Ontario Horticultural Association, Annual Report, 2000
District Two: District Director - Helen Halpenny
More than 3000 gardeners belong to the 20 Societies in the OttawaValley. Although geographically diverse, we are linked by our common interest in gardening and hold dear the friendships we have made because of plants. Our Annual General Meeting in April and our Flower and Vegetable Show in August provide bi-annual opportunities to get-together with gardeners from Renfrew, Lanark, GrenvilleCounties and the new City of Ottawa.
Almonte: In addition to being recognized for their efforts in town beautification, Almonte & District Horticultural Society can now boast of having the best chefs in the area. In anticipation of the planned OHA cookbook, the society decided at their pot-luck supper in November to hold a vote on what recipes would be submitted for the cookbook, based on how it tasted. It was a great selection of dishes and a hard vote. As well at this meeting, a mini-show was held, with all entries in the Christmas centerpiece category being auctioned off, and proceeds going to the Lanark County Food Bank. Town beautification remains high on the priority list for members, with bulbs and annuals being planted at the cenotaph, post office and PeacePark, as well as adding to our perennial gardens at the local library, which was featured in a garden tour in the spring during Art Fusion activities. Our membership of 80 was treated to great presentations by guest speakers and continues to enjoy borrowing books and videos from the lending library. Fund raising activities were successful at the "Gear Up For Gardening 2000" garden seminar with 120 people attending, and at the spring plant sale at the Farmers' Market. Members also harvested seed from their favourite flowers, and these were packaged and put on sale for an unbelievable 50 cents a package. Our Society is proud to announce the personal accomplishments of some of its members, who continue to give their invaluable expertise to our society and community. Ed Lawrence, host of the CBC Radio gardening show, was presented with an Award of Merit from the OHA. Helen Halpenny, recently received her Horticultural Judging accreditation from the RoyalBotanical Gardens and Kevin Didsbury, Liz Halpenny and Sandy McManus are currently enrolled in our District 2 judging school.
Beachburg was a prettier village, with our Society's 55 hanging baskets, and other flower beds .A highlight of our year was a bus tour to neighbouring towns in Lanark and RenfrewCounties. A wide variety of gardens, six in all, and lunch at a local restaurant made a full day, but we gleaned lots of ideas to take home.
Carleton Place & District Horticultural Society enjoyed a successful year. We held three shows and enjoyed a variety of excellent speakers. Among the memorable speakers was Leonard Lee on the Application of Historical Experience to Tool Development Today. We also enjoyed topics such as What's New for 2000, Home Greenhouses, Lawn Care, Wildflowers of Summer, Rock Gardens, Fall Bulbs and Shrubs, and African Violets. Again this year, members opened their gardens to other members of our Society. We donated funds to the local Schools for garden items and provided a bursary to a High School student. We made two special orders of plants and bulbs available to our members. Our annual pot-luck supper provided the opportunity to present awards, including "Volunteer of the Year"
Deep River Deep River's 746 members are enthusiastic gardeners and are very involved in town beautification. Members planted and maintained two "Welcome to Deep River" garden beds, the many gardens at the hospital and health care facilities. Some of our community garden plots were planted for the Food Bank. We designed and planted 46 hanging baskets and 14 planters in the downtown business area. Excellent speakers and workshops taught our members more about horticulture and exhibiting. A Home Grounds Competition was held and Two Trillium Awards were presented . Members and other residents of Deep River enjoyed the August Flower and Vegetable Show.
Eganville boosted their membership to 82. 'Trough gardening', 'Salad Greens and Dressing Them', Butterfly Gardening', and 'Heritage Gardening" were some of the evening presentations our members enjoyed. We planted a Blue Spruce and two maple trees, worked hard on our town plantings, bought reference books for each school in the village and participated in our monthly competitions. Our bazaar, plant sale, harvest auction and sale table at monthly meetings provide us with funds for our projects.
Gloucester: 2000 was a memorable year for Gloucester Society. We celebrated our 75th Anniversary with a very special Anniversary Tea in June (the only Saturday in the summer that it did not rain). We choose the occasion to honour our Life Members. Research was done in the Society's archival material to prepare a biographical account of each of our 10 Life Members. Three are deceased. Six of them were present to cut the Anniversary cake. We realize that we are very fortunate to have minutes from our very first meeting in 1925 to the present. We also have yearbooks/resumes for all those years. Most important of all, our members met and chatted with living horticultural encyclopedias that have sustained our society through the years. Without devoted volunteers like them, Horticultural Societies, like ours, would not exist.
Kanata-March Horticultural Society celebrated its 30th Anniversary in 2000. The 117 members maintained plantings for the pleasure of the residents of Kanata at the Hazeldean Branch of the Kanata Public library, the Molly Wilson Memorial garden and Tom Thompson Park. Two plant sales and a Flower Show attracted a great deal of attention from members and non-members alike. Members benefited from a bus tour to the Montreal Botanical gardens in June. A keynote speaker was Doug Green, who provided a lively Question and Answer session. The Society's photography competition had a large number of excellent entries.
Kemptville Horticultural Society had a very good millennium year. We began by awarding Life Memberships to Anstace Edmond-White and Helen Groskopf. Our Millennium project was the contribution of 30 rose bushes to a new park in Kemptville. A new feature of our meetings was a seed exchange. Our public plantings featured canna lilies and wave petunias. Our spring plant sale was successful and we also held a fall sale.
Madawaska Valley Society members plant barrels, boxes and beds in Barry's Bay and Combermere. We financially supported a historical research group to assist with landscaping of the grounds around a landmark wooden water tower in Barry's Bay. A group of volunteers made weekly visits all summer to weed the large and beautiful gardens of one of our members who was hospitalized in June. Catherine Gansterer passed away in August and the group continued to care for the garden. When a memorial service was held there at the end of August, the gardens were glorious, and a memorial in themselves to Catherine's love of gardening.
Manotick held three plant sales to raise funds for community planting and assistance to community projects. Membership increases steadily. "Brag and Cry" about your successes and failures is a fund-raiser for us. A large planting of rockgarden daffodils was undertaken. Volunteer and financial help for the ScentedGarden at the CanadianGuideDogsTrainingCenter is provided by our Society.
Nepean Society holds its flower shows in public places (a mall and city hall) where everyone can admire the superior blooms and become interested in horticultural societies. Our members co-ordinated the City of Nepean's 3rd Annual Residential Gardening Competition; it was a very successful event. The motto of Nepean Society says it all- "Where Gardeners Grow"!
Ottawa: Our own Marilyn Light was awarded the OHA Silver Medal for her outstanding achievements in horticulture. 2000 was a year of growth and change for the Society. There were over forty new members. We have a new newsletter editor, a new secretary and seven new board members. Our logo is in the process of being redesigned as a tulip. We have agreed to assume guardianship of the new Heritage Rose Garden at Rideau Hall. Other highlights last year included planting a grove of ginkgo trees, a millennium Blue Spruce, giving an Indoor Garden Trust Fund Bursary to a student, and holding tours of eleven gardens for our members. We even supplied a bride with abundant blooms for her wedding.
Ottawa Valley Rock Garden and Horticultural Society members were inspired by speakers with slides from the Rockies, Banff, and the Queen Charlotte Islands. A 'TroughGarden' workshop on making hypertufa troughs was particularly helpful to those who garden on balconies and small urban gardens. Rare and unusual plants are featured at our two plant sales, which raise funds for international speakers. Our popular newsletter has attracted membership from as far away as Belgium and England. Our autumn seed exchange produced 330 varieties of seed, and resulted in the distribution of 1350 packets of seeds.
Pakenham celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2000 by hosting District 2's Annual General Meeting. We printed a special commemorative Yearbook, and held a Senior Awards Banquet for past and present members. In July our members bused to St. Lazure, Quebec to the Henritta Moral's (Monet) Garden and on to visit the Trappist Monastery Shop and Honey Factory. Our Youth Gardeners continue to shine. 32 juniors competed in the Junior garden competition. 23 youth exhibited in the show at the Pakenham Fair.
Pembroke Horticultural Society Pembroke Horticultural Society membership doubled to reach 293 members. The Society donated $4000 to the Pembroke Waterfront Millennium Project and volunteered 400 hours to city beautification; youth members helped with planting. 140 members attended our Garden Tour. New for us this year, is our own Society banner (a Pansy, of course), and a web site. Our 2nd Annual Gigantic Plant Sale and our Spring Tea & Flower Show were very successful. The District 2 Service Award was presented to Sylvia Giroux.
Perth Horticultural Society keeps members informed with an excellent newsletter each month. The new daffodil and daylily garden at the Hospital continues to grow. Members anticipate the Christmas pot-luck supper each year, for its good food and good friends and sing-along.
Petawawa continues to plant more trees (surpassing $5000 worth) to make our community greener and more beautiful. A successful garden tour in June featured Society and private members gardens. Although our growing season is short, knowledgeable gardeners can produce amazing results, and they generously share their know-how with all.
Renfrew Horticultural Society is experiencing growth and renewal. Dedicated members are revitalizing the society and carrying on the beautification projects. Friendly competitions are held each month. A Members' Garden Tour and barbecue was very successful.
Stittsville/Goulbourn: The year 2000 will forever be remembered locally as a year of great achievements. In addition to hosting the District 2 Flower and Vegetable Show in August, we donated seven gifts to our community: a stunning Blue Spruce, Remembrance Day donations to the Legions, floral arrangements for community celebrations, a garden book and a pine tree to the library. This hive of activity was capped by the creation of a beautifully quilted banner to promote our Society in the community. Interestingly we have approximately the same number of youth and regular members. Our photography night in October continues to draw new members, and our Strawberry Social and Rose Appreciation Night in June are much anticipated. Hats off to everyone!
West Carleton Garden Club and Horticultural Society has had outstanding speakers, including Mr. Leonard Lee on 'Tools' and Dr. Henri Goulet on 'The Insect World in Your Garden'. We continue to work on our reading garden. All members received a questionnaire requesting an assessment of our activities and feedback on ways to improve our Club. The results are expected to provide the framework for a new improved Club. Donna Christie was winner of the prestigious O.H.A. Trillium Award.