Those lovely lawns and grounds at the official residences don't come cheap,either. The grass-cutting bill for Rideau Hall alone topped $75,000 in 2009-
2010, and the overall landscaping bill will be $262,750 this fiscal year now
that the work has been farmed out to Caltrio Landscape Maintenance Ltd. of
Ottawa. ~Canadian taxpayers forked over more than $10 million last year to maintain the six official government residences in the capital region and costs continue to rise, QMI Agency has learned
We avoided pesticides at our house for years, but we didn’t eschew them altogether. A little glysophate (brand name Roundup, an herbicide) was always on our garage shelf to battle the dreaded wild campanula that wanted to take over the garden.
But now that the Ontario-wide pesticide ban is in effect, not even that is available to us, unless we beg at the nursery and tell them poison ivy is rampant in the backyard. I can’t even buy the neem oil I usually applied every few days during the summer to (try to) get rid of the voracious lily beetle, the deceptively handsome little guy shown on my opening page.
So Ed Lawrence’s March 20 talk for the Applewood Garden Club is a don’t-miss event for me. His topic is Getting the Bugs Out: Gardening Without Pesticides, and he’ll be passing along the tips, tricks and techniques he learned during his 30 years as head horticulturist at Canada’s official residences. That means Rideau Hall, the home of the Governor-General; 24 Sussex Drive, where you-know-who lives; and Stornoway, among others. ~ Liz Primeau
Caltrio Landscaping Ltd. Bills Out almost 1 Million Dollars for Rideau Hall Grounds Maintenance
2010-2011 $118410
2011-2012 $273430
2012-2013 $331912
Jennifer McNamara Professional Gardener at Rideau Hall Hand Picks Roses for Japanese Beetles
Detailed information on Professional and Special Services, as per the Public Accounts of Canada
via Search for a Dataset – Open Canada | Canada ouverte.
