Sun, May 20 2007 - Lilac Festival - Royal Botanical Gardens (View Original Event Details)

Event Coordinator(s): Jo
Participants:Jo, David B, Bernadette, howie, Stanley, Darlene, PeggyWitt, Shannon, jianfeng zhou, Elena, Daniel Katz


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Write Up:

The day didn't look too promising as we set out at 10 AM for our drive to Burlington. The coolness and drops of rain turned out to be a good thing, though, for the Arboreturm wasn't too crowded when we arrived. The RBG Lilac Festival included live jazz, BBQ, and information booths at the top of the Lilac Dell. We learned many interesting things about lilacs such as:

  • They are related to olive trees and are originally from Southeastern Europe and Asia
  • Lilacs can come in white, pink, "lilac", purple and red; wild ones are usually the colour “lilac” (light purple).
  • Flower fragrance varies by cultivar, time of day and weather
  • Wild lilacs often indicate the site of an old farmhouse
  • Flowers can be single or double.
  • There is a bacterial disease called Lilac Blight that has been killing many bushes in North America. The RBG is working hard to control its spread.
  • The RBG is the international registry for lilacs. That means that anytime a new cultivar is created, it has to be registered with the RBG to be official.

    • After viewing the Lilac Dell, we took a nature stroll by the water of Cootes Paradise. Stanley took many, many photos of blooming wildflowers including white and pink trilliums, honeysuckle, wild strawberry. We saw a rabbit that was definitely not wild – this bothered us as it (or a recent ancestor) had probably been dumped by someone.

    Peggy’s dog Amber, a sweet-natured Staffy, enjoyed being part of the group although she was definitely more interested in chipmunks than in flowers! The chipmunks were very bold and teased Amber mercilessly. Jo fussed over Amber and even got to walk her a bit, although Amber got very worried when “mom” (Peggy) was out of her sight.

    Elena’s son Daniel was very patient for a teenager with little interest in gardens and suffered through his computer withdrawal with little complaint.

    After a rest to enjoy the music and have a bite to eat (Jen had her second hamburger of the day -where does she put them?) we headed over to another RBG area, the Rock Garden. The tulips were still out, and were absolutely gorgeous. Daniel, Jo and Howie debated over whether the fish in the pond were goldfish, koi or carp. Another rest was called for at the Rock Garden Teahouse, and then we visited the main centre down the road. It has indoor gardens but the meanies wouldn’t let Amber in, so Peggy and Jo took shifts to visit. As we prepared to leave for home, a wedding party arrived for photos – what a lovely setting.

    Once back in TO, Jo, Bernadette and Jen headed to the new TOC “clubhouse”, Chalkers, and met up with some of Erik’s hiking group. We almost had the place to ourselves, and there are tons of pool tables (which we can play free as TOC members) plus we get 15% off food.

    Roses will be blooming next month, so there was some talk of another TOC visit soon…one thing about visiting gardens, they will always be something new or different each time.




    Have some photos from this event that you'd like to share in our photo album? Please forward them to Erik Sonstenes at photos@torontooutdoorclub.com. Please note that we prefer to receive the photos in approximately 640x480 or 750x500 pixels - do NOT send original high-res photos. If you have a LOT of photos, please submit up to twenty of your favorites (only) for a day event, or up to forty of your favourites for a multi-day event. Thank you.