May 2017 Newsletter

Hope to see you at our next meeting on Monday, May 8 at 7:30 p.m.

RCMP Club House, Long Island Locks

OUR MAY SPEAKER – Pat Beechey on

THE GOOD AND THE BAD NEWS ON BUGS

All our gardens have bugs – but they aren’t all bad! Master Gardener Pat Beechey will help us identify good versus bad bugs. She will discuss the damage bugs can wreak on our gardens as well as various ways to combat them.

FLOWER SHOW – MAY 8

*all entries must be labeled and placed on tables by 7:00p.m. Designs no wider than 24 inches.

Division 1 – Horticultural Specimen Classes

Class 1 Any iris in bloom, 1 stalk Class 2 Muscari (grape hyacinth), 3 stems, same variety, same colour Class 3 Narcissus, trumpet, 1 scape Class 4 Narcissus, double, 1 scape Class 5 Narcissus, large cup yellow, 1 scape Class 6 Narcissus, large cup white, 1 scape Class 7 Narcissus, miniature, 1 scape Class 8 Narcissus, small cup, 1 scape Class 9 Narcissus, multi-flowered, 1 stem Class 10 Narcissus, any other type not mentioned above, 1 scape

*Trumpet applies to the cultivars that have coronas, as long as, or longer than the petal. For the large cup, the trumpet is more than 1/3 of the length of the petal; but less than the full length;the small cup is less than 1/3 the size of the petals..

Class 11 Tulip, lily flower, 1 bloom Class 12 Tulip, parrot, 1 bloom Class 13 Tulip peony type, 1 bloom Class 14 Tulip, red, 1 bloom Class 15 Tulip pink, 1 bloom Class 16 Tulip, yellow or orange, 1 bloom Class 17 Tulip, white or cream, 1 bloom Class 18 Tulip, purple or black, 1 bloom Class 19 Tulip, fringed, 1 bloom Class 20 Tulip, bi-coloured, 1 bloom Class 21 Tulip, any other type or colour not listed above, 1 stem *No more than 2 leaves should be attached to the tulip stem. Class 22 Any spring bulb other than any mentioned above, 1 stem Class 23 Perennial, any other, 1 stem, named Class 24 A collection of perennial flowers other than above, 3 varieties, 1 stem of each in 1 Container, named on index card. Class 25 One branch of a flowering tree or shrub, max. length 36” above the table Class 26 Asparagus – 3 stalks, max. 8” in length, exhibited on white paper plate Class 27 Rhubarb – 3 stalks, heels left on, leaves trimmed to a 2” fan, on white paper plate (paper plates will be available) Class 28 Houseplant grown for foliage Class 29 African Violet Class 30 Cactus in a pot Class 31 Succulent – other than cactus Class 32 A plant or plants grown in an unusual container

Division 2 – Design Classes – THEME: “Canada’s 150th Birthday”

Class 33a “Springtime in Canada” – A line design using some material from your garden. Class 33b Same as above, but for advanced exhibitors Class 34a “Canadian Sports” – A design of your choice. Class 34b Same as above, but for advanced exhibitors Class 35a “Tulip Festival” – A design featuring red and white tulips. Class 35b Same as above, but for advanced exhibitors Class 36a “Upper Canada Village” – A design including an item/s from our Canadian past. Class 36b Same as above, but for advanced exhibitors

Division 3 – Photography*

1 picture per person taken in 2017

Class 37 “Tulip Festival” – A photograph of a tulip or a bed of tulips. Class 38 “Provincial Flower” – A photograph of any Canadian provincial flower.

*Digital pictures will be judged in November.

MAY 27 PLANT SALE DRAWING NEAR! Preparations are underway for our largest fundraising event of the year – our annual PLANT SALE! Proceeds from this sale support activities throughout the year that benefit our members. To make it a success we will be relying on the support, efforts and donations from you – our members. At the May meeting a sign-up sheet will be seeking volunteers (beyond those generously offering their plants!) to help on Friday evening May 26 and on the day of the sale, Saturday, May 27.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1. Donate plant, pots and other materials to be offered for sale. Plants can include: perennials, shrubs, young trees, fruit trees, berry bushes, herbs, grasses, bulbs/tubers/rhizomes, vegetable or annual seedlings or cuttings, houseplants, ferns and native wildflowers. Use your imagination, but we ask that invasive plants are avoided or at least properly labelled. We will also have a sale table for any surplus gardening items such as ceramic pots. planters, books, labels, watering cans, plant stakes, tools etc. Please bring any donations of plastic pots to the May 8th meeting. 2. Preparing the sale items. On Friday May 26, plants and other items can be dropped off at Watson’s Mill (time to be confirmed). Try to label your plants and with the flower name and colour if known. If you don’t have pots, feel free to use plastic food containers or bags. 3. Set up and running the sale. Starting on Friday afternoon, we will need help at the Mill setting up the shelving, tables and laying out the plants and signage. When the doors open Saturday at 9:00 a.m., we will need assistants to help customers with plant selection and adding up the prices. 4. Take down and pack up the shelving, remove remaining plants and unsold items and signage, then clean up the Mill.

Please contribute in whatever manner works best for you. We would like to thank you in advance for what we trust will be a successful MHS event! And be sure to tell your friends – doors open at 9:00 a.m.

For any questions or to help, please contact Board Member and Sale Organizer Cathy Langtry at (613)

692-4990 or [email protected].

REQUEST FOR PLANTS FROM DOROTHY CLAPP’S GARDEN

Board member, Anne Clark-Stewart is heading up an initiative by the Manotick Horticultural Society to honour the memory of Dorothy Clapp with a large garden bed made up of plants that originated in Dorothy’s own garden. The garden along an old farm fence will be in the new Manotick Remembrance Park located in one of the few remaining village squares in . Over the years, Dorothy Clapp — a past President of the MHS and one of our original members — donated many plants to members, and in recent years, our society members have had permission from the Clapp Family to remove any plant they wish from the family property. The vision for the commemorative garden is to display as many plants as possible that were originally in Dorothy’s garden.

If you have some divisions from Dorothy’s perennials and/or shrubs to contribute to this project, please let our Horticulture Specialist, Anne Clark-Stewart, know no later than the May 8th meeting. Based on the number of contributions, Anne will be drafting a garden design incorporating Dorothy’s plants for the Remembrance Park.

MHS members Sharon Smith, Maxine Whelan and Anne Clark-Stewart spent several days during the week of Easter digging up plants for the MHS plant sale (May 27th) and for the new Remembrance Park garden. They found phlox, Solomon’s Seal, sedge grass, wild ginger, ostrich ferns, snowdrops, crocus and dwarf daffodils to name but a few. Also potted up, were lots of bloodroot for the plant sale. The Clapp Family Garden will be ready for planting between June 15 and 25 and will done by community volunteers.

“I hope a few of you may be able to volunteer in June to assist with planting this garden bed or providing directions to other volunteers in time for the Remembrance Park opening on July 2nd.”

Anne Clark-Stewart

Member, MHS Board and Remembrance Park Planning Committee

NEW FUNDRAISER – NOVEMBER BAKE SALE

The Club will launch a new fundraiser in November – A Bake Sale. This is a great time to purchase regular and Christmas-themed baked goods while supporting your Club. Anne Clark-Stewart has volunteered to Chair this event but needs members on her organizing committee. There will be a sign-up sheet at the May meeting for Committee member volunteers. Then the planning can begin. Think about making extra jams, jellies and pickles over the summer and autumn and set them aside for the sale. We will be back to members in September asking for you to sign up to donate.

Anne Clark-Stewart

Chair, Novermber Bake Sale

HYPERTUFA WORKSHOPS – June 6, 7, and 8

Come one, come all to create your own hypertufa pots. There will be three sessions conducted at the home of our instructor, Brian Carson. You may sign up for one, two or three workshops, whatever you wish. You should be able to complete one large pot and two smaller pots ready to bring home that night and plant after about four days. If you signed up at the April meeting, Anne Clark-Stewart will be available before and after the May meeting to collect the $20 fee for each workshop.

For members who don’t know what hypertufa pots are, Anne will bring one that she made last year that overwintered with succulents growing in it. This is a wonderful time for fellowship and to get to know other members of our Club and other Clubs in the area. Remember the saying, “try it, you’ll like it”.

At our April meeting, Maxine Whelan received the People’s Choice Award for this arrangement in keeping with the CANADA 150! theme.

REPORT FROM THE DISTRICT 2 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Jane Anderson Reporting

The new District Director, by election, is Sharlene Desjardins of Deep River. With regard to Assistant District Directors (ADD): Jane Anderson proposed Anne Clark-Stewart from MHS for Director-at-Large. Anne was unanimously elected. Kathleen Lang was elected ADD for the Mississippi Basin and Sheila King was elected ADD for the Rideau Basin. There is now a full complement of Assistant District Directors (name of newly-elected individual for River Basin not known at press time). The Secretary and Treasurer positions, however, remain empty but are usually filled at the District Director’s discretion.

No organization came forward to host next year’s AGM. In Memorium: the names of Burritt Collins, Corky Sawyer and Ken Darragh of the Manotick Horticultural Society were included in the Memorium. The venue for the AGM was excellent and the speakers very good. In the morning, a past president of the OHA was the speaker and had an excellent collection of slides of heritage garden plants. He gave us a humourous interpretation of how to garden. It was much enjoyed by all. Then Michael Runtz was the afternoon speaker and he gave us another humourous rendition of how flowers reproduce. MHS BEAUTIFICATION OF MANOTICK PUBLIC GARDENS

The Manotick Horticultural Society (MHS) maintains or contributes to a number of public gardens in the Village of Manotick. To keep them looking lovely, each garden has a MHS member who leads and coordinates volunteer teams as follows:

Nicolette Bravo for the Manotick Public Library, Margot Belanger for the Veterans Walk at Watson’s Mill, Susan Killeen-Ramsay for the Post Office, Jane Anderson for Dickinson House, and Nicole Tomkins for AY Jackson Park.

If you would consider donating your time and energy please contact Nicolette Bravo at [email protected]. We are grateful to those who offer their gardening skills to this important ongoing MHS beautification role in our community. In addition, Ann Cronin oversees the Canadian Guide Dogs National Training Centre garden on Rideau Valley Drive. To renew these gardens with colourful annuals and perennials, Ritchie Feed and Seed Garden Centre in Richmond has generously offered MHS a discount* toward those plant purchases this year. MHS certainly appreciates their contribution to these gardens.

You may also wish to visit their Richmond store to check out the new spring stock of garden plants. We will want our gardens looking their best in 2017 as we all celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada!

5901 Ottawa St., Richmond, Ontario

613-838-5959

*NOTE that, while this discount is not available for MHS member purchases, if you join the free Ritchie Garden Club as a new member you will receive a $10 coupon. It may take up to a month to receive this gift card in the mail, or you can get it right away if you sign up in the store.

CBC GARDENING GURU ED LAWRENCE

On Sunday, May 28th Ed Lawrence will conduct a “Pruning Seminar” at The Herb Garden in Almonte. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A. This event is in support of Lanark County Interval House to which Ed has kindly donated his time. The cost of the event is $20 per person. Call 613-256-0228 with a credit card number to hold your spot. Ed will have signed copies of his book Gardening Glory and Grief for $20 cash. Wine and beer will be available to purchase (cash only). The Herb Garden is located at 3840 Old Almonte Road, at the corner of Upper Dwyer Hill Road. We hope you will come to hear a wonderful speaker and support LCIH.

GRANNIES PLANT SALE

Saturday, May 13 from 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon. Plant and Bake Sale sponsored by the Gorgeous Grannies and Friends. Cornerstone Church, 6560 Prince of Wales Dr., . All proceeds to the Stephen Lewis Foundation Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign to help African grandmothers raising their orphaned grandchildren due to HIV/AIDS.

SPRING TRILLIUM: The quarterly OHA magazine is now available online at www.gardenontario.org. There’s provincial news from the president, inspiring articles about what other horticultural societies are doing, news about the provincial convention in July (pg. 8), about building an asthma-friendly schoolyard garden (pg. 18), and Trillium newsletter subscription form (pg. 22).

Book Review: “The Plant Lover’s Guide to Primulas” by Jodie Mitchell & Lynne Lawson. Timber Press 2016. Review by Josephine Norton

Primulas are available in a wide variety of colours, from subtle pales to shocking oranges, and shapes from small varieties perfect for borders to long-stem candelabras. They are beautifully suited to our Canadian climate surviving in Zones 3-9 and their brilliance will light up shady spots where they thrive.

I want to rave about this book because it is so intelligently presented, offering insight into the 100 best varieties of garden primulas and featuring information on growth, care, and design, along with suggested companion plants and hundreds of gorgeous colour photographs of primula designs in major gardens worldwide including Canada. The book finishes with an international list of suppliers (Acton, Ontario is our nearest) and gardens.

This is one book in a series produced in association with the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew so there is “The Plant Lovers Guide to Sedums . . . Dahlias . . . Ferns . . . Clematis . . . Salvias, etc. I can’t wait to check them all out! Order on line at biblioottawalibrary.ca or by calling your local library.

Submissions to the newsletter are welcome.

Deadline for June newsletter is Friday, May 26. Send your submission as a Word attachment to Pat Shapiro at [email protected].

Compiled by Gay MacQuarrie.