Anna Mizyn shared her love of perennial grasses at the June meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Anna is the owner of Anna’s Perennials located in Lindsay.
According to Anna, there are more than 10,000 species of grasses. Her power point presentation highlighted many of the different grasses that she grows in her own gardens. An interesting tip she shared was using her weed whacker to cut down the grasses in the early spring…so much faster than using shears!!!
Why do people plant grasses in their gardens…
-hardiness
-largely unaffected by diseases and pests
-great variety of size and form
-rustling sound in the wind
-deer resistant
-can add height to a garden and even become a focal point of a garden
Anna also spoke about her hardy cacti and succulents that she also grows in her gardens. Cacti and succulents are great plants for gardens as they require no water and are easy to grow. The flowers on the cacti are beautiful.
Visitors are welcome to visit Anna’s gardens….63 Shoreview Road, Lindsay, ON. Anna can be contacted at 705-799-0062 or by email annasperennials@gmail.com
Members work their way through the boxes of plants Anna brought to the meeting.
COMING UP….
July 27-29…OHA Convention in Kingston
August 7…Pot Luck Dinner at Dave and Rhonda Derrington. Remember to bring your chair, a pot luck main dish and a dessert and your own plates, cups and utensils. Don’t forget a plate for your dessert!!!!
September 4…Join Louise Nadeau, a plant based whole food chef and coach as she discusses how we can easily incorporate more plant based food in our daily diet.
GENERAL INTEREST EVENTS…
July 17, August 14…Clean up of flower beds in the town. Meet at 6 pm at Moira Garden.
Tweed Agricultural Fair…Theme is “Twist and Shout so 50,s”. Members are encouraged to enter items in the Fair. All entries must be set up by Friday at noon. Tweed and District Horticultural Society sponsors some of the horticultural items. For more information about the Fair, please check tweedfair.net
Members (and customers) braved the drizzle (and the later downpour) to participate in the annual Tweed Hort Plant Sale on the May long weekend. Trailers and tables full of plants brought many early shoppers.
Spring has definitely arrived (finally) and gardeners in Tweed were excited to hear Dawn Golloher of Gardens Plus located near Peterborough talk about easy care perennials at the May meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society.
When Dawn originally bought the property in 1996, the only garden was a cedar hedge! Now her beautiful display gardens are open to the public and plants are sold there as well.
Dawn’s focus in gardening is growing plants that require very little maintenance once they are established in the garden…and what gardener wouldn’t love plants like this???
According to Dawn, these characteristics are what makes a perennial “easy to care”….
-not invasive
-thrives for more than 3-5 years
-does not require dividing due to clumping
-drought tolerant…water once a week
-resistance to disease and insects
-does not need to be staked or burlapped
-long blooming
…the perfect plant for any gardener who wants to enjoy the garden.
Dawn also shared some tips for planting….
-light conditions for plants is important
-add compost to soil for some plants
-mulch with natural cedar or pine; do not mulch a dry garden, mulching helps keep the weeds to a minimum
Some easy care perennials shown in her power point presentation…hostas, coral bells, clematis, bee balm, cone flower, salvia, sedum and day lilies.
Gardens Plus is located at 136 County Road, Peterborough. Phone 705-742-5918. Gardens Plus is open from Mother’s Day weekend until the end of July from 10-4 Wednesday to Sunday. Fridays 10-7.
COMING UP….
May 19… Annual Plant Sale at Tweed Memorial Park. All plant material for sale should arrive at park by 7 am. Sale starts at 8 am.
June 5… Anna Mizyn of Anna’s Perennials near Lindsay will be discussing winter hardy cacti and perennial grasses. There will be plants for sale!
June 9…Children’s Program at Tweed Public Library at 10 am. The children will create a seed craft and plant a flower to take home. Pre-registration is required. Children must be accompanied by an adult.
Barry Matthie stands next to Elizabeth Churcher, co-president of Tweed Hort, and Maggie Goode, his partner while being photographed for the local newspaper.
Although eastern Ontario is experiencing a colder April than normal, it is the anticipation that spring will be here soon that enticed members of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society to attend the April meeting to hear about daylilies. Barry Matthie, grower, owner and breeder of Bonibrae Daylilies in Bloomfield shared his passion for daylilies at the meeting. His daylilies have won many awards from the Ontario Daylily Society.
Barry has hybridized over 80 daylilies throughout the years. It takes approximately 5 years to develop a new strain. To propagate, Barry collects seeds in the fall just as the seed heads start to break open. The seeds are put into small pots and left in the refrigerator over the winter. In early spring, they’re planted directly in the ground. Barry has developed a great variety of colourful unique daylilies.
Members were invited to visit his farm on Matthie Road in the county. Best time to visit is during the peak flowering season from July to early August. No potted plants are available, as Barry will simply dig up a clump from the garden and put into a bag for you to take home!
For hosta lovers, they also sell hostas and oriental poppies….definitely a great place to plan to visit!
COMING UP….
April 13-15….Peterborough Garden Show at the Evinrude Centre, 911 Monaghan Road. Show hours are Friday April 13, 5 pm-9 pm, Saturday April 14, 10 am -5 pm and Sunday April 15, 10 am – 4 pm.
May 1…Dawn Golloher of Garden Plus near Peterborough will share some of her new easy care perennials. Dawn’s focus is growing plants that require very little maintenance once established in the garden. There will be plants for sale at the meeting. NOTE: This meeting will be held at the White Building.
GENERAL INTEREST EVENTS…
April 28….District 3 Spring AGM hosted by the Stirling Horticultural Club. Please register with our club if you re interested in attending.
April 28…Clean up of flower beds in the town. Meet at 9 am at Moira Garden.
Deanna Groves and John Reidi, owners of Quinte Botanical Gardens were the guest speakers at the March meeting of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society. Through a power point presentation, they shared the development of these gardens on their property north of Frankford on Glen Ross Road.
The gardens were developed on 6 acres of land that was part of their property. Presently there are 13 structures placed throughout the gardens, 23 benches and 3 water features. The gardens were designed by Deanna to focus on a theme for each garden…..Knot Garden, Oriental Garden, White Garden, Colour Wheel Garden, Edible Garden and Bird, Bee and Butterfly Garden.
The gardens will be opening May 31 this year and will be open from May to October six days a week (closed Wednesdays) from 9-5. The grounds are 100% accessible with seating throughout the gardens. There are washrooms available and restaurants are within a short drive. There is an admission fee of $10 and the tour is self guided.
There are always lots of events happening at the gardens according to Groves…..weekly presentations, teaching/fields trips, seniors programs, memorial plantings and trail gardens to try new seeds. A Tulip Festival is planned in the near future with 40,000 tulips.
Members could be heard discussing plans to visit to the Quinte Botanical Gardens when they open in May. As Groves stated, there is always something new blooming in the gardens…..so several visits just might be necessary!!!
COMING UP….
April 3….Barry Matthie, owner, grower and breeder of Bonibrae Daylilies in Bloomfield will be speaking about daylilies. He enjoys breeding lilies with ruffles edges, gold edges, double edged and specific colour combinations.
April 13-15….Peterborough Garden Show at the Evinrude Centre, 911 Monaghan Road. Show hours are Friday April 13, 5 pm-9 pm, Saturday April 14, 10 am -5 pm and Sunday April 15, 10 am – 4 pm. Admission $8.00
GENERAL INTEREST EVENTS…
April 28….District 3 Spring AGM hosted by the Stirling Horticultural Club. Please register with our club if you re interested in attending,
Members of the Tweed and District Horticultural Society were happy to attend the first meeting for 2018…..a sign that spring is coming in spite of the mounds of snow and the Groundhog’s predication of six more weeks winter! Elizabeth Chrurcher shared her experiences using a cold frame and John talked about how he stores his garden produce.
Elizabeth has been member of the Tweed Horticultural Society for over 10 years and served as its President for the past two years. John is the former owner of the organic blueberry patch in Tweed.
Through various methods, Elizabeth is able to enjoy food from her garden throughout the year. She has a cold cellar where she stores beets, carrots, onions and potatoes. Her freezer is filled with beans, corn, garlic scaps, broccoli, pesto, asparagus, pears, zucchini, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches (she admitted that she does not grow peaches!!!), apples, pumpkin and black currents. Her shelves are laden with preserves….beets, dill pickles, salsa, applesauce, chili sauce and tomato sauce. She also dries herbs from her garden…sage, lemon thyme, oregano. Some herbs are kept on her sun porch throughout the winter in pots.
In spite of all the food from her garden, Elizabeth really wanted to have fresh spinach, lettuce, and other greens during the winter months. Her solution…build a cold frame. Using the book, Year Round Vegetable Gardener by N. Jabbour, Elizabeth set out the construct a cold frame.
She highlighted both her successes and areas that are still a “work in progress”….
-use a southern slope and sink the frame into the soil
-use cedar not treated wood to build the frame
-mix compost and aged manure to within 6inches of the top and add mulch to fill to top
-greenhouse plastic….if you can get some
-need to vent….open for part of the day
-watering…let rain do it….can’t get too wet
-brush off snow with a broom
-pick greens at mid-day
-planted….spinach, lettuce (make sure you get the kind of seed that is winter hardy), kale, argula
-plant in early-mid September….will last until early March
-due to very cold weather in December/January of this year, the cold frame did not produce the abundant crop that was harvested in past winters….but it is all a learning experience, according to Elizabeth!!!
John Wilson shared his ideas and practices for storing food from his garden over the winter months. A cold cellar/root cellar needs air circulation and the humidity should be maintained between 85%-95%.
John’s “Show and Tell” presentation gave the members an opportunity to see the potatoes, carrots, leeks and beets that he has stored in his cold cellar. Cabbages do very well in a cold cellar….they can even be hung. John recommended that potatoes should develop a tough skin before they are placed in the root cellar. Sweet potatoes can keep for almost a year as long as they are “cured” in warm soil for 10-14 days. Sweet potatoes like warm temperature so they are not recommended for cold cellars….simply keep them in a milk crate or cardboard box in a cupboard with 60 degree temperatures.
John plants lots and lots of tomato…..before freezing he suggests removing the core and simply freezing in plastic bags until you are ready to use them for salsa, chili sauce etc. Too many green tomatoes….place in warm dark room or cover with newspaper to ripen.
John uses a dehydrater to dry some of his vegetables, for example zucchini. Samples of John’s zucchini chips were enjoyed by members.
Both Elizabeth and John’s love of gardening was evident throughout their presentations…they love experimenting with different crops, they enjoy the healthy choices that their gardens provided all year and maybe, just maybe a young child will ask them, “Can you show me how to garden?”
COMING UP….
March 6 ….Deanna Groves and John Reidl, owners of Quinte Botanical Gardens will discuss their gardens and the overall plan for their property in the future.
March 9… Bus Trip to National Home Show and Canada Blooms at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto. Cost…$65.00. Tickets must be purchased by February 24th. 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
GENERAL INTEREST EVENTS
March 9-18…National Home Show and Canada Blooms at Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto
Members of the Tweed and Disrrict Horticultural Society ushered in the holiday season at their Christmas Pot Luck dinner on December 5. Bright red tablecloths, fresh cedar and pine boughs, Santa and snowmen figurines and pointsettia plants created a very festive atmosphere.
The members continued to showcase their culinary talents with a variety of delicious dishes….roast turkey, ham, potatoes, vegetable casseroles, bakes beans, meatballs, quiche, rolls and a variety of salads. The dessert table was laden with plates of cookies, tarts, trifle, pie, squares and even grapes for the healthy minded members!!!! Punch, wine, tea and coffee completed the menu!
Jean Clark thanked the members for their volunteer hours during 2017. The members donated more than 2000 hours to the club through various activities.
Several members were presented with the 5, 10 and 20 year pins to recognize their years of service to the club. Congratulations to these members!
Linda Holmes and Joan Morton shared the annual video that highlighted the club’s activities during 2017…speakers, trips, AGM meetings, workshops, plant sale, 150 celebrations, Tweed Fair….such an active group! The video was enjoyed by all and a very special thanks to Linda and Joan for coordinating this presentation.
Then it was time for……”Quarter Frenzy”….a bidding game that uses quarters to bid. Dave and Penny did a great job keeping the game on track and ensuring that ALL members dropped their quarters in the cup as they bid!!! There was lots of excitement as members bid for the items….shortbread cookies, wine, an enormous poinsettia plant, Christmas cake, maple syrup, birdfeeders, table runners, cookie jars and a variety of Christmas items. Several lucky members won three prizes!!!
To conclude the meeting, members also had the opportunity to win poinsettia plants…lots of fun was had by all.
Wishing all our members a joyous holiday season and best wishes for 2018!
NOTE: First meeting for 2018 will be Tuesday February 6 @ 7:00 pm at the Tweed Library. Annual memberships will be on sale at the meeting.
