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Athens Garden Club
& Horticultural Society
Welcome to the web site of Athens Garden Club & Horticultural
Society!
Monthly Meetings
Date: Third Tuesday of the month
(except July, August and December – no meetings)
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Athens District High
School, 21 Church Street, Athens
Our meetings feature guest
speakers and social time in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
See NEWS & EVENTS for a list
of our speakers and meeting topics in 2010.
ABOUT US
Our Club
We are a lively, active group that
includes all age-groups, with varying levels of
horticultural expertise from novice to very experienced, and a shared love of
gardening. The club was founded in February, 2003 and response by community residents was
enthusiastic. Since then,
the club has moved from its original location to larger quarters at Athens High
School and has taken on a number of community projects in addition to its
regular club meetings. In 2005, the club became a member of District Three of
the Ontario Horticultural Association. Our membership of about seventy includes
residents of several area communities as well as Athens.
Our Emblem
The club has adopted the pitch pine as its emblem. The choice of this tree reflects the
club’s approach to gardening in harmony with the natural environment, its
interest in nurturing and protecting native trees, and its location in the
Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, within whose limits the pitch pine is
uniquely found in Canada.
NEWS & EVENTS
Meetings in 2010
January 19 The History of Botanical Drawing - Celia Godkin
February 16 Green Vegetable Gardening - Penny Stewart: DHA District 3 Secretary
March 23 Fabulous Foliage And Flowers Too - Laurie Bachand of Stoneridge Gardens and Nursery
April 20 Ask And It Shall Be Answered - A panel of our own Athens and area expert green -thumbs answers all (we hope) your gardening questions.
May 18 Carmen Robin Of Proven Winners will show how to make beautiful spring containers using all the newest plants and colour combinations
June (Date TBA) Member’s Gardens Tour
September 21 Lilies And Hostas - Suzanne Patry - Whitehouse Perennials
October 19 The Art Of Pruning Trees - Brian Henderson: Historical Lead Horticulture Interpreter at Upper Canada Village
November 16 Seasonal Arrangements For Your Home - Nancy Jenson - Avenue Florist
JOIN US
Everyone is welcome. We invite you
to become a member. Annual fees
are $10, individual; $15, couple. Alternatively, try
us on for size, or come to meetings when you can, for $3.00 per evening.
Our
Community Projects
Shades of Green: A Memory Garden
The Garden Club launched its first
community project in May, 2003. In partnership with the Township of
Athens Community in Bloom Committee, a demonstration shade garden was created
on public land adjacent to Township Hall, with a huge maple tree as focal
point. A wooden bench, a bird bath, and all perennial plants needed were donated by
members. Shrubs were purchased
through a collection taken at a Garden Club meeting. The Municipality donated a
load of topsoil.
Begun as a demonstration shade
garden, the focus of the garden changed after the maple tree developed a crack
and was felled by the municipality in April, 2004. The tree had been the last
survivor of eleven maples originally planted around Township Hall to
commemorate the supreme sacrifice made by eleven “Athens boys” who died in the
Great War of 1914-1918. Where the maple had stood, a volunteer team of club
members erected a sundial, donated by a Club member, and created a circular
rose garden around it, which they planted with eleven “Hope for Humanity”
roses.
In June, 2005, the garden was
formally opened by the mayor of Athens and a sign bearing the name of the
garden, designed and donated by Keith Heine of Heritage Signs, was
unveiled. On Remembrance Day,
2006, a black granite memorial bearing the names of the eleven soldiers was unveiled
and the garden was dedicated to their memory by Padre Blair Ross, NFB Kingston,
at a moving public ceremony in which family members of the soldiers
participated.
The garden is
maintained by members of the Club.
Dancy Park Tree Planting, 2004
In April, 2004, the club sponsored a four-session workshop series, open to all members of
the community, entitled “Take Time for Trees”. As a sequel to the course,
participants created an earth berm and planted twelve
pine and spruce trees in Dancy Park, a previously
featureless rectangular area of mown grass. Thirty shrubs, including willow, highbush cranberry and red twig dogwood, were also planted in the park. The construction of the berm involved moving more than 30 tonnes of topsoil by wheelbarrow about 80 metres across the
park - during the wettest Spring conditions experienced for many years!
“Albert’s Gardens” Climate Change Project,
2005-2008
In October, 2005, a group of volunteers from the club planted 300 ‘Red Emperor’ tulips, provided
by the National Capital Commission, at the Cenotaph flower bed in Memorial
Park, Athens, as participants in a project to assess climate change. Eleven horticultural societies in the
region planted the same number of the same kind of tulip during the same
week. Students from Athens District
High School recorded specific information daily in 2006, 2007 and 2007, during
the growth cycle of the tulips. The data from all sites was analyzed by
Mississippi Field Naturalists, as part of a study named for Albert, a Lanark
County gardener who observed the Spring growth of
plants in his garden.
Athens District Health Centre Garden, 2008
During 2007 and 2008, the Athens District
Health Centre building was renovated and extended. On completion of the work, Athens Garden Club and Township
of Athens Community in Blooms teamed up to jointly fund, design and plant a new
garden at the front of the building. The garden was planted with shrubs and perennials in the Fall of 2008. The plantings have thrived and the attractive setting is much-appreciated by staff and clients of the Health Centre.
Library Garden Design Contest, 2008-2010
Our latest project is the creation
of a new garden in front of Athens Public Library, a heritage stone building
which was formerly Front of Yonge Township Hall. The garden is intended to demonstrate
what can be done to meet the demands of a changing climate. The Club is grateful for the assistance
of the O.H.A. which has awarded a grant of $500.00
towards costs of this project. In October, 2008, a contest was held, open to area residents as
well as members of the Club, to select a design for the garden. Design criteria included low maintenance
demands; water conservation and drought tolerance; use of native plants;
re-cycling; and food and shelter for beneficial insects and birds. A panel of judges chose the best three designs entered in the contest, which were then displayed at the Library for
one month, so that members of the public could vote for their favourite design. The winning garden design was submitted by Terri Olivo. The Club also organized the installation of
new brick walks for the garden, with costs to be shared by the Club, the
Library Board, The Friends of the Library and Township of Athens Community in
Bloom. Unfortunately, creation of
the new garden and walkways is currently on hold, pending a decision by the
Municipality regarding accessibility, in compliance with new building
accessibility regulations.
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