Making Hypertufas

Fifteen members of the Tweed Horticultural Society (and two youth!) met up at Stonepath Greenhouses and Landscaping on Quin Mo Lac Rd. in Tweed this week to create some large hyptertufas. Using a pail as a form, the wet pots are left to dry then filled with foliage just in time for the warmer spring weather.

CLEMATIS Container Nursery - The Source of Good Climbers

The Fosters present...

Janet and John Foster were the guest speakers at the March meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Due to the popularity of the speakers, members of the community as well as Tweed Horticultural members were invited to the presentation at the White Building.

Using a slide and video presentation, John and Janet shared their adventures, observations and wildlife encounters on their farm in Hastings County.

 COMING UP….

April 5…Master Gardener, Doris Power will discuss the “enemies” in our gardens. She will also share information about the damage these pests can cause and how they can by eradicated without the use of pesticides.

April 30…Spring garden cleanup. Meet at Moira Garden @ 9:00 am

GENERAL INTEREST EVENTS…

April 8-10…Peterborough Garden Show at the Evinrude Centre, 911 Monoghan Road…Admission $8.00

2016 Executive

Left to right (back row): Linda Holmes, secretary; Penny Vance, director; George Scott. director; S.M. Joan Morton, past president; Cathy Anderson, director; Darlene Elson, director; (bottom row, left): Beryl  Austin, director; Jennifer Bagshaw, director; Elizabeth Churcher, president; Rhonda Derrington, treasurer. Missing: Valerie Foran; second vice president and directors Sheila Scott, Janet Kennedy, Joan McTaggart

Adapting to Change

Elizabeth Churcher, John Wilson and George Thomson talk about coping with changing climate conditions.

John Wilson, Elizabeth Churcher and George Thomson shared their strategies for coping with changing climate conditions in their gardens at the February meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society.

George and Elizabeth are nature columnists with The Tweed News and have been members of the Tweed Horticultural Society for 10 years, and John is the former owner of the organic blueberry patch in Tweed.

According to George, the average global temperature is rising and this can cause unpredictable weather patterns to develop causing temperature extremes, droughts and flooding. Gardeners need to develop strategies to cope with these unpredictable and often severe weather conditions.

John discussed “local effects” of climate change. With varying amounts of rainfall, there needs to be changes made in our growing methods; like raised beds and seed selection to cope with the climate change. John stressed the need to grow our own food and get our children and grandchildren interested in gardening. Rain barrels, crop rotation, feeding the soil, protecting plants, building cold frames are all ways to help plants combat change.

Elizabeth highlighted the importance of “Pest Control”. Gardeners need to identify pests and familiarize themselves with their life cycles in order to eliminate them. She suggested keeping records of the pests as a way to develop awareness and control them before they multiply. Pollinators are also important for gardens and gardeners need to ensure that the pollinators have a place to live in their gardens.  Herb gardens are good for pollinators and adding flowers among vegetables helps with pollination.

The three speakers concluded by suggesting the need to be in harmony with our planet and at the same time enjoy the beauty, diversity and challenge of our gardens.

COMING UP….

March 1 Meeting….”Stories from the Wild” with John and Janet Foster. Through a slide presentation, John and Janet will share their adventures, observations and wild life encounters on their farm in Hastings County. NOTE: This special event will be held at the White Building at the Fairgrounds in Tweed. Admission $3.00 for non-members.

March 11… Bus Trip to National Home Show and Canada Blooms at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto

Cost…$58.00 before February 11/$65.00 after that date.

Price includes admission to both shows and motor coach. Bus leaves Tweed at 7 am from the parking lot behind Quinn’s of Tweed. For more information, contact Linda @613-478-6850

March 15…Hypertufa Workshop at Stonepath Greenhouse. Cost is $20 with materials supplied. Plants will be left there for 2 weeks to cure. Once cured, the plants can be picked up or you can arrange to attend a planting workshop to fill your container at an additional fee. Must pre-register and pay by March 1,

March 18-21…International Home and Garden Show at Metro Convention Centre in Toronto

March 11-20…National Home Show and Canada Blooms at Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

A Well-Fed Bunch

The desert table(s).

Soup's on!! 

Outgoing President Joan Morton and her gift of a wood carving.

 Tweed and District Horticultural Society’s annual Christmas pot luck dinner was a wonderful way for its members to start the holiday season. Bright red tablecloths with fresh evergreen boughs interlaced with Christmas ornaments and poinsettias gave a festive air to the meeting room at the Tweed Library.

 As usual the dinner showcased the culinary talents of its members….scalloped potatoes, glazed carrots, meatballs, cabbage rolls, cheese platters, veggies and dip, many, many different salads and homemade bread …and the dessert tables (note the plural) were laden with cookies, tarts, squares, cakes  and several “crisps”.  Wine, punch, tea and coffee rounded out this amazing feast!

Several members were recognized for 5, 10, 15 and 20 years of service to the group. Congratulations to these members. Outgoing President Joan Martin received a beautiful wood carving in appreciation of her 4 years in the role of President for the group.

Once again this year, members were invited to play the “Quarter Frenzy” game bidding for items using their quarters to do the bidding. Laughter along with the sound of quarters dropping into the cups could be heard as the game was played. Great prizes were won by many lucky members…some members even won more than once! Members also won the poinsettias that were on the tables for the dinner.

After all the excitement of the game, members sat back and enjoyed Linda Holmes’ annual video presentation of the club’s activities and speakers during 2015. Many thanks to Linda for her work in organizing this presentation as it was certainly enjoyed by all.

Wishing all our members a joyous holiday season and best wishes for 2016!

Note:

Next meeting will be Tuesday February 2^nd, 2016. Annual memberships will be on sale at the meeting.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas....

In spite of 20 degree weather, members of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society were definitely in the Christmas spirit as they listened to Conrad Grol ‘s talk about creating winter planters at the November meeting. Conrad, former owner of Brighton Greenhouse gave many tips about making planters to decorate our homes for the holiday season.

Rural areas like Tweed offer a wealth of greenery…Conrad cautioned about asking property owners permission before cutting branches from trees and bushes.

This year Conrad used silver pails as the base for his planters. Place sand on the bottom, add a piece of dry foam (wet foam will disintegrate) and top with more sand and fill to the top of the pail. If the planter is going to be stationary, the dry foam can be omitted.

Greenery used….spruce, cedar, red pine, Austrian pine, scotch pine and jack pine…or whatever you can find! Look for foliage with no brown spots. Birch “logs” can be used as a focal point in a planter.

Different coloured dogwood, thistles, ferns, cat tails, sedum, sumac seed pods, milk weed pods and pine cones can all be used to add texture and interest to the planter. If these accent pieces are too short, simply attach them to a skewer with florist tape and insert into the foam or sand. This will also provide a variety of heights within the planter.

If you prefer more “bling” in the planter, Conrad suggested spray painting the dogwood, thistles etc. Pine cones can be wired together in groups of 2-3 to form a cluster and wired onto the greenery. Bows can also be wired on to the greenery or the handle to add more colour.

The greenery in planters will last during the holiday season; however if you are making a small planter for indoors, Conrad suggested spraying with “Wilt Proof” to prevent the foliage from drying out. This product is also recommended for garlands and wreathes.

According to Conrad, these beautiful planters will certainly welcome family and friends to your home during the Christmas season!

COMING UP….

November 15…Volunteer hours for December, 2014-November, 2015 are to be submitted to Jean Clark. Email hours to info@tweedhort.ca or  leave hours at the Library.

November 28…Children’s Program at Tweed Library…!0:30-12:30….making Christmas decorations. Please register at the Library.

December 1 @ 6 pm…Christmas Potluck….bring your favourite pot luck dish to share. Don’t forget your plates, utensils and wine glass!!!

Bring quarters to play “Quarter Frenzy”!

December 11 @12 noon….Christmas Luncheon at Club 213, Loyalist College.