October 13th meeting

I have been sending out e-mail notices to people on our mailing list, but I dropped the ball about posting an announcement of our September meeting here on our website! I apologize, especially to Dana Crombie, our fine presenter, although there was a very good turnout for his talk on bulbs last week.

To make up for this lapse, here is an early description of our upcoming  October meeting. It sounds a bit out of the ordinary for our group, but should be interesting. Thanks to Ann Daskal for suggesting  and introducing Donna MacCrea.

YOGA AND THE PASSIONATE GARDENER

Donna MacCrea, Master Gardener and Occupational Therapist, will talk about how to prevent common gardening injuries and how yoga has allowed her to continue to pursue her gardening passion despite injuries.

She will also show the evolution and

maintenance of her large garden to demonstrate how the practice of yoga and gardening are more closely linked than one realizes. 

BOWEN ISLAND GARDEN TOUR - JULY 16 -17

Tickets for the following tour may be sold out before our next Garden Club meeting, so here is the basic information for anyone who might want to spend a day in some lovely gardens:

The People, Plants and Places Tour is an intimate peek into Bowen Island's hidden homes and gardens.

This biennial tour is held over the third weekend in July, and it welcomes over 1000 visitors to the island.

Hosted by the Bowen Island Museum & Archives, this sell-out event is a delightful way to explore Bowen Island.

Tickets: $25
(All proceeds from this fundraising event go to the Museum & Archives.)

More details are at http://bowenislandmuseum.ca/events/people-plants-and-places-biennial-tour/

July meeting, Thursday, July 14th, 7:00

Hi Gardeners,

Our next meeting is Thursday, July 14th.

GGC member Anne Worrall will give us a brief presentation on how to plant a tree to ensure that it survives and thrives.

Following Anne's presentation, Christine will show us some photos she took in the gardens that were on last month's 2016 East Van Garden Tour. We hope to have several of the gardeners from the Tour present as well, so please bring your comments and questions.
And if you didn't have a chance to go on the tour, you'll still get to appreciate some of the gardens — it'll be a sort of Virtual Tour.

As usual, we will meet in the "LRC" — the Britannia Learning Resources Centre, which is under the library. As you're walking toward the library, veer left, walk alongside it, and you'll come to a ramp entry to the LRC on your right. We start at 7:00 and end before 9:00.

Bring your gardening questions and concerns ... and your ideas for topics or speakers for upcoming meetings.

We always have tea and goodies and a few door prizes. Sometimes folks bring plants or seeds to give away.
Also, please bring specimens of what is looking particularly good in your garden on the day of the meeting.

See you July 14th!
This will be our last meeting until September.

Meeting June 9th! Hydrangeas!

SPEAKER FOR OUR JUNE MEETING
Master Gardener Barry Roberts of Heritage Hydrangeas
"The Wonderful World of Hydrangeas"

 

Barry will talk to us about the many great qualities of these easy, reliable shrubs, and explain cultivation and pruning techniques. We hope he will also bring some interesting hydrangeas for sale.
His website is www.heritagehydrangeas.com.
 

Also, after seeing Barry's talk, you may be interested in visiting his hydrangeas:

As usual, we meet on the second Thursday of the month in the Learning Resources Centre at Britannia (under the Brit Library) at 7:00.

Upcoming Events

Next Meeting – Thursday, May 12th

BENEFICIAL BUGS IN YOUR GARDEN

Those who were at our July 2015 meeting will remember the short talk given by Dr. Veronica Wahl of UNIBUG. 

Veronica was so enthusiastic and her subject so interesting that we’ve invited her back to give us a more in-depth presentation.

UNIBUG (User Network for Insect Biology in the Urban Garden) is a Douglas College project that helps urban gardeners manage insect pests without using chemical pesticides. 

Read more about their project at http://unibug.ca/

​

Next GGC meeting, April 14th, Thursday

SPEAKER FOR OUR APRIL MEETING: CHRISTINE ALLEN "Growing a City"   Vancouver gardens have come a long way in 100 years. Christine will take you from early struggles to beautify a slash-and-burn landscape, through the era of neat lawns dotted with a shrub or two, to the diverse gardens of today's Vancouver – as innovative, idiosyncratic, and inspired as their owners.  Besides being our Grandview Garden Club leader, Christine Allen is a Vancouver writer and gardener. In 1993 she gave up her career as a college instructor to move with her husband to a 9-acre farm in south Langley. During the following 14 years they raised sheep and chickens, and Christine developed a garden of old-fashioned roses, vines, and perennials. By 2006, when they sold the farm, Christine's rose collection had grown to 175 different antique varieties. In 2010, after three years in Australia, the couple returned to Vancouver where Christine is now developing a new garden on their small city lot in Grandview. Christine is a Life Member of the Master Gardeners' Association of B.C. She was president of The Vancouver Rose Society in 1996–1998 and of South Surrey Garden Club in 2005–2006. Until she left for Australia, she was a member of the Great Plant Picks Program, run by the Elisabeth C. Miller Garden in Seattle. Christine has taught in the VanDusen Education program, and spoken to many garden clubs in B.C. and Washington. She wrote regularly for GardenWise magazine until its demise in 2013 and for other gardening publications in both Canada and the U.S. She is the author of several books including Roses for the Pacific Northwest and Gardens of Vancouver. Her most recent book is A Year at Killara Farm, a memoir of her experiences on the Langley farm. We meet in the Learning Resources Centre (under the Britannia Library), at 7:00, on the second Thursday of the month. SEEDS & SEEDLING SWAP! Susan Lockhart, one of our members, had a brilliant idea: that we who are starting seeds, and who have too many seedlings of one kind or another (how many zucchini plants do you really need?), should bring their extras to our April meeting to share or trade with other folks in the community. You could also bring any extra seeds you have that you won't be needing yourself. Please put them in envelopes or packets and label them.

Three Other Very Important Things! RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP FOR 2016! If you haven't done so yet, now's the time to renew your membership! Bring your $20 and renew! If you don't renew, but want to come to a meeting, you'll need to pay a $4 drop in. If you come to more than five meetings over the year, the $20 membership is well worth the cost! Don't forget, with a membership, you get discounts at GardenWorks, Figaro's, and Magnet Hardware (for garden-related purchases). Plus you help us to stay solvent and to pay honoraria to our guest speakers.   CITY OF VANCOUVER RAIN BARREL SALE!  http://vancouver.ca/news-calendar/rain-barrel-sale.aspx BEAUTIFUL IN APRIL? Bring a sample of something from your garden that looks just fabulous on the day of the meeting.