Cuttings
Barrie’s Garden Club April 2012Open Meeting Tuesday, April 03/12
Southshore Community Centre 7:15 pm
The popular & ever informative Marion Jarvie is our guest speaker tonight.Her topic this evening will be ’Interesting Rock Garden – Year Round’. Her enthusiasm & passion never fail to inspire.
Her property in Thornhill has four open houses per year. Check her website for all the dates.
Out and About – Other Events & Venues
Peterborough Garden Show Thursday 5th, Friday 6th & Saturday 7th of April at the Evinrude Centre at 911 Monaghan Road. (Yes, this is Easter weekend) Check out the website:
for more information.
Newmarket Hort Society Meeting Tuesday 17 April 8:00 pm Topic: Extending the Garden Season. Speaker: Kyla Dixon-Muir. Location: Newmarket Community Centre, 200 Doug Duncan Drive, Newmarket. Guests: $2.00
For further information check out the website at
Toronto Rhododendron Society Plant Sale
Sunday April 22, 2012 from 9:30 am – 3:00 pm at the Toronto Botanical Gardens, 777 Lawrence Ave E. There will also be a selection of locally grown companion perennials from Chalk Lake Greenhouses, which is owned & operated by Martin Galloway. For more information, contact Marion Moore at 416 480-9889
April 28 & 29 2012 10:00 am – 4:00 pm (Saturday & Sunday)
Marion Jarvie - Open Garden (37 Thornheights Road, Thornhill)
There are always many select plants for sale. There is no charge for admittance. Open from 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., rain or shine.
Club Flower Show – 2012 Style
The recent warm weather has put all the plants into ‘fast forward’ as far as making an appearance is concerned. If the trend continues, the entries into the Club’s first flower show of the season at the MAY meeting will be phenomenal.
The multi talented Gail Barr has put together a flower show folder for each of the show entrants. It contains information on all the flower shows during the year, together with show tags, which can be filled out prior to the show, thus eliminating the congestion around the display tables during set up. The number on the folder will be your personal number for use in each subsequent show you enter.
Peruse the club link to the flower show information & plan your entries today.
Tenth Annual Gardening Seminar
Save the date ofSaturday, 14April 2012.
This year’s theme is ‘The Garden through the Seasons’
Venue is the Tangle Creek Golf Course.
Continental breakfast begins at 8:30 am
Featuring the following fabulous speakers:
Frankie Ferragine ‘Preparing Your Garden for Spring’
Lorraine Mennen ‘Dining Al fresco in the Garden’
Diane Pooke ‘Autumn Glory’
Tickets are $45.00 members & $50.00 non-members.
Admission includes continental breakfast & lunch. There will be a fabulous selection of silent auction items for you to bid on.
To register & reserve a spot contact Lois Scott by e-mail at
Trend Watch for 2012
Seasons come & go & with them certain fashions wax & wane. So, too, in the world of gardening – certain ‘garden fashions’ so to speak come into favour each year. So, what’s the buzz about this year?
- Plant something ORANGE – it’s been pronounced the hue of the year, so what easier way to add some WOW to your garden beds.
- Plant something BLUE – it’s a complementary colour to orange. So much to choose from, so little room!! Consider Amosonia, Baptisia, Campanula, Delphinium, Echinops, Geranium (Johnson’s Blue, Roxanne), Gentian, Nepeta, Salvia, Veronica...you get the idea.
- Plant a grass – still a valuable way to add multi- season, natural look to your garden that requires minimum maintenance.
- Plant a flowering shrub – they fill in larger spaces, provide flowers & fragrance, fruit for feathered friends & structure in the 4th season. Choose from deutzia, hibiscus, hydrangea, philadelphus, spiraea, viburnum, weigela....
- Plant a garden – forget about the 100 mile diet, you can create a 10 yard diet with fresh veggies from your own backyard.
- Garden in a small space – townhouse, condo balcony, densified urban lot – you can still create something personal & private by using pots & going vertical to grow things.
- Plant a low maintenance garden – Zoomers may have a few more weary bones & creaky joints but that does not stop us from wanting a spectacular outdoor space. It is achievable by choosing & planting perennials & shrubs that require less attention & maintenance.
- Plant a sustainable garden, working with Mother Nature, not against her to conserve water & encourage wildlife. Commit to the three ‘R’s: Re-purpose, Re-cycle & Re-use.
Alkaloids – Can’t Live Without Them
What exactly is an alkaloid? Without getting too technical, since it has been a long time since high school chemistry, an alkaloid is a naturally occurring, nitrogen containing compound, present in vascular plants & some fungi. Their chemical structure is varied, but most have a ring-like structure.
The primary function of alkaloids in plants is protection. For example, the Tulip tree produces aporphine to protect it from parasitic mushrooms. Because most alkaloids are bitter tasting, their presence in plants prevents insects & animals from eating them.
The naming convention for alkaloids is simply to add the suffix ‘ine’ to the species or genus name of the plant that produces it. For example, atropine is isolated from the plant Atropabelladonna. Strychnine is obtained from the seeds of the Strychnine tree. As more that one alkaloid can come from the same plant the suffixes can vary: ‘idine’, ‘anine’, ‘aline’, ‘inine’.
Presently 5% of the world’s plants have yielded over 2,000 different alkaloids. Certain plant families such as the poppy family (Papaveraceae) & the nighshade family (Solanaceae) are particularly rich in alkaloids.
As they are physiologically active,alkaloids are useful therapeutic agents.
For example, curarine, found in the deadly extract curare, is a powerful muscle relaxant;atropine is used to dilate pupils. Narcotic alkaloids used in medicine include morphinecodeine to relive pain & cocaine is a local aesthetic. Other common alkaloids include quinine, caffeine, nicotine, strychnineserotonin.
Medical use of alkaloids has a long history.
The first alkaloids were synthesized in the 19th century.They immediately found multiple applications in clinical practice.
Our daily lives are enhanced & make easier by these useful & in some cases powerful compounds extracted from the plant kingdom.
The Last Word
When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive – to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.
Marcus Aurelius (121 – 180 AD)