Landscape Ontario’s Congress is Canada’s largest international horticultural, lawn and garden trade show and conference.

Held on January 6 to 8, 2009 in Toronto, this year’s event featured ‘The Green Forum’ with displays, speakers and demonstrations all about practicing sustainable and responsible horticulture and everything one needs to know about defining green standards that will drive businesses, municipal governments and citizens at home and in global markets.

Green roofs are finally becoming a reality and are increasingly being viewed as one of the responses to the challenges of urban greening.

The following excerpt from the Green City Initiative, presented by Plant Publicity Holland managing director Jan Habets at the recent Landscape Ontario Congress, Canada’s largest horticultural trade show, will be of particular interest:

Well-documented research shows that green space has many positive effects on the health and well-being of people. However, according to the Dutch Ministry of Land Use, in densely populated cities in The Netherlands the amount of urban amenity plantings are well below the recommended level of 800 sq.ft. (74 sq. m) per home.

If increasing the quantity of plantings is impossible, effectiveness and quality can be increased by creating more biodiversity in green areas.

Herbaceous perennials are an excellent group of plants with which to achieve more variety and color on small sites. They are eminently suitable for use as ground covers, in flower beds, under trees, along roads and waterways and as edging around shrubs. Using perennials is also an effective way to add color and interest to existing urban/public plantings.