No December Meeting!

Hello Grandview Gardeners,

We won't be having a meeting in December. But we're thinking that for next December we might want to organize a potluck supper for our regular holiday-season meeting night. (Seed-to-Sky does this and they also have a wreath- and garland-making workshop as a part of it.) It's too late to do this for this year, but let's keep it in mind for next year. Anyone want to take on the organizing tasks?

Our next regular meeting will be on Thursday, January 12th. The speaker is Janis Matson, horticulturist and landscaper, who will talk about the 25 top shrubs for Vancouver gardens.

I'll post another reminder in the week or so before the meeting date.

In the meantime, have a delightful holiday season.

Cheers,
Penny

November Meeting

For our November meeting — Thursday, Nov 10th — our speaker will be Brent Burtenshaw, speaking about "Watering Systems for the Home Gardener", certainly a topic of interest to many of us.

Brent is the Service / Operational manager at Harris Irrigation.

He has been in the Irrigation Industry for 30 years, and his entire career has been with Harris Irrigation. He is familiar with all aspects of residential and commercial irrigation with a specialty in troubleshooting.

He will give us a basic run-down on landscape irrigation, along with answering any questions we may have that pertains to irrigation installation, maintenance, and specialized applications.

Materials used in his demonstration are being supplied by Vancouver Irrigation and Lighting Supply located at 1440 Venables.

Please do join us. We'll have door prizes and tea and goodies, and we always have a few master gardeners on hand to answer any miscellaneous gardening questions you might have.

Bone meal?

Q. Should I use bone meal when I am planting new purchases? ( Bulbs included)

A. No.

Bone meal is primarily made up of calcium and phosphorus, and quantities of both minerals are usually adequate in non-agricultural urban soils.

While both minerals are needed for plant growth, excessive amounts of these nutrients, particularly phosphorus, can interfere with plant growth.

Low levels of phosphorus in the soil stimulate plant root tips to secrete organic acids, which then attract mycorrhizal fungi. These fungi penetrate the roots and help the plant take up water and nutrients. Mycorrhizal fungi also help the plant to take up phosphorus from the soil.

Excess phosphorus inhibits the growth of these fungi. This, in turn, forces the plant to create an extensive root system to extract the nutrients and water it would have otherwise received via its association with mycorrhizal fungi.

While a more extensive root system sounds like a good thing, the plant is directing energy into roots that it could be directing toward other sorts of growth and production.

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.