October 14th meeting

Hello GGC members,

The speaker I had engaged for our October meeting has cancelled and so far my efforts to find a last-minute replacement have failed.

I'm wondering if anyone among you has a gardening subject you would like to share with the rest of us. It doesn't have to be a lengthy presentation. If there are 4 or 5 people out there who would be willing to talk about a plant, a tool, a technique or a useful tip for 10 to 15 minutes each, that could give us a varied and enjoyable program.

I know we have many knowledgeable gardeners in our club and am hoping that there'll be at least a few of you who will respond to the opportunity to pass on a little of what you know already or have perhaps recently learned.

Please contact me at christineallen88@gmail.com if you can help.

Thanks,

Christine

July Tree Walk

Did you go on the tree walk that replaced our regular July meeting? Would you like a neighbourhood walk to be a regular summer event? If there's enough interest, there are many more trees, as well as some interesting shrubs, that we could highlight in future years. 

I know there are some people who couldn't do the walk on Sunday, but were able to do it later in the week. For them and others who may have missed it, here's a photo of the excellent conifer identification panel that Sandy and Janet created, which was on display on Semlin Street outside Sandy's house. The text is easy to read if you enlarge the image.

Thanks to Chris Wasylishyn for sharing it with us.

Posted by Christine Allen

Peonies to give away

I've just dug up a large red peony that is now in four pieces, all needing new homes.

If you are interested, please let me know today. I have nowhere to keep them and green bin pick-up is tomorrow

Christine

christineallen88@gmail.com

TWO EVENTS OF INTEREST

Hello Garden Club member,

At our Zoom meeting last Thursday, I mentioned these two Zoom events. They are are both offered by Master Gardener organizations, one in the Okanagan and one in Vancouver, but they are open to anyone who is interested.

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/okanagan-master-gardeners-spring-education-day-tickets-140717127717?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

http://mgabc.org/node/2867

The Okanagan one is free. Linda Gilkeson is an excellent and knowledgeable speaker on a variety of sustainable gardening topics, but she is particularly good on vegetable growing. She lives on Salt Spring Island, so her information is relevant to Vancouver conditions.

The Vancouver one is a fundraiser for the Vancouver Master Gardeners and costs $50 for 8 hours x 7 speakers, which is very reasonable price wise. There is a good range of speakers on a diversity of subjects.

Posted by Christine Allen

Bird feeder danger

Warnings are going out among bird and garden groups about salmonella contamination in bird feeders. The risk is particularly great to pine siskins, which have been dying in considerable numbers, but other birds are also becoming infected. As a result wildlife  organizations are asking everyone who has backyard bird feeders to please remove them for a 14-day period. 

Here is more information about the virus:

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/tiny-b-c-birds-are-dying-from-salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-backyard-feeders-1.5262116?fbclid=IwAR1The3fnNO1ONiaHJe2mQ9WDjGzQyiit_L75eUCH0qNkb-X6kvWyC0kF14