Winter Talk about Wildflowers



Elizabeth Churcher (left), Joan Morton (President), George Thomson.



George Thomson and Elizabeth Churcher presented a power point presentation entitled, “Wildflowers through the Seasons” at the February Tweed and District Horticultural Meeting. Both George and Elizabeth’s love of nature was evident as they spoke and shared outstanding photos taken by George. This passion for nature started when they were young children. George grew up in the Toronto area and he would bike through the many ravines in Toronto to get his “fill of nature” whereas Elizabeth who spent her early years growing up east of Bancroft merely had to step outside “get her fill”.

Now, Elizabeth and George are fortunate to be surrounded by nature at their home in Tweed known as Hepatica Hill -named after the white, pink and violet wildflowers that bloom there on sunny spring days.

Their presentation took the members on a walk through the seasons to see the many wildflowers that grow in our local area. Interesting details were given about each wildflower as it was shown on the screen and heads nodded in the audience as members recognized them.

The information provided for each wildflower displayed the presenters’ wealth of knowledge on the subject; for example,
• trout lilies can live more than 100 years
• Jack in the Puplit can be male or female in the same year
• the Ontario trillium grows very slowly and will have only one leaf for 6 years
•purple asters attract butterflies while white asters attract bees
•orange hockweed attracts butterflies due to its colour not the nectar
•native people ate succulants as a vegetable as it is high in Vitamins A and C

Their talk highlighted the colour, structure, pollination, habitat and even uses of some of our local wildflowers.

As Elizabeth said at the conclusion of the presentation, “You simply have to look to enjoy the wildflowers as they are everywhere!”.

March Meeting:

Conrad Grol, past owner of Brighton Garden Centre, will speak about pruning techniques. John Bagshaw will show members how to start their dahlias for summer and how to store the bulbs over winter.

Looking Ahead...

Bus Trip to Canada Blooms and Toronto Home Show at Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto on Friday March 15, 2013. Cost $55.00 or $50.00 if purchased before Feb.9, 2013. Price includes admission to both shows and motor coach. For more info call 613-478-6850.

The Garden in Winter

Hydrangeas and sedum still look great in January in front of the brick wall at the Tweed Public Library.

Happy Holidays

The Tweed and District Horticultural Society held their annual Christmas Potluck dinner on Tuesday December 4, 2012. The tables were beautifully decorated with poinsettia plants, fresh evergreen boughs trimmed with ribbons and dozens of colourful balls. A delicious turkey and ham dinner complete with stuffing, gravy and mashed potatoes gave the members an early Christmas feast. And the desserts….well the table resembled a bakery with several varieties of pies, squares, Christmas cookies and even yummy toffee! The poinsettias and beautiful outdoor arrangements were won by several lucky members.


Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2013!

The next meeting will be Tuesday February 5, 2013 at the Tweed Library. Memberships will be on sale at the meeting…. $12.00 individual and $16.00 family.

Food, Flower Bulbs, and more Food!

Steve Nicholson of Thomasburg was the guest speaker at the October Meeting of t he Tweed and Horticultural Society. Steve is a chef and instructor in culinary management at Loyalist College. During the meeting, he used local produce to cook some unique and interesting dishes for members to sample!


Bulb Fundraiser…There are two types of bulbs available….Crocosmia and Camassia. There are 3 different varieties of each. The number of bulbs per package will vary but all are $7.00 per package (with $1.00 from each package sold going to our club). The forms and pictures are at the Library. All orders must be in to District 3 by November 1st.


November Meeting: Annual General Meeting.

Members are asked to consider taking an active part in the club by becoming a member of the Executive. Elections will take place at the meeting.

Members are asked to get into the spirit of Christmas by bringing a decoration or food (to be share at the meeting) made with cranberries.

Looking ahead…..

Annual Christmas Pot Luck Dinner on Tuesday December 4th beginning at 6 pm. Bring your favourite dish to share, plate, cutlery and wine glass and of course your appetite!

Christmas Luncheon at Loyalist College will be held Friday December 14 at noon.

Decorating With Corn



An intense working session! A few of the members creating corn husk dolls.

Lauri Alderson of Stirling had both children and adults working to create corn husk art at the September meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society.

Lauri brought a wealth of natural materials…milkweed pods, wild flowers, rabbit fur and a bucket of corn husks. Lauri had softened the corn husks by allowing them to soak in a mixture of water and bleach. Members worked together to create corn husk dolls, cornhusk angels and even corn husk warriors! Simply by tying, snipping and gluing, the husks were transformed into corn husk art…even members who claimed they had no artistic talent were busy trying their hand at creating the dolls.

October Meeting: Steve Nicholson, chef and instructor at Loyalist College will be cooking some unique dishes using fresh garden produce. There will be samples for everyone to try so bring your appetite.

Looking ahead…..Christmas Luncheon at Loyalist College will be held Friday December 14 at noon. More details to follow.



Flowerama

Another successful Flowerama at Memorial Park in Tweed on Canada Day. Great display of both indoor and outdoor arrangements from members. To see more photographs from the display, click on the photo link in the sidebar at right.

Landscaping with Stone

Elizabeth Otonicar was the guest speaker at the June meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society Elizabeth, a former French pastry chef, is now the owner of Creative Gardens, a landscape and design company located in Westport, Ontario. Her company specializes in natural stone walkways, patios, fire pits and retaining walls. According to Elizabeth, Westport is the “stone mecca” of Eastern Ontario.


This is Elizabeth’s seventh year of business and she now employs a staff of 5. Her beautifully designed gardens can be found in Westport, Perth, Portland and Smith Falls. This year for the first time, she has 2 staff members who solely “clean-up and redesign” gardens that have become over- grown. It is definitely a challenge to take apart an overgrown garden and redesign it to be an oasis of beauty with little maintenance…something her customers usually want.

Word of mouth has been the best advertising for her new business and many of her customers are repeat customers.

Elizabeth’s power point presentation highlighted the elements of design that are essential in the designing of a garden or outdoor space.

It is important to look at the “whole picture” when designing…not just the garden space….look at the house, street, existing landscape. Texture, colour, variety, sequence and balance all play an integral part in landscape designing. She uses the natural lay of the land to build gardens, walkways and patios that enhance the area, the house and most important her customers’ gardening abilities. The numerous garden photos that Elizabeth shared during her presentation certainly illustrated these qualities.

Throughout the presentation, little tips were offered to the group. Watering shrubs, trees and perennials in the fall is an excellent practice as the water freezes around the roots and less winter kill results. Never plant a rose bush in the same hole…they just won’t grow! Red plastic under your tomato plants will produce tomato plants like you have never seen before! And fire pits are “hot” landscape items!



FLOWERAMA…Sunday July 1st (Canada Day) at Tweed Memorial Park

Members are asked to bring planters, cut flowers arranged in vases, house plants, hypertufa containers or any other garden related project to the park by 8:30 am. All items will be displayed “under the tent” for the public to enjoy.



New this year is a Photo Exhibit. Members are invited to submit 4 x 6 photos mounted on 5 x 7 cardstock to be displayed under the marquee.

Suggested themes for the display are

•flowers and planters

•four seasons

•children and pets in the garden

•bugs, butterflies and birds in the garden

NOTE: Submissions for the Photo Exhibit must be made by June 17, 2012 to Sheila Frost or to Cathy Anderson. Name must be on the back of each exhibit.



POTLUCK SUPPER...Tuesday August 7th @ 6pm. Remember to bring your “Pot Luck” item, plates, silverware, mugs and of course your lawn chair to sit back end enjoy the garden. Hope to see everyone there!