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About Us
About Us
The Smiths Falls Horticultural Society (SFHS) is organized under the authority of the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies Act, is affiliated with the Ontario Horticultural Association and is part of District 2. Funding is granted by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food based on membership. The Society gratefully acknowledges this support.
A History of Smith Falls Horticultural Society
The current Horticultural Society was formed in 2004, however, a horticultural society previously existed in the Smith Falls area.
“In the late 1890's a horticultural society was formed. In early 1897 it together with the town council requested permission from the Rideau Canal officials to lease the land lying between the canal basin and Lombard Street to be used as a public pleasure grounds or park.(224) This long narrow strip of land included the embankment that formed the south bank of the canal basin. Through this property there flowed a creek to drain a marshy area south of Lombard Street. The property was leased to the town, giving the horticultural society permission to beautify the area between the combined and detached locks with trees and flowers. Within a year the area along the south bank was named Victoria Park, and town council granted funds to build a bandstand. The town requested of the Rideau Canal superintendent "that the Basin wall on the North side of the Basin, between the Bridge and the By-wash be raised and repaired in order that (the town) may proceed with the work of improving that section of the park." (225) The town's investment in this "lower town" park ultimately invited pressure for a bandstand in the "upper town" vicinity. (226). In 1907 Adam Foster offered to "donate a drinking Fountain to be erected at the intersection of Brockville Street and Irish Creek Road provided the town Council put the piece of land in proper shape for a small Park, "an offer that was readily accepted by the town.(227)
The care of these public parks and gardens was given entirely to members of the horticultural society. This enthusiastic body of volunteers began to receive an annual grant from the town beginning in 1909(228) and their membership by 1925 grew to between 250 and 300 persons(229) So ambitious were members of the horticultural society to extend the amount of park space that in February 1910 they asked the town council to purchase twenty acres along the south shore of the Rideau east of Brockville Street, otherwise known as the "Ship Yard" for a public park (230)…..”
Archives from the Smiths Falls Library indicate that the society remained active into the 1940's with membership at approximately 120. No meetings were held between 1956 and 1960 due to lack of interest or leadership, and the club disbanded in 1961.
Smith Falls: A Social History of the Men and Women in the Rideau Canal Community 1794-1994, by Glen J. Lockwood 1994
The Sunflower (Helianthus annus) was adopted as the Smiths Falls Horticultural Societies official flower in 2004.
Each horticultural society has to choose a flower emblum to represent it. After many suggestions and much discussion, the Executive Committee chose the Sunflower.
· Tolerant - will thrive in a wide variety of conditions
· Diverse – comes in many different sizes and colors
Helianthus annus
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Plant Type |
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Light |
Full Sun |
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Soil |
Any |
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Water |
Once a week at minimum |
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Height |
dwarf 60 cm (24”); giants up to 4.5m (15 ft) |
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Width |
30-60 cm (12-24”) |
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Propagation |
Seed - Indoors in late winter; direct sow |
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Uses |
Cut flower, attracts birds, seed crops |
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Flower Color |
Most commonly yellow, but newer varieties in orange, red, brown or cream; typically with brown, purple or rusty-red centres. |
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Bloom Time |
Mid-Late Summer |
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Pests/Diseases |
Powdery mildew; Aphids; Birds |
Public Beautification Projects
The Public Planting Committee had a great response when members were asked to sign up at one of our early meetings. It was obvious our members supported the society getting involved in some community projects and they were anxious to get their hands dirty!
Our challenges were, where to "dig in ", how to divide our time, deciding what we hoped to accomplish and how best to utilize our enthusiastic volunteers.
Several beautification projects in the Town of Smiths Falls were undertaken and are maintained by volunteers of the society. These include the Royal Canadian Legion, the Smiths Falls Town Hall and the Smiths Falls Public Library.
Public Planting 2009
May is a busy month for gardeners, so it was wonderful to have so many volunteers take a break from their own gardens to lend a hand planting our three community beds. We quickly transformed these spaces, enhancing the soil, removing any undesirables, introducing some new perennials, dividing existing perennials and adding annuals for "shots" of colour. With so many volunteers the Legion beds, the Town Hall entrance bed and the circular garden at the Library were planted in no time and we were able to enjoy lunch together.
All our materials and plants were purchased locally. We were pleased to do some shopping at our members Angie and Poul Jorgenson’s green house which is a new and growing business. We also took advantage of our annual plant sale where we selected drought tolerant sedums for the Town Hall garden and sedum ground covers for the Legion beds.
This is the fourth season for the Public Planting Program and people are starting to recognize our blue tee-shirts and often stop to ask questions about the society or plants or offer compliments on the gardens. This is a wonderful chance to promote our society and encourage new members. Following our May 28th planting day we continue to meet Thursday evenings at 7:00pm and water and weed our three gardens. This is a great opportunity for anyone who wants to get involved in community projects or simply to share and learn from fellow gardeners. Our season finishes the end of October when we put the gardens to"bed" cleaning up, digging up any tender perennials and doing a final weeding.
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