
ReplyDeleteGood to know.
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of plants. I need a greenhouse like that some day :)
ReplyDeleteWhat Plantpropaganda said, and I didn't know they worked on mites, too... I've only ever been taught about whiteflies and fungus gnats, and thrips, to some extent (apparently, blue traps work better for those).
ReplyDelete