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!

Paul's Talk

Linda Holmes, Paul Zammit and Joan Morton



Paul Zammit, Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden drew record crowds to the May meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Paul’s energetic presentation was filled with a wealth of information for the avid gardeners attending. His talk was entitled “New and Amazing Annuals and Perennials worth the Hunt!”


The days of gardening with a vegetable patch at the back of the garden are long gone. As Paul said “Mix everything up…perennials, herbs, annuals and vegetables.” A popular plant he shared for doing this was basil and planting it among your perennials for colour and texture and as an added bonus…. fragrance.

Paul admitted that he was guilty of cutting flowers off plants (especially geraniums) when he was working at Plant World in Toronto….he simply wanted the customers to enjoy the wonderful foliage these plants can contribute to a garden. Mix Indian Dunes Geranium with Oxalis Zinfandel for a real wow punch! Paul suggested planting Geranium Roxanne for those gardeners who want a perennial geranium that blooms all summer.

Hostas can add great colour and texture to a garden through the variety of foliage they offer. Varieties “worth the hunt” are….Dark Star, Halcyon, El Nino, First Frost, June, June Fever, Remember Me. Purple Heart Hosta and Raspberry Sundae Hosta have a touch of red in their leaves which adds interest to the plant….according to Paul, “a touch of colour when it is least expected”

Paul cautioned the audience to read labels. All plants are small when you buy them at the Garden Centre in the spring…however, Baby Tut will grow to be 4 feet while King Tut can grow to 16 feet..and they are the same size when purchased in the spring! Read those labels!!!!

Watering, if you really have to do it should be done early in the morning and at the base of the plants. This will help to prevent mildew and fungus from growing. Plants need good circulation so just cut away some of those stems!

Paul’s enthusiastic presentation had the audience laughing but at the same time nodding their heads as they agreed with some of the things he was talking about…always using a Dracaena in the centre of a pot of annuals! How many gardeners are guilty of that? The wealth of knowledge Paul shared during the evening had the audience eager to start looking for some of those “amazing annuals and perennials worth the hunt.”

AWARD

Penny Stewart, Secretary of District 3 presented the Tweed Horticultural Society with an award for the garden at the Municipality of Tweed Public Library. The garden, funded by the Tweed Hort Society, was planned by Jean Clark and many members assisted with the planting and maintaining the garden. Congratulations!

JUNE MEETING…Tuesday June 6, 2012

Gardening with Stones…..Elizabeth Otonicar of Creative Gardens Landscaping of Westport will show members how to use stones in the garden, walkways, patios and walls.

PLANT SALE

The annual plant sale will be held at Tweed Memorial Park on Saturday May 19 starting at 8am. There will be lots of perennials to purchase.

The Business of Nurseries

Dan Clost, of Connon Nursery in Trenton was the guest speaker at the April meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Joan Morton, President of the Tweed Club congratulated Dan on receiving the Garden Communicator of the Year Award for 2012. Dan writes a weekly column in the EMC.

The topic of Dan’s presentation was the operation of garden centres. Dan stated throughout his talk that garden club members are unique individuals “who garden with abandon” which in turn makes garden centres very happy!

Dan explained that the role of staff at any garden centre to to be available to answer customer’s questions…even questions like…..does the red rose come in other colours or how often do I mow my ornamental grasses…. and direct the customers towards purchases that will make them “happy” and want to return to “buy again”!

As Dan stated, being a cashier at a garden centre in the spring is probably one of the most stressful positions. The young staff members need to know location, prices, and names of stock and quickly tally the costs of the goods on a cart jammed pack with plants….and all very quickly! Dan asked the Hort members to be “extra kind and patient” towards these staff members when they visit the nurseries.

Connon Nursery has 300 acres of yard on Highway 2 in Trenton with 6000 plants and 1000 tress in stock waiting for its customers. Even with that many plants and trees on hand, Dan admitted that no nursery can carry “all the plants available...with only so much space and new plants introduced each year,“some plants just have to go!” Demo “beds” are located throughout the nursery to help customers visualize how plants will look later in the season. “Eye candy” displays showcase plants that are presently in bloom to entice customers to purchase them for their gardens. These displays change throughout the season to encourage continual purchases! Connon keeps their plants in the same location in the nursery to ease customer shopping…..with that extra time, Dan explained the customers will have more time to browse and perhaps select a few more items to purchase!

Dan’s talk contained little tidbits of information….for example how many of us knew that when forsythias are in bloom, the soil’s temperature is 12 degrees centigrade!

As Dan concluded his presentation, he admitted to just being able to give the members a “snap shot” into the operation of a garden nursery.

MAY MEETING…Tuesday May 1, 2012

LOCATION: WHITE BUILDING AT FAIR GROUNDS

Paul Zammit will be the guest speaker for the meeting. Paul is the Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Paul brings a wealth of knowledge and energy to his presentations.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

LOVE OF GARDENING SHOW

The annual show is April 5-7 at the Evinrude Centre in Peterborough. Admission is $6.00. A group from the Hort Group will be carpooling on Friday April 6th from Quinn’s Parking lot in Tweed at 8:30am.


MOIRA PARK SPRING CLEAN-UP

Meet at the park on Saturday April 14 at 9am to help with the spring clean-up. Please bring your own tools.

PLANT SALE

The annual plant sale will be held at Tweed Memorial Park on Saturday May 19 starting at 8am. There will be lots of perennials to purchase.



Sweet Talk

Liz Corbett and Mary VanderDussen were the guest speakers at the March Meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. The topic of the meeting was the importance of honeybees and pollination.


Through a power point presentation, Liz “whose life is bees” showed members the role that honeybees played in the nature’s ecosystem.

Bees are the most financially feasible way for farmers to improve the quality of their crops. One third of all agricultural crops require pollination. Pollination by bees improves the quality of the crop which in turn leads to more income for the farmer and supplies more food for the consumer at lower prices….a “win win situation”

Bees are the most efficient pollinators and their hives can be transported from orchard to orchard or field to field. This does cause some trauma to the bees.

How can we as gardeners help promote pollination in our gardens….

•plant flowers that will bloom throughout spring, summer and fall

•have a water source in the garden

•let dandelions grow!

•asters, clover and golden rod are important sources of pollen…plant them!

•allow pollen producing plants to grow around the perimeter of fields…golden rod, clover

The informative presentation concluded with a short video clip…”Wings of Life” that captured the essence of the presentation.

For more info about bees, the following websites were given:

1. Quinte Beekeepers Association…ebcorbett@yahoo.ca

2. Ontario Beekeepers Association…www.ontariobee.com

Honey, pollen, beeswax candles and skin cream are available at their store Twin Sisters Hive and Honey Products located at 231 Frankford Rd. Stirling. The store is open Saturdays starting mid April. Call for more info 613-827-7277



APRIL MEETING…Tuesday April 3, 2012

Don Clost of Connon Nurseries will speak about the operation of Garden Centres.
BUS TRIP:

The annual bus trip to Canada Blooms at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto is Friday March 16. Cost is $55. Price includes admission and motor coach.

LOVE OF GARDENING SHOW:

The annual show is April 5-7 at the Evinrude Centre in Peterborough. Admission is $6.00. A group from the Hort Group will be carpooling on Friday April 6th from Quinn’s Parking lot in Tweed at 8:45 am.

Heirloom Seeds and How to Plant Them

Karyn Wright from Terra Edibles shows how to make a quick and easy seed planter at the recent Tweed Hort meeting.

Tweed and District Horticultural Society welcomed Karyn Wright from Terra Edibles located in Foxboro as their first guest speaker for 2012.


Terra Edibles sells heirloom vegetable seeds. The company has about 9000 catalogues mailed throughout Canada and they have over 120 varieties of heirloom tomatoes!

During her presentation Karyn showed members a cost efficient way to start their heirloom seeds. She uses washed milk bags folding the top twice to make a “cuff” then cuts drainage holes in the bottom. She adds a “seed starting mix” and 3 seeds to each bag. As the plants grow, she will pull out 2 seeds to transplant and leaves the centre one in the bag. She unrolls the “cuff” and adds more soil to her milk bag. When the seedling is ready to plant, she simply cuts away the milk bag and plants into the ground or container.

Seed saving tips were also shared during the presentation. The benefit of heirloom seeds is that they will reproduce the same quality of vegetable/fruit compared to hybrids.

Karyn discussed the process of saving squash and tomato seeds. Again Karyn uses a very cost efficient method. For squash, simply scoop out the seeds onto a screen, rinse the seeds, place on paper plate to dry and label the plate with the name of the seeds. When the seeds are dry, store in a paper bag labeled with the name of the seeds and year. Tomato seeds need to have the “jelly “removed. This is done by washing the seeds, placing in a jar and covering the jar with gauze for about 5 days and washing well after the five days to ensure that the “jelly” has disappeared. Then the process is similar to saving of squash seeds.

Members were invited to attend the “Seedy Saturdays” where they can buy/trade seeds. Future dates are….Feb 25 –Picton, Mar 3 Ottawa, Mar 4 Perth…for more information about the Seedy Saturdays, contact Karyn at 613-961-0654.

MARCH MEETING…Tuesday March 6, 2012

The topic of the meeting will be “Bees” and their importance to the process of pollination.

BUS TRIP:

The annual bus trip to Canada Blooms at the Direct energy Centre in Toronto is Friday March 16. Cost is $50 before February 19 and $55 after that date. Price includes admission and motor coach.

Christmas Potluck

Once again members of the Tweed Horticultural Society showcased their culinary talents at the group’s annual Christmas potluck dinner on Tuesday December 6, 2011. The tables were decorated with evergreen intertwined with ribbons and balls. Poinsettias added the final Christmas touch and several members won the poinsettias at the conclusion of the evening.


A delicious assortment of hot dishes, salads, rolls and bread as well as mouthwatering desserts was enjoyed by the members.

Janet Kennedy was presented with a gift to thank her for her term as President of the Society.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for 2012!

The next meeting will be on Tuesday February 7 at 7:00 pm at the Tweed Library. Please note the new start time for the meetings.

Memberships will be available for 2012…$12.00 individual and $16.00 family.

Christmas Decorating

Lynda Akey of Memory Lane in Tweed shared her designing secrets at November’s Horticultural meeting. As Lynda designed the wreath, she talked about some of the “dos and don’ts” to follow when creating floral pieces.

Some wreath designing tips the members learned during the evening….


•when placing lights on a wreath (need approximately 100 for a 30 inch wreath) start with the plug at the base of the wreath

•”fluffing up the wreath” gives the wreath dimension and removes that flat look

•work on the wreath with the lights plugged in

•use three sizes of decorations and use an odd number of the same decoration

•decorate the side so the wreath as well as the front

•if in doubt about a certain decoration….leave it off!!

Lynda recommended using 3M Command Strips to hang up swags on a wall, over a door or around the corners of a door frame.

Members were reminded about the Loyalist Luncheon on Friday December 2 at Loyalist College. Cost is approximately $13.00.



During the months of November and December, Connon Nursery will give 10% of purchase back to Horticultural Clubs…remember to take your Membership card when you are Christmas shopping!



NEXT MEETING: December 6 at 6 pm…..Christmas potluck. Bring your favourite dish. Don’t forget your plates, mug and cutlery.