Hard as Nails

Where:College Street West . Toronto, Canada.
What: Manicurist
Orientation: South

This little manicurist shop has sadly gone out of business, it was noticeable for its wonderful collection of well-grown succulents. It was a tough spot for plants, facing south and the blistering heat of the summer. Even in the winter the sun in south facing windows can become quite intense, however these plants, mostly Echevaria, Aeonium and Crassula thrived in what is, for them, perfect conditions.

Pachypodiums and Perms

Where: Roncesvalles Ave. Toronto, Canada.
What: Beauty Salon
Orientation:West

The Beauty and Grooming industry does it again! It seems that along with hair-do’s, pedicures and manicures, the “Salons de Beaute” have taken the lead in Storefront Garden excellence. This interesting choice of Pachypodiums, perhaps one of the fiercest of plants with thorns, is in sharp contrast to the gentle pampering customers can expect from the proprietors. Thorns also seem to be a theme in this window as the equally prickly Euphorbia milii( Crown of Thorns) is part of the display. All these plants are beautifully grown with lush, shiny foliage and vigorous stature ( I’ve never seen such huge Pachypodium outside of Botanical Garden greenhouses).

Caribbean Storefront Gardens

I recently spent a month in the Caribbean spanning three countries and this was about the closest I found to what could qualify as a storefront garden.

Most stores on the islands I visited, especially Dominica, don’t have glass windows to create a greenhouse environment inside. And with plant life threatening to bury every square inch of the island in foliage, and a climate that is consistently warm and conducive to year round growing outdoors, why bother bringing the garden inside?

Attention to Detail

Where: Queen Street West . Toronto, Canada.
What: Restaurant
Orientation: South

Restaurants are busy places and not the best place to be if your a living plant needing regular attention. Perhaps it’s because of this that restaurants are frequently the sites of Storefront  Garden Disasters.  However by making the right choices , and not being overly ambitious, the careful placement  of plants add to the warm welcome that the front of a restaurant needs to promote.  In this example, the addition of  two heat-hardy Crassula  either side of the door, signals that this a healthy environment for living things and that the management pays attention to every detail

Difficult to Categorize

Where: Queen Street West and Dunn. Toronto, Canada.
What: Restaurant
Orientation:West

I’d normally be very critical of stores with frosted, tinted or mirrored glass as I feel they visually isolate themselves from the street-scape. When one can’t see in or out of the store the owners seem to have removed themselves from the daily comings and goings of the neighbourhood. Some times this is suspicious and rather creepy as the “Karaoke Bars” on Ossington Ave  used to be not so long ago.

In this case, I love the way the frosted safety glass has turned the windows into mysterious underwater landscapes. I can’t even categorize these windows as disasters either, as the plants are health, if a little rambunctious. They have been left alone to themselves to create these lovely dreamy compositions.

Finally, I have to admit that this is not really a storefront, they are the side windows to the Phoenix Restaurant which faces North onto Queen West.

Deaths Door

It’s interesting to note that plants growing in the storefronts of dry-cleaners and hairdressers seem to thrive in those rather toxic environments. On the other hand, I’ve noticed that  in health food and food supplements stores, window plants are frequently at Deaths door.

In this example, a shriveled Dracaena is paired with a  Poinsettia still in its protective bag. In the other corner an equally stressed out Dracaena was desperately clinging to life.

For gardeners, pleasure is derived from care and cultivation of plants and the constant observation needed to enjoy their response to daily attention.

We’re Number 1

Where: Queen Street West. Toronto, Canada.
What: Appliance Store/Dojo
Orientation: South

There’s nothing remarkable about this window as a garden. The only thing that qualifies it for documentation on this website is a single, mid-sized aloe in a boring black pot. Yet there is so much going on here, it’s impossible to overlook.

Unfortunately, I was lazy on the day I took this photo and did not document the address but I can tell those that are looking for it that it is in the block around the CAMH just west of Dufferin. You can’t miss it since the place is part appliance store and part kick-ass multi-ethnic dojo.

Not a Begonia

Where: 553 Bloor Street. Toronto, Canada.
What: Lebanese Restaurant
Orientation: North

I have to confess that it was the delightfully faded appearance of the kid’s cartoon tablecloth that drew me to photograph this window.  I have a strange aesthetic attraction to faded printing, especially when one or more of the colours is completely bleached out.

While I was taking the picture, the owner came out to ask what I was doing. This happens quite a bit since shop owners tend to get a bit suspicious of strangers milling around outside their store snapping photos.  Fortunately, gardeners are mostly generous people who puff up with pride and are eager to share their experiences when you show interest and a shared passion for plants.   However, in this case I was so wrapped up in taking the photo that I was caught off-guard and stammered about a bit searching for an appropriate and comforting response. 

“Uhhh, ummm, uhh….”

Despite my hesitancy he seemed to relax a bit and opened up about the plant explaining that he had been growing it in that window for eight years. No wonder the tablecloth is so bleached.

It wasn’t until later that I realized that I had been raving on and on like a fool about his “Beautiful Begonia!”, which is obviously a coleus. Oops. Fortunately he didn’t seem to catch my mistake and warmed up to me anyways.

This is Our Garden

Where:  974 Queen Street West. Toronto, Canada.
What: Variety Store
Orientation: South

 
This store’s window garden was the initial inspiration for this site. The hand-written sign saying, “This is our Garden, Plants not for Sale” says it all. The proprietors are passionate gardeners and welcome those who stop and take interest in their plants, in fact on my last visit I was invited in to photograph the window from inside.

Begon Dull Care

Where: 848 Dundas Street West. Toronto, Canada.
What: Beauty Supplies
Orientation: South

Begonias are endemic to many parts of the world, but large numbers of species come from South America, and in particular, Brazil. This may explain why Begonias are so common in Portuguese neighbourhoods. But even more interesting, I’ve discovered that Begonias are named for Michael Begon (1638-1710) Governor of French Canada. Qui l’eu cru?