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2006 Newsletter Archives
by AGC
Agincourt Garden Club Newsletter www.gardenontario.org/site.php/agincourt
November 13, 2006
President’s Message
It is so hard to believe that November is upon us. I am sure everyone has their gardens put to bed for the winter. All the fall bulbs have been planted, and the leaves have been raked up. We can now sit back and get ready for the upcoming Holiday season.
I know Remembrance Day has passed, but I would like to take the opportunity to salute our members who served our country during the war. The Agincourt Garden Club salutes you.
I would like to let you all know that I will be stepping down as your president at the end of the year. I would like to thank the Board of Directors and the members of the Club for all your support over the last year. I will still be an active member of the club. Whoever takes over as your new president, I am sure he or she will get the same support.
We are always looking for new people to join the Board. If you would like to join, and see how your club really works, please give me a call at 416 298-0984 or e mail me at brucevodden@hotmail.com.
You will find your membership renewal with this news letter. Why not renew now and beat the rush?
Membership is $20.00 per family. This covers all members of your family 18 years of age or older in your household.
How about giving a membership to a friend or family member as a Christmas Gift? It would make a great gift for someone you know who loves gardening, but is shy about joining a club.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
Lena Sorg will be holding a Christmas Arrangement class. The cost is $15.00 person.
Date: December 7th
Location: Parlor here at the Church Hall
Time: 7:30 pm
December 11, 2006: Monthly Meeting and Show
Annual Pot Luck Supper and Entertainment
Time: 6:30 pm, Dinner @ 7:00 pm
Please bring your favorite dish to share, and your own cutlery, dishes, and a mug for coffee. Of course, don’t forget to bring an entry for the flower show. Gifts from Santa
January8, 2007: Monthly meeting
Elections and Slide show
Lena & Ann’s trip this past summer to England
Sheila and Peter’s trip to England and Ireland
February 12 2007: Monthly meeting
Seed Exchange
The Lake Simcoe Gardeners would like to invite you to the
Ontario Horticultural Association
District 5 Annual General Meeting
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Georgina Ice Palace, 90 Wexford Drive, Keswick, Ontario
GARDEN RADIO
Marjorie Hoag 1580 AM Saturdays 9:00 to 10:00 am
Art Drysdale 740AM Saturdays 6:00 to 9:00 am
Bruce Zimmerman 610 AM Saturdays 10: 00 to 12.00 noon
FOR SALE
· Peter and Sheila have an Ikea Sofa bed, Dark green, like new. $100.00 or best offer call 905 697-7842 or e-mail sheilacule@sympatico.com.
· Heather Perry, 416-291-0364 – has a never used 3 tier light stand. Open to offers.
AGINCOURT GARDEN CLUB
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
June is here, and I’m sure that everyone’s garden is looking spectacular with the heat wave and then the lovely soaking rains that we have had. This is the last meeting before we break for the summer. As we do not meet in July or August, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a safe and fun-filled summer. I look forward to seeing you all at our Annual Flower and Vegetable Show on September 9th. Our first general meeting is on Monday, September 11, 2006.
As some of you are aware, we have had to cancel the last two bus trips, and our Annual Garden Tour this year. We did not get enough participation in any of the events. It takes a lot of time and energy to put these events together, they take planning and commitment. I would like to hear from you, the members, whether you want these events to take place. Please feel free to contact me at 416-298-0984 or e-mail me with your comments or concerns at brucevodden@hotmail.com.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the volunteers who came out and helped with our Plant Sale. We raised over $900.00; a great achievement. Thank you to those of you who brought in plants that were, for the most part, potted and labeled. Thank you to those of you who came out to help sell the plants and the abandoned treasures. Thank you to those of you who contributed baked goodies to sell at the bake table. See what great things happen when we work together as a team? THANK YOU ALL FOR A GREAT JOB!
UPCOMING EVENTS
September 9, 2006 Annual Flower and Vegetable Show (check your Yearbook for details)
September 11, 2006 Monthly Meeting (no flower show)
Topic: Peonies: How to Grow and Divide Them
Speaker: Juddi Denni
October 2, 2006 Monthly Meeting and Show (check your Yearbook for details)
Topic: Growing Delphiniums
Speakers: Joe & Hazel Cook
CHECK US OUT!
Check out our website: www.gardenontario.org/site.php/agincourt. Or go to www.gardenontario.org and visit various societies.
Thanks to Alex Knox. He has done a fabulous job setting this up for the club – please take a look!
AGINCOURT GARDEN CLUB
NEWS YOU CAN USE…April 2006
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
April showers bring May flowers. Now that spring is here, we can put our thoughts to dreaming “how is my garden going to look this summer?” I have been out inspecting my garden a few times and seeing what is starting to come up already – I’m sure that you’ve done the same by now. Don’t you love the anticipation?
I look forward to the year ahead with the AGC. Don’t forget about our main fundraising event, the plant sale on May 13th. We would appreciate you helping out – can you spare a few hours? Come and join us on one or both of our spring bus trips – May 24 or June 10. Please enter one or all of our flower shows, just check your yearbook for details.
Spring also means Easter and a time for new beginnings. Have a very happy holiday, and happy gardening this spring.
Bruce Vodden
PLANT SALE: Saturday, May 13th 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Donated plants can be brought in on Friday evening from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., or Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m.
Please try to pot up all your plants and label them with a name or at least the colour of the flower if you know it. This makes it easier for us to sell when buyers have a better idea of what it is. We will also have some vendors selling plants. Let’s not forget the abandoned treasures table too.
This is our major fundraiser so please help in any way you can by donating plants, buying plants, help selling the day of the sale, or help with the set-up or take-down .
BUS TRIPS
All bus trips depart from the front of Wal-Mart at Agincourt Mall. There is a non-refundable portion for each trip of $25.00 per person, should you decide to cancel. If there is insufficient interest in a trip, the decision to cancel will be made the week prior to departure, and a full refund will be made.
Plant Shopping Day, Wednesday, May 24th
Time: 8:00 a.m.
Cost: $40 per person Limited to 56 participants
The trip includes a lunch buffet at the Mandarin Chinese Buffet in St. Catharines, and we will be visiting 3 nurseries: Vineland Village Gardens; Harper’s Nursery and Sunshine Express.
The Niagara Flower & Garden Show, Saturday, June 10th
Time: 8:30 a.m.
Cost: $35 per person Limited to 46 participants
Please note that this trip does not include lunch. You are welcome to bring a picnic lunch or purchase lunch on site.
Show highlights: The Garden market Place. Guest speakers include Ken Beattie and more; Competitive Flower Show, the Great Container Competition, luncheon speaker series.
AGINCOURT GARDEN TOUR Sunday, June 25th
Time: 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. (rain or shine)
Cost: Tickets are $8.00 per person
Tickets will be available at our May or June meeting and also the day of the Tour in the parking lot at Knox United Church.
If you would like to open your garden, or know of an interesting garden in your neighbourhood, please call Bruce Vodden at 416-298-0984. We will have at least 8 wonderful gardens for you to visit this year.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
May 8 Monthly Meeting and Show
Growing Small Evergreens in Pots for Patios and Balconies
Speaker: Jim Lounsberry
June 12 Monthly Meeting and Show
Growing Hostas
Speaker: Dawn Tack
SPRING FORWARD! Written by Kim Hawks, a garden writer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Get your garden in shape for spring. Here are some handy tips that will get you on your way to a successful gardening season.
1. Prepare tools – tune-up the lawn mower and sharpen the blades. Wipe the wooden handles of garden tools with linseed oil and sharpen tool edges. Replace weak or broken handles or purchase new ones. Take an inventory of your tools, and make a list of new tools you’d like to buy and old ones you need to replace.
2. Cut perennials – cut perennial foliage to the ground, with a few exceptions. Don’t prune salvia, Russian sage, creeping verbena, or Artemisia until they start showing growth on last year’s stems. Then prune just above the emerging foliage. Wait until sprigs of green growth appear on ornamental grasses, then cut back to the new growth.
3. Prune shrubs and trees – first remove dead branches from woody plants. Then remove any cross-over branches that compete for sunlight. Selectively prune to open up the canopy of trees and remove older, less vigorous wood. If in doubt about removing a limb, be conservative – you can’t glue branches back on! One exception for late-winter pruning is spring blooming shrubs such as spirea, forsythia, and weigela – don’t prune anything except dead branches until these plants finish blooming.
4. Apply organic controls – Late winter (once temperatures stay above freezing) is the best time to apply horticultural oil sprays. These oils are a safe and effective way to control insects, allowing prudent gardeners to get a jump on possible infestations. When applied according to instructions, oils reduce populations of insect pests such as bagworms, mites, aphids, and mealy bugs. If you had problems with these insects last year, it’s likely they will return again.
5. Analyze the garden – spend 15 minutes once or twice a week walking around your garden looking for insect pests and diseases. They require less aggressive treatment when spotted early. Carry a plastic grocery bag so you can collect damaged leaves and fruits. To be sure you get an accurate assessment, get down to the plant’s level. Most diseases start on lower leaves and work their way up. Insects, which tend to prefer young, tender foliage, often hide on the undersides of leaves. Because insects and diseases are more common when you have rotten vegetables and fruits lying on the ground and hanging on the plants, dispose of these on your weekly walk.
6. Test soil – If plants in one area did not perform well, take soil samples and send them to your local cooperative extension agent or move the plant to a better location.
7. Update garden records – Make a resolution to keep a garden journal in 2006. The journal helps plan outdoor garden events – you can look back to see what bloomed in the past on that date, or remember plants that provided timely foliage colour. Just as important, it’s a poignant reminder of past events in the garden, good and bad.
AGINCOURT GARDEN CLUB
Newsletter February 2006
News You Can Use
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Now that February is half over, we can start thinking about spring. I am sure many of our members have been looking through the multitude of seed catalogues that seem to arrive daily, and planning what to plant when May rolls around. As gardeners we are always looking for what is new and different, and what new varieties the seed companies are trying to tempt us with.
Since we are having our seed exchange during our February meeting, why not try something new. While we are either exchanging or purchasing seeds, why not try to grow a few extra plants that can be donated to our plant sale in May? As we look forward to March and all the plant and garden shows coming our way, it really helps make the winter blues vanish. Try your hand at growing some plants from seed.
We have a busy year ahead for the AGINCOURT GARDEN CLUB and once again I am asking for your help. Please try to participate in one or more of our many events. Enter a flower show, join one of our committees, come on a bus trip, and become involved in your club. Please talk the club up to your neighbours and friends and invite someone you know to one of our meetings we are always looking for new members. Spring is closer than you think!
Bruce Vodden
President
CHECK US OUT!
Thanks to Alex Knox for all his hard work updating our website. Check us out at: http://www.gardenontario.org/site.php/agincourt. If there is any information that you would like to see added to this site, call Alex Knox or Bruce Vodden.
UPCOMING MEETINGS
Monday, March 13th: Growing Dahlias in Canada
Mike Maves
Monday, April 10th: &(2006-11-15) |
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