Annual Report. Ontario Horticultural Association. Covering the events, projects and reports pertaining to 2013, and the convention of 2013

Transcription

1 Annual Report Ontario Horticultural Association 2013 Covering the events, projects and reports pertaining to 2013, and the convention of 2013

2 Ontario Horticultural Association District Map MANITOBA 14 LAKE SUPERIOR 13 HUDSON BAY JAMES BAY 12 QUEBEC District 1 - Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell, Stormont District 2 - Grenville, Lanark, Ottawa, Renfrew District 3 - Frontenac, Hastings, Leeds, Lennox & Addington, Prince Edward District 4 - Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough, Victoria District 5 - Toronto East, York Region East District 6 - Brant, Halton, Norfolk, Wentworth District 7 - Dufferin, Wellington District 8 - Bruce, Grey, Hurton District 9 - Haldimand, Niagara North, Niagara South District 10 - Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Perth District 11 - Essex, Kent, Lambton District 12 - Cochrane, Timiskaming, North Nipissing District 13 - Algoma, Manitoulin, Sudbury District 14 - Kenora, Rainy River, Thunder Bay District 15 - Toronto West, Peel, York Region West District 16 - Simcoe County District 17 - Durham Region District 18 - Parry Sound, Muskoka, South Nipissing District 19 - Regional Municipality of Waterloo 18 GEORGIAN BAY 2 1 LAKE HURON LAKE ONTARIO LAKE ERIE Keeping Ontario Beautiful

3 Annual Report of the Ontario Horticultural Association for the Year 2013 Table of Contents OHA Officers & District Directors Financial Statements Secretary s Report OHA Districts Reports of District Directors OHA Convention & 2013 Society Membership Totals Presidents of the OHA

4 OHA Executive Officers ST VICE-PRESIDENT Jeff Blackadar SECRETARY Kelly Taylor PRESIDENT James Graham 2ND VICE-PRESIDENT Suzanne Hanna TREASURER Sharon Hill IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT & PAST PRESIDENTS COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE John Sellers OHA District Directors DISTRICT 1 Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell, Stormont Pat Stachon DISTRICT 3 Frontenac, Hastings, Leeds, Lennox & Addington, Prince Edward Penny Stewart DISTRICT 5 Toronto East, York Region East Nancy Serrick DISTRICT 7 Dufferin, Wellington Counties Jane McDonald DISTRICT 9 Haldimand, Niagara North, Niagara South Susan Lusted DISTRICT 11 Essex, Kent, Lambton Counties Katharine Smyth DISTRICT 13 Algoma, Manitoulin, Sudbury Suzanne Hanna & Christine Marsh DISTRICT 15 Peel, York Region West, Toronto West Carole Spraggett DISTRICT 17 Durham Region Sandy Rakestrow DISTRICT 19 Regional Municipality of Waterloo Gary Brenner 2 DISTRICT 2 Grenville, Lanark, Ottawa, Renfrew Kathryn Lindsay DISTRICT 4 Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough, Victoria Rose Odell DISTRICT 6 Brant, Halton, Hamilton, Norfolk Donna Hussey DISTRICT 8 Bruce, Grey, Huron Counties Sharon Nivins DISTRICT 10 Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Perth Roland Craig DISTRICT 12 Cochrane, Timiskaming, North Nipissing Kees Stryland DISTRICT 14 Kenora, Rainy River, Thunder Bay Shirley Robson DISTRICT 16 Simcoe County Russ Talbot DISTRICT 18 Parry Sound, Muskoka, South Nipissing Sandra Hartill

5 OHA Board of Directors The Board of Directors of the Ontario Horticultural Association consists of the President, 1 st Vice President, 2 nd Vice President, Immediate Past President & Past Presidents Council Representative, Secretary, Treasurer and 19 District Directors. The Board meets three times a year in March, at the annual convention, and in October. At these meetings, the Board discusses the business side of the Association, makes decisions regarding the dispensation of funds and passes motions that are binding and in the best interests of all Societies and the Association as a whole. A quarterly newsletter keeps Society members aware of Board decisions as well as publishing general items of interest from Societies around the province. All positions on the Board are voluntary, with the exception of the secretary and treasurer who are paid a small honorarium for their services. OHA Board Back Row (left to right): Jane McDonald, Roland Craig, Kathryn Lindsay, Pat Stachon, James Graham, Rose Odell Middle Row (left to right): John Sellers, Russ Talbot, Jeff Blackadar, Suzanne Hanna, Sandra Hartill, Sharon Nivins, Carole Spraggett Front Row (left to right): Sharon Hill, Kelly Taylor, Donna Hussey, Nancy Serrick, Sandy Rakestrow, Susan Lusted, Katharine Smyth, Penny Stewart, Kees Stryland, Gary Brenner, Shirley Robson Absent: Christine Marsh 3

6 OHA Executive Officers left to right: James Graham, Jeff Blackadar, Sharon Hill, John Sellers, Suzanne Hanna, Kelly Taylor From the Agricultural & Horticultural Organizations Act, Article 36: The objects of a horticultural society are to encourage interest and improvement in horticulture, - by holding meetings respecting the theory and practice of horticulture; - by encouraging the planting of trees, shrubs and flowers on public and private grounds; - by promoting balcony and community gardening and outdoor beautification; - by arranging field trips, contests, competitions and exhibitions related to horticulture and awarding prizes; - by distributing seeds, plants, bulbs, flowers, trees and shrubs; - by promoting the protection of the environment; - by promoting the circulation of horticultural information through any media; - by promoting the benefits of therapeutic horticulture; and - by stimulating an interest in the study of horticulture. 4

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15 2013 Secretary s Report Wow, it s hard to believe that we are through It was a busy year for us and a year where we saw much change, improvements and efficiencies on the Board of Directors. At the 2013 OHA Convention resolutions were voted upon and carried by the general membership whereby changes to our constitution and bylaws were seen. They include the removal of the position of the Past Presidents Council Representative on the OHA Board of Directors. This was an immediate removal of the position. The Immediate Past President took over the representation of the Past Presidents Council on the OHA Board of Directors. As well, the removal of the position of 2 nd Vice President from the OHA Board of Directors was also carried. This position will be removed at the convention in Cornwall in There were cost savings with the removal of both of these positions. Sufficient redundancies remain in place to support the President of the OHA, the Board of Directors and the work of the OHA. In 2013, the OHA reviewed and looked at ways where we could see savings and/or efficiencies. For example, we have moved to ing as much as possible (including the Trillium and OHA Youth Newsletters) and have encouraged societies to use the online forms for OHA Annual Information Reporting. This has reduced our printing costs overall. The Board of Directors have made significant attempts this past year to carpool and to create efficiencies and cost savings with our travel. We saw significant savings with our travel to the 2013 OHA Convention. All forms of travel were reviewed and a decision made as to the most cost effective method of travel. This initiative is something we hope to maintain yearly. This past year I had the opportunity to attend District Annual General Meetings (AGMs). It was a wonderful opportunity to see how other districts carry out their AGMs. I took home many great ideas that we can use in my district. I love meeting new people and this is a great opportunity to answer questions from societies in different geographical areas of the province. The first few weeks of every year are always very busy with OHA Annual Information Reports coming in, regular correspondence, society newsletters and s to the OHA Secretary. The OHA membership numbers reported for 2013 are: 281 Societies with 28,958 members. For 2013, Societies reported 471,683 volunteer hours, OHA Officers, Directors, Assistant Directors, District Secretaries and Treasurers reported 16,273 hours for a total of 487,956 volunteer hours. In comparison to 2012, Societies reported 13

16 447,502 volunteer hours, plus OHA Officers, Directors, Assistant Directors, District Secretaries and Treasurers reported 14,122 hours for a total of 461,624 volunteer hours. In comparison to 2012, this figure is a significant increase of 10,059 volunteer hours. This is highly impressive! Well done!!! We can definitely showcase the contributions of societies when applying for grant applications, and society support from your cities, towns and businesses. The OHA and all of its 281 societies have a voice because these documented hours show the important contribution that Societies give back to their communities. The Awards Coordinator accepts the applications for grants and awards, including nominations for OHA special awards for review in late March. At the OHA March Board Meeting, District Directors are informed of the grant winners. This information is shared with societies at their District Annual General Meetings in April. Special Project Grants are awarded annually to help societies with costs of their project. In March 2013, the following five horticultural societies whose projects met the criteria were awarded Special Project Grants of $500: French River Horticultural Society, Goderich & District Horticultural Society, Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga, Spanish Horticultural Society, and Carleton Place & District Horticultural Society. Community Garden Grants, in the amount of $500, are awarded annually to help societies with costs of their project. In March 2013, the following two horticultural societies, whose projects met the criteria, were awarded Community Garden Grants: Seaforth & District Horticultural Society, and Evergreen Thumbs Horticultural Society. Thirty $200 Tree Grants were awarded in The following societies received these grants: Hanover & District Horticultural Society, Neustadt & District Horticultural Society, Port Colborne Horticultural Society, Kitchener Horticultural Society, Chesley Horticultural Society, Thunder Bay Horticultural Society, Lucknow & District Horticultural Society, Goderich & District Horticultural Society, Seaforth & District Horticultural Society, Niagara-on-the-Lake Horticultural Society, Flamborough Horticultural Society, Kincardine & District Horticultural Society, Elmira & District Horticultural Society, Leaside Garden Society, Dunnville Horticultural Society, Bancroft Horticultural Society, Minden & District Horticultural Society, Strathroy Caradoc Horticultural Society, Dryden & District Horticultural Society, Pelham Horticultural Society, Schomberg Horticultural Society, Brantford Garden Club, Wellesley Horticultural Society, Glencoe Horticultural Society, Shelburne & District Horticultural Society, Martintown and District Horticultural Society, Russell & District Horticultural Society, Thornhill Garden & Horticultural Society, Ennismore & District Horticultural Society, and Riverdale Horticultural Society. 14

17 We saw good use of the supplies available through the OHA Supplies. The supply of various certificates is always available to reward service. I would like to thank the societies across the province who use these as well as Directors who consistently stock their district supplies. Convention 2013 took place July and was hosted by District 14. It was held at the Valhalla Inn in Thunder Bay. The theme was Up North and Down to Earth. There were excellent seminars and speakers the entire weekend as well as bus trips and judging updates. It was an extremely memorable convention for me as I had never been that far north and truly fell in love with the area. I took in the opportunity to not just see Lake Superior but to fish and sail in it as well. I also enjoyed a wonderful bus trip to Kakabeka Falls. It was a convention I will never forget! Thank you District 14! The Silver Medal was presented to Gary and Diane Westlake, Peterborough Horticultural Society. The Ontario Horticultural Association Silver Medal, with its associated framed certificate, is the highest award of the Association. The award is given for outstanding work in the advancement of horticulture in accordance with the aims of the Association. The Silver Trillium/Fir Award was presented to Katherine Andrachuk, Horticultural Societies of Parkdale & Toronto, and to Cecile Young, Kirkland Lake Horticultural Society. The award was initially donated by Thelma Boucher who was the OHA President in 1941 Two awards annually may be given for outstanding service to Horticultural Societies and/or the OHA for an extended period. The Community Improvement Award was presented to Joyce Bockmaster, Woodbridge Garden & Horticultural Society. This award is a plaque provided by the OHA. It may be given to an individual, organization or company that, in the estimation of the Awards Committee, has enhanced the beauty of the landscape and/or added to the quality of life of a community with a horticultural project. The Award of Merit was presented to Bob Wilt, Ancaster Horticultural Society and Manuela Neto, Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga. This award is a framed certificate and is given to an individual for notable contributions to the programs of the Association or a Society. The Awards Committee may elect to present more than one Award of Merit in a given year. Honour Roll Certificates were presented to Barbara Waddell, Ancaster Horticultural Society and Lotte Brunner, Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga. The Awards Committee may select a maximum of two candidates from those nominated. The Youth Leader Award was presented to Kim Oly, Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga. This plaque is presented to a person who has been a Youth Club Leader for a minimum of five years. With great appreciation, Kelly Taylor OHA Secretary 15

18 OHA Districts Since the early years of its formation, the Societies that comprise the Ontario Horticultural Association have been grouped into Districts. Initially, with just 62 Societies in the Association, only seven Districts were needed. But as membership grew, the Districts underwent several changes, resulting in the 19 Districts that we have today. Although the boundaries have changed over time, the concept remains the same: groups of like-minded people gathering together to share their gardening knowledge and experience. The Districts facilitate communication between the OHA and its member Societies and promote interaction and cooperation among the Societies themselves. The 19 Districts in the Association are comprised of approximately 280 Societies, ranging from Evergreen Thumbs and Fort Frances in the west to Williamstown Green Thumb in the east, and from Kingsville and Leamington in the south to Sioux Lookout in the north. Shown below are the boundaries of the 19 Districts, and on the pages that follow are reports from each of the 19 District Directors

19 Reports of District Directors for 2013 District 1 Dundas, Glengarry, Prescott, Russell, Stormont District Director - Pat Stachon 7 Societies District 1 has seven Societies in the most south-easterly location in the province, a total membership of about 750, and is supported by Assistant Director Carole Larocque of the Alfred Horticultural Society, our only French speaking Society in the OHA, and Mary Higginson, Secretary-Treasurer, of Vankleek Hill. This past year we met monthly and more often via to create an amazing first time ever convention, A River Runs By it, to be held in the District on July 18-20, 2014 in Cornwall. Alfred, located east of Ottawa half way to Montreal, is an agricultural community in Prescott Russell, French speaking, and the home of Alfred College, an affiliate of Guelph University. The Society has had a two-year partnership with Bois du L air hosting and sharing meetings in various parks, the Alfred Bog, and other trips to the environmentally sensitive areas in the District. Cornwall is the host city of the 2014 OHA Convention, a town that has had hard times but now boasts a magnificent waterfront located on the St. Lawrence River. There are numerous community projects, one being The Bark and Compost Day where members helped pre-bag 1100 bags and eventually donated $ to the Children s Christmas Fund from their sales of compost. Martintown held their first time sale of rain barrels which went extremely well. It was at the Martintown Community Centre where the horticultural members also maintained and cared for all of the beds and borders. The beautiful containers on the bridge over the Raisin River were a treat to observe and the flower barrels in the village were the envy of all who surveyed them. Maxville has been serving the Community since 1923, and has seen increased numbers attending their pot luck meals along with their meetings. Their new project was hanging baskets along the main street of Maxville. The Township installed the basket hangers and watered over the summer season. The Chamber of Commerce has supported this project and has encouraged the Society to continue next year. 17

20 Russell, the largest and fastest growing Society in the District, can boast and be proud of an outreach program that can match any District in the OHA. Their Living Locally Fair drew 2500 on a miserable mid-january day selling and featuring all locally grown and produced goods in the area. A partnership with a local high school, St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic High School, met all that the OHA mandate requires, teaching young people to grow produce in the school greenhouse, participating in the community, helping with plant sales, protecting the environment in a cooperative indoor garage sale which encourages reusing and recycling. Williamstown was involved in many areas in the local community, planting, weeding and maintenance of the most visible, the bridge boxes in Williamstown. Other ongoing projects included planters at the Nor Westers Museum and the Loyalist Museum, the cenotaph planters and the entrance to the Char-Lan Recreation Centre. The oldest agricultural fair is held in Williamstown, just over 200 years old, and the Society is very active in helping to maintain this outstanding attraction each year with its beautification and participation. Vankleek Hill started raising funds for the 2014 Convention at their first spring plant sale sponsored by Scotiabank, creating a comfy cushion to start the Convention fundraising! The Society is now one hundred and seven documented years old and has a challenge for their landscape and gardening skills with their showcase, the Mill Street Park, by an outdoor ice rink. The annual sidewalk plant sale allowed the Society to meet and greet the public providing them with information and answering gardening questions. District 2 Grenville, Lanark, Ottawa,Renfrew District Director - Kathryn Lindsay 21 Societies The District has 21 Societies with 2,263 adult members volunteering 25,551 hours (11 hr/member) and 225 youth members. Notable membership stats: Ottawa Valley Rock Garden (34% increase in membership) Kanata-March and Kemptville (32% new members) Deep River (85 new members) Stittsville-Goulbourn (48 volunteer hours/member) 100% member retention by five Societies. 18

21 Nine Societies awarded 10 scholarships worth $2,525. Carleton Place & District celebrated its 25 th anniversary. District activities included the District Executive and Societies attending Seedy Saturday/Sundays in Ottawa, Pembroke, Perth. The Director attended three OHA Board meetings. The Spring Advisory Council/AGM was hosted by the District Executive in Renfrew where there were 165 delegates from every Society, a message from the OHA`s James Graham, a book sale, silent auction, photo competition (11 exhibitors; 65 entries), presentation of the District`s AGM trophy for the District logo contest, and two guest speakers. At the OHA Convention, the District 2 Director co-convened the flower show with District 16, and District 2 Societies/members placed in floral design, art, publications, website, creative writing and photography. At the summer District Flower and Edibles Show in Beachburg, co-hosted with Deep River, there were 21 exhibitors from 9 Societies and 213 entries including 47 designs interpreting A Whitewater Experience. In the Fall, an OHA judging update was held with 32 judges from Districts 1, 2 and 3. The Fall Advisory Council meeting was hosted by Greater Ottawa Water Garden, and there was the Knowledge Café on topics of Society interest. There were District communiqués as needed, the website was updated regularly, and the District Executive attended 18 Society AGMs/potlucks. There were consultations with Societies about a proposed District 2/District 1 boundary revision to more evenly allocate Societies, members, and financial capacity, and to reduce the extent of District 2 Director visits and Society hosting and attending District 2 events. Almonte & District supported the Township of Mississippi Mills Communities in Bloom by sponsoring a Garden of the Week competition. Members judged the gardens and there were a photo and description in the local paper. Great feedback should encourage interest in the Society. In April, they toured Yeaman greenhouses with food produced year round. There was an extra member effort to maintain the Almonte floral, vegetable and herb displays. The August pot-luck with recipes using garden produce was a highlight, as was the Harvest Show with flowers, vegetables and photography at the Mississippi Textile Museum. In December the Communities in Bloom judges again awarded Mississippi Mills four blooms with a special award for Floral Displays. Beachburg held eight meetings with excellent member and guest speakers, competitions and of course, a light lunch. Members were part of the plant sale in May and flower shows in May, June, July and September. There were plantings at three locations. Twelve planters along Main Street were tended by volunteers to many compliments. The planter volunteers and corporate sponsors were guests at the November AGM/dinner with competition awards. Members attended District Advisory Council meetings, the District AGM and OHA Convention. The Society co-hosted the District Flower and Edibles Show with Deep River in Beachburg on August 10. With challenges recruiting new members, they greatly appreciate those who continue to promote horticulture in their area. Carleton Place & District enjoyed a speaker series for monthly meetings and floral/vegetable/photography mini shows at spring and fall meetings. They provided $100 to each elementary school that applied for horticultural projects 19

22 with students and $250 to two Carleton Place High School students continuing in horticulture. Funds were donated to Carleton Place in Blooms, Franktown Lilac Festival and the Almonte Fair. The Society`s major funding came from the annual Plant Sale. Members planted daffodil bulbs in the Garden of Hope in Carleton Place, held their annual Flower/Design Show and English Tea in June, learned from workshops on pruning/trimming/thinning and floral design, and participated in the Labyrinth Walk Festival. There was also a June Society Pot Luck supper and the December AGM with music, a floral demonstration, Volunteer of the Year and Flower Show/Art/Photography awards. Deep River co-hosted the District Flower and Edibles Show with Beachburg on August 10 which was well attended by exhibitors and the public. Their continued focus on vegetable gardening saw them host a three-part vegetable gardening workshop/tour at host gardens. In 2012, they had established an Incredible Edible Vegetable Garden on property given to them by the Town of Deep River. In 2013, the property was further landscaped and more perennial herbs were added. Of interest, two rosemary plants survived the Zone 3 winter and produced an abundance of new growth. Eganville & Area continued village beautification efforts by planting and maintaining twelve cement planters and eight public flowerbeds. They partnered with Home Hardware who provided 200 bulbs in company colours which were planted at the Visitors Centre to celebrate HH s 50 th anniversary. The Society s profile was increased by the Garden of the Month contest from June to September and the Society s monthly newspaper column. Both resulted in new members. Fundraising was very successful. Five excellent new speakers were featured. Members participated in Pembroke s Seedy Sunday, promoting the Society and networking with other Societies. Gloucester set and met a membership recruitment/retention goal of a 15% increase. They established personal relationships with contacts in various media, ran a poster campaign, and established a roster of greeters at regular meetings. A highlight of the year was the day trip to organic Outaouais gardens including an 11-acre estate garden, a lavender farm and winery, and a farm replete with WWOOFers (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) lodgings and a geothermal pond. The speakers program had a high approval rate and included topics ranging from Wild Edibles to Growing Organic Veggies in Containers. Greater Ottawa Water Garden had a great year for the Society and gardening. In addition to regular monthly meetings and presentations, they reviewed and ratified their constitution. In the summer, members enjoyed their Pond Socials. The Annual Water Garden Tour was a resounding success with profits for another Community Project next year. Ponds were featured during the day and evenings for a totally different experience. Members enjoyed two special tours: KOI Tour in Vankleek Hill and Budds Hosta Gardens. GOWGHS hosted the District Fall Advisory Council meeting in November. 20

23 Kanata-March was successful this past year due in large part to an outstanding program. Meetings were well attended by members and guests with twenty-three new members joining. The annual plant sale in May was a great success. All plants were sold well before the advertised closing time. Their website look and content has had a dramatic face lift. Again this year many volunteers came to the Molly Wilson Memorial Garden to help with the ongoing clean up. The 1000 plus tulips planted last fall presented a beautiful multi-coloured show in the spring. Kemptville enjoyed the usual Society year, with flowers shows, public planting, community outreach, and the Plant Sale at the Ferguson Forest Centre. A large group of members attended the District AGM in Renfrew with some financial support from the Society. Kemptville members were recipients of the District Service Award and the District logo competition. Get-togethers throughout the year included First Friday Coffee Mornings (usually attended by 5-10 members), and the ever popular weekly early evening gatherings at a member s garden during the summer months, a nice way to maintain camaraderie during the summer hiatus. Madawaska Valley had a May plant sale, June strawberry social, July BBQ and auction (a very fun event), August flower and vegetable show, September plant auction (always a fun evening with Ken Fink) and November Pot Luck Dinner with a Christmas arrangement speaker. The native plant learning garden was done by volunteers at the local library along with various community plantings as in previous years. Manotick had record entries in their flower shows in They intend to promote the shows with speakers that educate on flower shows, and they have purchased judging standards books at the request of members. They overhauled their library which members access free of charge and bought new books of horticultural interest. Due to the popularity of their bus tours, they are planning to keep these as a regular part of their activities. Interest in their community support service program through the Village of Manotick was excellent. Large numbers showed up to help in the library and A.Y. Jackson Park projects. Nepean had an excellent speaker series, a successful Plant Auction and Sale in May, and continued support of a young person studying horticulture through a bursary to Sir Guy Carleton High School. Members worked on various gardens in the community including the Nepean Museum and various church gardens making for a high number of volunteer hours (1,665). There was increased community outreach in 2013 via a Rogers TV interview, participation in a Seedy Saturday, an Ottawa Citizen interview, attendance at the Governor General s Garden Party, and an excellent advertising program throughout the year. Ottawa had a bus tour to Fulford Place, Mary Ann Van Berlo s new garden and Rideau Woodland Ramble. In June, the OHS participated in the Governor General s Garden Gathering Weekend. They moved ahead on some housekeeping and improvement projects identified in the Long Range Strategic Plan and started to look at replacing their audio equipment and revamping their 11-year-old website. Also thanks to the skill and expertise of one of their members, they now have an OHS banner. 21

24 Ottawa Valley Rock Garden covered practical topics on soils, stone and mulch, clay crevice construction, seed germination, and building rock gardens with members sharing their own experiences. There were also interesting presentations on the flowers of Crete, the Himalayas and Persia, and the history of the High Line Park, NYC. They held guided hikes to Sheffield Conservation Area, the Burnt Lands Alvar, and a historic Arnprior quarry tour. Members visited an Ontario Heritage Trust site, Fulford Place, including its remaining Italianate-style gardens. Many members had rewarding practical experiences at their annual crevice and trough workshops. Pakenham continued to plant trees and masses of roadside daffodils and lupin, purchased and planted some tall barrels to go with their half barrels (30 total), tended the gardens at the bridge park, arena, cenotaph park and village entrance signs, and hosted the lighting of their Christmas tree at the bridge. They held three very successful flower shows, helped to host Communities in Bloom judges, had a successful youth program, and participated in the District show and OHA competitions. They also brought their constitution and guidelines up to date. Pembroke continued with their endeavors to increase membership and to create more interesting and membership-friendly meetings. Their focus this past year was also to improve the visual aspect of Pembroke s jewel - Pansy Patch Park. Three deciduous trees were planted and urban reforestation will continue to be one of their priorities in They also supported the Communities in Bloom effort to win the International Award for Pembroke. Perth and District has offered their Year in Review: January Film night Chelsea Flower Show ; March Manned table with seeds and information for Seedy Sunday with any profit going towards the Junior Gardeners Program; April Junior Gardeners Program began seasonal six-week sessions with 177 children; May Perennial Plant Sale. The Society donated a red oak tree to Queen Elizabeth School for Queen Elizabeth s 60 th Diamond Jubilee celebrations, and made a donation to Maberly Agricultural Society in support of the Junior Gardeners classes. PDHS volunteers worked to prepare and care for the historical gardens at the Perth Museum, the Flag Garden and the Cenotaph garden. Petawawa had interesting guest speakers during meeting months. Young Gardeners maintained a plot in the Community Gardens; met for special events and a visit to the local garden centre. There was a successful plant sale and local garden centre tour. Summer Friday Markets moved inside. Summer Trillium Awards were presented at a member s home to gardeners who beautify their front yards. The Community Garden survived a severe July storm and most participants reported bumper crops. Special events were: Seedy Sunday in Pembroke, the District AGM in Renfrew, the OHA Convention. Trees were planted in memory of two long-time members. The Society funded a local secondary school with their Majesta Outdoor Garden Project. The Christmas Dinner was at a local restaurant and gift cards were available for the local Salvation Army to assist youth at Christmas. 22

25 Smiths Falls held their Garden of the Month competition from May to October with a lawn sign and local paper write-up. They provided speakers/demonstrations at the Home and Garden Show and volunteers looked after gardens at the Town Hall, Library and Legion. Members learned from a Paverpol workshop for home or garden art pieces and a workshop on dividing/transplanting perennials (these helped supply the plant sale). The Society produced their yearbook and monthly newsletter as well as a monthly article in the local newspaper. There were interesting speakers each month, five flower shows, a monthly photo contest, sales table, refreshments, and social time. A $500 bursary was awarded to a student pursuing horticulture at the post-secondary level, and books on horticulture were purchased for the public library. Stittsville-Goulbourn developed their 2013 program, events and speakers. Volunteers and members participated for Earth Day by cleaning the park and Canada trail. The Youth Program included a workshop event at the library, also community party/park education youth insects, butterflies and seed starting. There was a community spring plant sale fundraiser, and a July garden tour with eleven gardens including the Ottawa Food Bank. The Society received publicity via six community service sign boards. Members planted and maintained the Legion, Village Square, Gateway and Food Bank gardens. West Carleton Garden Club rented a bus in June to go to the Montreal Botanical Gardens to see the Mosaiculture display. WOW!! Members collaborated on a beautification project for the village of Carp to celebrate the 150 th Carp Fair in September. This included pots and hanging baskets throughout the village, flags along the main streets, plantings at the entrance to Carp, and renewing the flower beds at the Memorial Hall and the two main entrances into the Carp Fairgrounds. The Society s yearbook placed first at the OHA Convention! There was a vegetable show and photography show at the September meeting and a float in the annual Santa Claus Parade. District 3 Frontenac, Hastings, Leeds, Lennox & Addington, Prince Edward District Director - Penny Stewart 16 Societies We cover a lot of territory in D3 and this makes it difficult for the outlying societies to easily join and share activities, but our AGM and Fall Advisory meetings gave us great opportunities to network, share and learn from each other. 23

26 Ameliasburgh Garden Club held activities that included speakers, Plant Auctions and a Garden Tour/Strawberry Social. Topics covered Plants Toxic to Animals, Organic Veggie Gardening, Bee-keeping, Succulents and Viticulture. Members participated in the annual Ameliasburgh Fair entering a float in the parade called Protect Our Pollinators and also had entries in the Floral Division of the competitions. They maintained gardens at the local museum and library and ended the year with a successful AGM where members created lovely Christmas Centrepieces and enjoyed a delicious pot-luck supper. Athens Garden Club is especially proud of their Tree of Knowledge Program that supplies the community with trees for the future. The Athens Library became the proud owner of a long awaited garden and the Memory Garden continued to be well maintained. The Society informed and enlightened the membership with excellent speakers and interesting topics and kept pace with technology with their Facebook photo contest. Beautiful note cards with the garden club s emblem were a fundraiser and were created by one of their very talented members. Bancroft continued to look after many community gardens: the Millennium Garden designed installed and maintained by members, as well as gardens at the post office, library, heritage museum, Manor, Art Gallery, churches and flower boxes in Coe Hill. The Society planted a tree at the newly renovated train station where they now meet. To increase membership they used eye-catching bookmarks of their program throughout the community Bath in the spring held their annual plant sale and sale of home-made, all natural, hand-mixed fertilizer, a great fund raiser. Members prepared and entered a float in the Canada Day Parade and won first place for Best Adult Float. A story about this appeared in the September issue of Trillium. A highlight meeting was a visit to BoniBrae Day Lilies that was topped off by a wonderful luncheon at Casa Dea Winery in Prince Edward County. In August, the Society s website went live to the public with a formal launch in the grounds of Bath s historic Fairfield Gutzheit House, and in that same month members went to the most outstanding mosiaculture display at Montreal Botanical Gardens. Belleville participated in the Quinte Home Show. Members loved to make their own planters at a local garden-centre, one of their program events. They learned about farming with horses and selling organic vegetables, had an April House Plant Show and June Flower and Rose Show. Everyone enjoyed the Pot-Luck picnic and garden tour. Brockville continued The Garden of the Month with a total of six gardens around town being nominated and awarded top honours. Brockville hosted the District 3 AGM. Each Society provided a lovely flower arrangement for the tables and these were raffled off at the end along with door prizes. Colleen O Connell and David Cybulski presented a beautiful slide show on their garden, The Maitland Garden of Hope, a private 1.5 acre garden that has a delightful variety of theme gardens. The Society takes care of the gardens at the Brockville Hospital and the lovely geraniums bloomed well into the fall. 24

27 Collins Bay finished the 3 year plan of the Loyalist Parkway Eastern Gateway Gardens. Perennial plants and bushes were purchased and planted and finished off with red and white geraniums to add instant colour. Ten volunteers helped with the plantings of the perennials and annuals then yards of mulch were added to maintain the moisture and give a finished touch to the gardens. The Society had a great number of exciting and well versed speakers that ranged from amaryllis, herbs, floral design to preserving vegetables. The District 3 Queens Jubilee oak tree was planted in Fairfield Park close to the Eastern Gates of the Loyalist Parkway gardens. Members are looking forward to celebrating 60 years of gardening tradition in Gananoque started their year with their AGM and Potluck Dinner which allowed them to award trophies to their flower show contributors, and also was a chance to recognize great gardens in the community with their Trillium awards. They again had three very successful flower shows where members really showed off just what they can grow.the weather co-operated for the Annual Garden Tour in June. Members participated again with local schools in a School Garden Competition. The students learned about growing flowers and veggies and every student received a certificate. A bursary was given to a deserving local high school student. Kingston maintained the Paterson and Pollinator Gardens. Their Pollinator Project received the D3 Appreciation Award. Kingston Junior Field Naturalists made and installed toad abodes, butterfly houses and bee huts in the Pollinator Garden. The Society s Community Improvement Fund awarded $1000 in grants to four organizations, helping to support twelve community locations. The new photography display at the annual Rose and Flower Show proved very popular with visitors. Members made and maintained numerous spectacular arrangements for the Kingston Writer s Fest. Inspiring programs included Dry Summer Drought- Proof Green Plants, Ornamental Grasses and Water Smart Gardening. Land O Lakes put on an Afternoon Tea at Pine Meadow Nursing Home which was a great success despite the terrible rainstorm that did not allow us to showcase the gardens they look after. Members also maintained the two community hall gardens and cemetery gardens and continued on with their Planter Box program with displays for both summer and winter. LOL won the D3 Sowing Seeds award for their ongoing work with the local school restoring a creek bed. They are hosting the D3 AGM in 2014 and are really looking forward to showcasing their area and providing a great speaker who will update them on the Emerald Ash Borer. Lennox and Addington continued caring for the garden around the local library. They also continued with their Urban Forest Tree Project with support from the Society, and donations and monies solicited from TD Friends of the Environment. Several members were very involved with two community gardens, growing food for the local food banks. Prince Edward County experienced a learning year for a mostly new executive. The County Garden show held in June was a great success with over 500 attendees and more entries in the flower show than they have had in many years. There were 25

28 24 entrants under the age of 18! The Society raised over $400 for civic gardens, held a very successful Victorian Tea and attracted more than 35 artisans to the event. They published a monthly News Letter which is appreciated by the membership and posted on the website. Andy Bowers improved their website resulting in a 3 rd place prize in the website competition. Lifetime membership certificates were awarded to Bob & Sheila Simmons, Ingrid Bronson and Arline de Bourbon for their commitment to the Horticultural Society. Rideau Lakes created a Pollinator Garden, their new venture in This was a very successful program that they intend to continue by adding a new Pollinator Garden each year. An edible tree planting program is in the planning for A summer tour of the gardens of six members was both educational and entertaining and included a social gathering for a BBQ after the tour. The Society continued to support the Community of Gardens program and provided a Bursary to a graduating student of Rideau District High School who is continuing studies in horticulture. Stirling and District had a very active year with ten educational and engaging meetings. Their presenters - their own members or visiting experts - all offered excellent information and advice, ranging from Native medicinal plants to Corn Husk dolls, bees to bulbs, square foot gardening to designing landscapes, pruning to putting the garden to bed, and garden art for cheapskates to miniature Christmas arrangements. Every meeting contained a segment on showing plants to their best advantage through fresh or dried design and/or photography. Their meetings are fun, very social, and always leave everyone happy and well fed! Their volunteers have been most appreciated by the community as they strive to beautify the village. Trenton continued to encourage interest and improvement in horticulture. They planted and helped with the maintenance of public gardens at Victoria Park, Centennial Park, Grace United Church, and Trenton Memorial Hospital, purchasing the plants and providing all the volunteer labour. In collaboration with the City of Quinte West and the Quinte branch of Landscape Ontario, they judged front yard gardens and presented the Iris Award and voted to determine the winner of the Landscape Award. They decorated the Town Hall window boxes, held a public plant sale in May and a Seed Exchange in the fall. The Society continued to sell their Book of Tips to members and the public and they do emphasize an environmentally friendly approach to gardening. They operated a Society booth at the Quinte West Home and Leisure Show. A yearly bursary was presented to a student pursuing advanced studies in horticulture or a related field. Tweed, as part of their Youth program, held two very successful workshops, a pumpkin carving workshop and a seed picture workshop. Their flower show is called Flowerama and was held on July 1 st at Tweed Memorial Park coinciding with the community s Canada Day celebrations. Another great annual plant sale on the May long weekend brought in over $2,200. The Society had good tours to both Canada Blooms and to Peterborough s Love of Gardening. Community plantings were lovely including main street planters; the public library garden; and parks. 26

29 District 4 Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes District Director - Rose Odell 17 Societies Bobcaygeon had a productive year. The Plant Sale and Garden Tour were both major successes. The City of Kawartha Lakes 50/50 Beautification grant that was received helped cover the costs of bedding plants required to beautify the public gardens that volunteers maintain each season. The Society completed two major projects: the creation of a Butterfly Way Station garden and the successful relocation of the carved Osprey and associated plaque of information about the Osprey and its environment. Members were involved in many local events such as the Kawartha Settlers Village Earth Day and Harvest Day Festivals. Brighton had their best Plant Auction yet, raising almost $1, They also had better participation in most District events. Their Flower Shows are valued by many guests and judges have given many good reviews. Members took part in the Brighton Applefest Parade again this year as well as the Warkworth Lilac Festival and the Art Guild Show. Campbellford continued to play an important role in the town and surrounding area by providing wonderful speakers for learning more about horticulture. The parks cared for by the Society brought real beauty to the area and their Garden Tour attracted many people. The Spring and Fall Yard Sales were well received... always a huge crowd of buyers. And of course the Pumpkin Contest is always a great community event. Members also took part in the Warkworth Lilac festival in the spring and handed out giant pumpkin seedlings and brochures advertising the pumpkin contest as well as the Society Coboconk had a membership of 57 which benefited from the OMAFRA grant, donations from local businesses, organizations and individuals, and CKL Beautification Funding. They had a successful plant and bank sale in the spring. Together with their sister Society, Norland, they produced a cook book made up of members recipes. Many thanks to the watering volunteers and watering guys with the green machine. Members enjoyed two guest speakers plus an outing to Tinkls Gallery, again with the Norland Society. A number of trees/shrubs were planted thanks to Home Hardware/Trees Canada and members Bill Barber & Dianne Compton for coordinating. The Society is enriched only by its members contributions. Good work and looking forward to a rewarding Cobourg continued to maintain two important community gardens - the Millennium Garden at the Five Corners Parkette in Cobourg and the Rose Garden at Victoria Park. There was a Members Tea Party at a member s home on a beautiful July day when the surrounding Northumberland Hills and the garden were at their best. Finally, they did a major overhaul of their website with a view to making it more flexible, easier to navigate and provide the flexibility for the site to develop and change as technology allows and the Society s needs dictate. 27

30 Cramahe enjoyed programs that covered everything from mushrooms to native pollinators, growing glorious peonies, to the therapeutic effect of native plants. They got their hands dirty making succulent gardens and native bee shelters and splitting dahlia roots. They tried new things twinning with the Salem Valley Quilters for a very successful June Quilt and Flower Show, led the Apple Blossom Parade through town pushing their wheelbarrows overflowing with apple blossoms and spring flowers, supported a youth initiative Poop and Scoop project and donated funds for landscaping to the Colborne Habitat for Humanity family. Ennismore became an official Society in February Local government dignitaries, the District 4 Director and OHA President attended the April Start Up Celebration. The Society rose to over 100 members in the first year. Thanks to great community support, members were able to complete three primary projects including a Lakeside garden and the installation of a Welcome to Ennismore sign with garden led to the establishment of a new Youth Horticultural Society starting February 2014 with a total of 15 members. Thanks to the tree grant, they planted a beautiful Blue Spruce in honour of their first year. Fenelon Falls had many guests attend the monthly meetings (March-November), with interest in guest speakers and presenters. Sharing of gardening expertise by members, pot-luck suppers and hands-on workshops were very popular. The Queen s Jubilee garden was a major achievement of the FFHS with donations of time and equipment from local contractors last year. They planted perennials, grasses and more shrubs for a more permanent garden display. A bench has been added to this garden area. The maintenance of their public gardens by members and volunteers continues. The Society was very fortunate to work with the Chamber of Commerce watering the town s floral displays. The 2013 Executive includes 2 new members, and the Society drew on the support of the experienced executive members to bring in new members and fresh ideas to enrich the work of the Society. Grafton held their annual summer show and three mini shows. They held a successful plant sale instead of an auction and hosted the 4 club garden tour. Speakers captivated members with a variety of topics. The Society continued to maintain a number of gardens in the community - Haldimand Court Senior s Residence, town hall, cenotaph, Wicklow & Grafton Heritage parks. Go-Go Grafton Gardeners (4-G s) planted vegetables, flowers, learned propagation methods and had a tour of Casteel s Greenhouses. Participation in the flower show, OHA youth competition and in Grafton s Canada Day parade was encouraged. Lakefield held their 35 th annual Antique Sale and Flower Show with a televised old fashioned Garden Tea Party adjacent to one of their gardens to advertise this. The District Hazel Wilson Award went to Mike and Aileen Dean. Six Ontario Volunteer Service Awards were given to members for 50 years (1), 20 years (2), 15 years (1), and 5 years(2). Events included a Bus Trip to Toronto Botanical Gardens, Clematis Garden, Peony and Delphinium Garden, two Pot Luck events, and two successful Plant Sales. The Society was represented at the District AGM, Awards Banquet and Fall Seminar. They had a sell-out meeting for Paul Zammit in April, held two well-attended workshops on 28

31 Floral Design and featured two extensive Flower Shows. They also successfully tried out an off-site meeting at a local Garden Centre. Two $500 Education Awards were given to local students who met the Society s criteria and they initiated a new updated Web site. Lindsay added a garden treasured sale to the annual plant sale which was very successful. Volunteers maintained the Lilac Gardens of Lindsay and the Victoria Manor Gardens. They had an information table at Seedy Saturday, published their yearbook, held three mini flower shows and a photo competition. Several members attended all four District 4 events. Two members won awards for their entries in the Fall Seminar flower and photo show. The Society entered a float in the Lindsay Exhibition Parade as well as in the Santa Claus Parade. Minden had a very successful 2013 despite the tragic flooding the area experienced in May. They were excited to receive the first ever D4 award for the largest increase in membership. The Society had a huge plant sale, a Passport to the World themed Flower Show and planted and maintained colourful Community gardens. The Youth group worked with Grade 3 students on the Three Sisters garden resulting in produce going to the Food Bank. There is a new look to the Society yearbook and they were awarded a tree grant from the OHA. Minutes of the monthly general meetings are now ed to members who can also view them on the web site. Local garden centers offered to give 10% off plant material to members when they present their membership card. This helped encourage new membership. Norland should be very proud of the successful year it has had. It was an extremely busy year, challenged by destructive storms, constant rain and many delays. They had some hurdles to jump over, but in the end, the perseverance and the efforts shown by the active members at their four sites achieved their goal: to make Norland an attractive place to visit and to live in. Norwood looked back at all they accomplished, realizing none of it would have been possible without the help and support of a wonderful Board of Directors. They enjoyed five excellent speakers, including their own Dianne & Gary Westlake who provided a wealth of gardening information and advice. An Application Form was created which can be placed around the various communities to advertise the Society. The Town of Norwood asked for a supply to put in their display case. They also offered to feature Society meetings in their Community Booklet. A Norwood & District Horticultural Society Manual was put together describing the work and how-to of each committee. They wouldn t have a Horticultural Society if it weren t for all of their wonderful gardeners. Omemee renovated three gardens: one at the Village Fire Hall with a new retaining wall of Armour stone; one at the beach by elevating and re-positioning a huge memorial stone; and they replaced the xeriscape garden groundcover with drought tolerant perennials and installed an attractive iron obelisk created from historical wrought iron panels. Volunteers maintained the thirty downtown planters for the three seasons, and nine village gardens. A Gigantic May Plant Sale supported the garden projects and the Junior Gardeners. Members participated in the annual Christmas Parade. Enthusiastic members met monthly from February to December, visited members gardens in July, hosted Flower Shows in June and August, participated in tours, field trips, workshops, fun road trips, D4 events and the OHA convention. 29

32 Peterborough presented the Peterborough Garden Show April 12-14, 2013 with 150 vendors and about 8,000 visitors, featuring a Celebrity Challenge in flower arranging, Children s Garden, Floral Competition, and a variety of workshops and speakers, including Paul Zammit and Marjorie Mason. Profits enabled them to present four $1,000 post-secondary scholarships and give $7,000 in community beautification grants. Fleming Park Heritage Garden was expanded with new interior gardens. There was a Spring Plant Sale, spring and fall Flower Shows, a Volunteer Celebration Event in June to thank their many PHS volunteers, a memorial tree/plaque dedication to Ann Greer-Wooten, a former prominent member. At the OHA convention, Dianne and Gary Westlake were presented with the Silver Star, the OHA s highest award. Port Hope declared, It s been quite a year. They beautified Port Hope, entertained sixteen District Societies and most of all enjoyed each other s company at monthly meetings. They continued their tradition of enhancing the Post Office s planters, decorating the Bridge baskets for winter, planting 250 Daffodil bulbs in Riverside Park and remaking gardens at the Humane Society. They hosted the District 4 AGM, an endeavour that brought Societies together, pooling expertise and efforts, creating a beautiful day for which they were all very proud. They had the great honour of presenting Betty Delong with a Life Membership. District 5 Toronto East, York Region East District Director - Nancy Serrick 18 Societies Our 18 Societies and Garden Clubs had noteworthy times in 2013 as the reports below indicate. The District is grateful for their solid support of District happenings such as various District meetings throughout the year, contributions to our new District Newsletter, and the interest shown in our District Logo Contest. As Director, I really value the backing and encouragement of our Society presidents and members, and the help and wise counsel of the District Executive Committee. Thanks for another outstanding year! Agincourt enjoyed enjoyed two bus tours, one in June to Parkwood Estates plus two nurseries, the other to the Hamilton Fall Mum Show at Gage Park Green Houses with visits to a distillery and a winery, great fun for all members and friends attending. At their Fall Flower & Vegetable Show and Tea Room, there were beautiful displays and a luncheon for volunteers and judges, a good way to say Thank you. The Annual Pot Luck and Flower Show with seasonal entertainment was a great way to end the year and enjoy each other s company. 30

33 Aurora held three major community events: a plant sale, a garden tour, and an Annual Flower Show open for viewing to the Public. Their eight regular meetings featured a Speaker series with diverse topics to inspire and educate members and guests. They held six flower show competitions and members also competed in external Flower Shows garnering several awards. For the third year in a row, the Society s designers won the District 5 competition Design trophy. The Society also contributed to the beautification of Aurora at three community buildings with Christmas decor at Hillary House, the Aurora Cultural Centre and CHATS. Beach held their plant sale on a day when the weather was ideal and almost every plant was sold. The Society made interesting bulbs available to members only and processed 384 packages of bulbs. There were five flower shows with 260 horticultural and 44 design entries. Members maintained the gardens at the Beach Main Street Library, Queen Street Library and Northern Dancer Blvd. Their Garden Tour featured ten gardens and seven walk-bys. On their bus tour, members and guests visited Whistling Gardens and Villa Nova Estate Winery. There were programs and workshops with ten excellent speakers. East York had good attendance at their monthly meetings, even setting a record high. They continued with their maintenance of the Stan Wadlow Park Rockery. EYGC also sponsored a group of grade 3 school children to attend an educational workshop at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Greater Toronto Bulb maintained approximately the same level of membership (77) as in prior years. There were six regular monthly meetings where the Society welcomed a variety of interesting speakers who gave talks on summer bulbs, novelty dahlias, narcissi, garden make-overs, garden design, new introductions of Holland bulbs and even bees. Flower shows were held at all but one of the six regular meetings, and members participated in the CNE s Bulb Show as well. Across all of the shows, there were 20 entrants and over 170 entries. A summer highlight was a potluck party in a member s garden. Donations of interesting and hard-to-find bulbs/plants helped significantly with fundraising. Greater Toronto Rose moved to their new venue in March Cummer Park Community Centre. It was quite a departure from the TBG. Members enjoyed wonderful speakers including Jim Lounsberry on Little Known Garden Gems for the Landscape, Stacey Hickman, Entomologist, on Natural Insect Control, and Wendy Woodsworth from Spadina House. September s meeting was held in the beautiful garden of Marion Dorosh. The Rose & Flower Show was very well attended. And at the AGM, Gloria Broks presented her most interesting photos from South Africa which were followed by a delicious Pot Luck! Greater Toronto Water was busy with four spring garden shows where they introduced the public to hobby water gardening. Members enjoyed good speakers on Pondless Waterfalls, Useful Handling of Rainwater in the Garden, Water Gardens as Ecosystems and Nature Photography. Holding their September meeting at a Garden Centre continued to be popular. Their Plant Sale and Water Garden Tour were successful fund raisers due to the hard work and team spirit of their 31

34 members. The Society found that compromised meeting dates to accommodate other TBG bookings resulted in diminished attendance due to parking problems, so meetings are to be relocated to Banbury Community Centre in the new year. Leaside, with the help of the OHA grant, planted a tulip tree in the playground next to the public library, which will give much needed shade for the children. With a special grant from the OHA, they rejuvenated one of the gardens at Lyndhurst Rehab Centre, while continuing to maintain and plant the eight gardens. Several public areas were planted by four different schools grade 3 classes in keeping with curriculum, in cooperation with the City and the school board. The Society subsidized and provided supervision for the total cost of two classes from Thorncliffe P.S. (largely new Canadians) to attend the TBG Teaching Garden. Both the annual Plant Sale and the Magical Gardens of Leaside Tour were very successful fundraisers. Members maintained and planted the gardens at Sunny View Public School. (school for the handicapped) and provided a hands-on workshop for the children in the spring and fall. Lake Simcoe Gardeners held Photo, Dessert, Pumpkin/Scarecrow, Garden Poetry and Christmas Competitions as well as Flower, Fruit and Vegetable Shows, all of which were great successes, and speakers were a wealth of knowledge. Members had a very busy year with their Pots and Pies Sale, the planting of a Kentucky Coffee Tree in a local park, an Ask the Gardener weekend at a garden centre, and two outreach Q & A sessions at the library. Their Way to Grow campaign awarded signs to 50 homes with curb appeal. Volunteers worked on various community gardens, prepared Plant Kits for the Georgina Food Pantry, and a membership drive brought in 43 new members. There was a summer Garden Party Celebration with the meeting of old friends and new and the Society`s Archives on display. The AGM was a festive affair with 60 red balloons as decoration as well as fundraiser. Members walked in two Santa parades and visited Cedarvale Lodge for a design demo and rousing carol sing to finish off a wonderful 40 th Anniversary Year. Markham settled into a new meeting location in The Programme Committee found excellent speakers to educate and entertain, and 25 new members were added. Their Bring-a Friend Night in April was a success. There were six flower shows - the June Rose Show and Strawberry Tea being popular. They began a new community planting project at Unionvilla Senior s Residence, planting and maintaining planter boxes in the Sensory Garden there. Plants with scented or textured foliage and colourful flowers were used. Members and friends enjoyed a tour of private gardens and specialist nurseries in the Durham area, and the annual plant sale and the Christmas bake sale helped raise funds. Mount Albert have developed strong ties within the community -- with the Town of East Gwillimbury, the East Gwillimbury Public Library, the Mount Albert Public School, Sharon Temple Museum, Mount Albert Sports Day & Spring Fair Committee, and groups such as the Farmers Market and local Artistic Community. They supplied floral centrepieces when The Town of East Gwillimbury hosted a dinner for the parents of the Ontario Special Olympics athletes. Their craft 32

35 program for youth at the Holland Landing Library was well attended. Community businesses supported their efforts with donations to the annual Silent Auction. The Society honoured members with OHA service pins and nominated them for Ontario Volunteer Service awards. They recognized 50 homes with a Thumbs Up! award for outstanding front gardens and celebrated their achievements at the annual Celebration of Gardens. Newmarket had a well-attended and very successful annual Plant Sale. Their Bus Trip to the St. Jacob s Farmer s Market took place just shortly after the main barn had burnt down - everything went well despite the fire. Lunch and a stop at Picard s Peanuts and a garden center completed the day s trip. Members enjoyed some very interesting and informative speakers at the general meetings. The annual Potluck Dinner was another highlight and great food and entertainment were enjoyed by all who attended. North Toronto held four design workshops during the year. Fundraisers involved raffle plants and miscellaneous items at meetings, a garage sale and a plant sale. There was a tour of four members` gardens and a garden party in the summer, a flower show at the TBG in the fall which was open to the public, a members supper in November and the annual meeting in January North York had a wonderful and busy They designed and planted the front flower beds of the historical site of John Mackenzie in North York with the design taking into consideration the period in which the house was built. They also continued with organizing and judging the North York Front Garden Contest and were proud that two of the past year s winners were this year s GTA-wide winners!! The club was active with eight monthly meetings, two workshops, two field trips, a plant sale and a successful flower and vegetable show. That show was held at a new location and drew quite a few garden enthusiasts; there was constant traffic and the entire room was covered with designs and cultural displays. The Society also started the planning of the 2014 District 5 AGM which they will host as they celebrate their 90 th year. Wow 90 years!!! Riverdale enjoyed good speakers and saw more involvement by new members in flower shows. They received help again from the city in watering their public garden bed throughout the hot, dry summer, and continued their gardening activities at Bridgepoint Health with one additional member involved. Members had a fun session making leis from mini carnations (technique learned from a web-site). More people were involved in the annual photography contest and two members won a first in the Canada Blooms photography contest. Scarborough hosted a successful District 5 Annual General Meeting in April, the highlight of their year. Membership grew again from successful recruiting at the annual plant sale, guided garden tours of Campbell farm and having a society table at the three-day Guildwood Art Festival. There were nine excellent garden-related speakers from Balcony and Terrace Gardening, All about Bees, Native Plants to Looking After Your Garden Tools. The monthly Mini Shows and the September 33

36 Flower Show had lots of friendly competition. The Pot Luck Supper and Awards night was well attended and an excellent dinner was enjoyed by everyone. The Society had a busy year with their new and ongoing Outreach programs. Stouffville began a garden recognition contest in 2013 called Happy Place. They judged all front gardens visible from the street within an area that included all of the village of Stouffville as well as some rural areas. Members posted 40 signs, one in each of 40 winning gardens. The contest was a huge success and helped to bring recognition to the Society and much attention from residents, with good coverage from the local newspaper. In September the Society hosted a tea and invited all of the winners to attend for tea and cake and a photo shoot. They will continue in 2014 with the Second Annual Happy Place Contest. Monthly meetings were well attended even through some nasty weather. Looking ahead, the Society has many plans for their 90 th anniversary. Toronto Region Rhododendron held four meetings with speakers at each. Their own Dave Hinton spoke on Magnolias and others were Steve Krebs, head of the David R. Leach Research Station at the Holden Arboretum, John Beaulieu on Hardy Geraniums, and Rodger and Grace Inglis on the creation of their garden near Uxbridge. Members manned booths at both Get the Jump on Spring and Canada Blooms. That is their outreach to the general public and they answer a multitude of questions on Rhodos at these events. Work continued in Edwards Gardens with repair of drainage at one bed, general weeding and mulching of the beds, preparation of a new bed and planting of thousands of daffodil bulbs in the fall. District 6 Brant, Halton, Hamilton, Norfolk District Director - Donna Hussey 21 Societies District Six, a Carolinian District, had a very successful year. Our District s communities are fortunate to have 21 active societies with 2,476 members hard at work, beautifying community gardens and creating special community projects. Volunteers racked up approximately 37,620 hours! Some societies celebrated milestone anniversaries, others honoured their members with Special Awards and many societies offered their hospitality by hosting a District event. District Six now has a beautiful logo, successfully held its first OHA District Six Judging School Class and had 11 delegates attend the 107 th OHA Convention in Thunder Bay! 34

37 Acton celebrated their 95 th Anniversary and won the District s Incentive Award for Most Members in Attendance at the District AGM. Many interesting speakers spoke on topics ranging from Whistling Gardens to Creating Great Gardens. Potting Bees visited members gardens to stock their plant sale. Maintenance continued at Max s Place, Library Grass and Memory Gardens. Residents at the Halton Hills Extend-A-Care facility were helped to plant beautiful containers. The Society partnered with the Acton BIA to beautify the town, participated in the Acton Leathertown Festival and gave a $400 bursary to an Acton High School student pursing Environmental Studies at Guelph University. Ancaster had two of their members honoured with an OHA Award: Barbara Waddell - OHA Honour Roll Award and Bob Wilt - OHA Merit Award. Also, Barbara Waddell received a District Appreciation Award for establishing the District s Constitution and By-Laws. The Society hosted an information tent at the Ancaster Farmers Market for two weeks to increase their community visibility Trillium Awards were given from over 350 entries. A near-record sales level was achieved at their annual Plant & Bake Sale with 589 volunteer hours. They worked with their new Youth Program Director with financial and volunteer help. Brantford received an OHA Tree Grant. Members enjoyed nine interesting presentations on various topics and held a successful May Perennial Plant Sale. A bus trip visited private gardens/nurseries in the Woodstock area. The 161 st Flower & Garden Show was held in July and maintenance of the Waterwise Demonstration Gardens continued at Tranquility Hall. A calendar was created from their Photography Contest s winning entries and sold in November. The October Fall Fair Meeting included a guest speaker, bake & yard sale. Two scholarships were awarded to two second-year post-secondary students from Brantford/Brant County, enrolled in horticulture or environmental programs. The year ended with a catered Christmas dinner with guest speaker, Carson Arthur. Bronte had a very successful Spring Plant Sale in part due to increased advertising and the change of venue to Lakeshore Rd & Bronte Rd. The fall bus trip, though very wet, was successful with 24 members and guests attending. Stops included William Dam Seeds, a tour of Dundurn Castle and Piccionne Bros Mushroom Farm. Compliments were received on the Gardens at Sovereign House and a donation was received from a couple who took photographs in the gardens. Burlington welcomed 96 members to the District s Fall Breakfast meeting. They planted and maintained a large perennial bed at the Central Park entrance and also maintained gardens at Maple Park. The Society hosted a successful Annual Plant Sale and Garden Tour, participated in the community with events at the Museums of Burlington and local schools, and donated horticulture/design books to the Burlington Public Library. In the fall of 2012, they planted several hundred tulip bulbs in the pouring rain! In the spring, their muddy endeavour rewarded them with a respectable display of colourful blooms. There were three judged Flower Shows and the Annual Potluck and Strawberry Social were delightful affairs. 35

38 Delhi & District held its Annual Plant & Bake Sale in May and won 1 st Place for their float in the Delhi Harvest Festival Parade. They entered an exhibit display in the Norfolk County Fair. Twenty members attended the District Six Fall Dinner in Paris and held its Silent Auction Fundraiser in October. The Society donated funds to several Delhi groups and continued their partnership with the Delhi BIA to offer the Delhi Adopt-A-Planter contest. The community benefited from the Society s hard work, donations of plants and maintenance of over seven community gardens. Flamborough received an OHA Tree Grant and held a successful Plant and Bake Sale, Garden Bus Tour, civic improvement, Trillium judging, great speakers, an educational column in the local newspaper as well as good communication by and monthly newsletters. They have a wonderful Board that work well together and with their members. They plan to hold a membership drive to attract new members. They have three Chairpersons helping with the 109 th OHA 2015 convention. Georgetown was pleased that Sandra Williamson won the District Six Logo Contest for her rendition of a dogwood branch. The Society funded a shelf at the new Halton Hills Public Library, Georgetown Branch. They conducted a seminar open to the public in co-operation with the Library. More seminars are planned in the future. Several members were actively involved in the planning of the 2015 OHA Convention and began refurbishment of the walls at the Entrance Garden at a local cemetery. Glen Morris awarded the District Service Award to Patrice Locker for her many years of service to her Society, Community and District. Members learned about lavender, bees in the garden, how to feed the birds and hard shelled gourds. They made bird seed cookies. A project to save seeds was implemented for exchange in February Their bus trip, plant sale, coffee party, fall flower show and their Annual General Meeting pot luck dinner were all well attended. They had an interesting year of good speakers, activities, and a monthly newsletter was created and ed to members. Haldimand hosted the District s Spring Workshop & Flower Show (AGM) with 197 delegates. Coby Osinga, was recognized with a District Appreciation Award for her many years of service as District Auditor. Haldimand worked with the town s BIA and Revitalization Groups redesigning the town gardens. The Oasis Bed/River View was a huge project with multiple walkways, four trees, hundreds of perennials and annuals. The Society had a booth at the Home & Garden Show in March, Plant Sale and Bulb Sale fundraiser in June, Flower Show at a local Seniors Retirement Home in August and a display at the Caledonia Fall Fair in September. Lynden celebrated their 85 th Anniversary and had a successful year, highlighted by a well-attended Garden Tour on a hot and humid June day. The Tour was a financial success with plans to put the funds to good use in the community in Members visited a local Orchid specialist in June and a large group attended the Hamilton Mum show for an evening in October. 36

39 Milton completed the Japanese-themed garden at the Milton Hospital Emergency Department entrance. Hundreds of spring bulbs were planted which were donated by local Gardening partners. The raised bed installed at Debra s House, a long term care facility for adults was well received by the residents and visitors. Maintenance of the rose collection at the Town Hall Gardens and work at Allendale Long Term Care Facility continued. Thirteen Executive members included new members who eagerly assisted with Society activities: the May Plant Sale and Spring Flower Show and Summer Flower Show and Garden Tour in July. Members enjoyed fabulous guest speakers throughout the year. Future plans are to focus on growing membership. Mount Hamilton hosted the District s Spring Breakfast meeting with 78 in attendance. Activities involved book sales, a seed exchange, indoor tropical plants, pansy and geranium sales, a big plant sale, as well as a number of flower shows and competitions. Members enjoyed a garden tour to Buffalo s Open Gardens, workshops at the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic and Silent Auction. Involvement with outreach activities: garden maintenance at Jason s House (a March of Dimes home), delivery of tropical plants to residents of Macassa Lodge, magazines to local libraries, and bursaries to Mohawk College. Several Growing Green articles were published in the Mountain News newspaper and workshops were held at the Harvest Festival. Oakville on Family Day involved children and adults in flower-arranging sessions. The OHS was represented at the OHA District 6 AGM, with members taking home ribbons. The Junior Garden program had another successful summer growing wonderful flowers and many vegetables, plus a pizza garden at Whole Foods and at summer s end, they harvested the toppings for the pizzas. The Plant Sale sold out and raised over $3,500. The June Garden Tour raised just under $3,800. The Anderson Bridge Parkette continued to be a success as the self-sustaining feature of the plantings required less maintenance. A new project, Fields of Spring, with mass plantings of narcissus, is now entering a testing phase. Paris successfully hosted the District s Fall Dinner with 311 in attendance! The Society continued its public planting programs at the Cenotaph Park and Garden of Hope gardens. In addition to the normal maintenance of the Paris Fairgrounds gardens, they continued their landscape project which is planned to be completed over several years. Financial support was provided to the Keg Lane School Fair and to the Paris Agricultural Fall Fair. Monthly meetings featured a wide range of horticultural speakers, competitions, a lending library, draws and a social time. The Spring Time in Paris Garden Tour continued to be successful as did the annual plant sale, auction and Adopt-A-Road program. Port Dover & Woodhouse enjoyed a variety of speakers on topics ranging from Round Plains Plantation on sweet potatoes; Through the Eyes of a Judge ; Growing Grapes & Wine Making ; The Two Fairly Fat Guys. The April Auction and Spring & Summer Flower Shows were successful. A hardworking crew planted and maintained sixteen gardens. Members helped with the BBQ sponsored by 37

40 the Norfolk horticultural societies. Members decorated a float for the July 1 st Parade, sponsored a Garden Competition and won First Place in the horticultural competition at the Norfolk County Fair. Simcoe & District volunteered at the annual Wildlife Show and helped over 1,000 children pot up three plants to take home and grow. Each child was given a gift certificate from Eisings Greenhouses who donated the plants and earth. The Society partnered with Norfolk Association for Community Living members to plant and maintain parkettes in downtown Simcoe, and held a successful Flower Show. Sixteen Junior members tended their community gardens. St. George members worked with the County of Brant and the Historical Society in refurbishing their local cenotaph and hosted a very successful plant sale in May. Two members were recognized for 60 years of service for volunteering with the Garden Club. Other members were presented certificates for volunteering. Plans are in progress to work with the Non-Profit Housing Building Board to provide a relaxing garden in an area on the property that was ravaged by a wind storm in May. This is to be undertaken in the spring. Stoney Creek awarded Chris Temple a District Appreciation Award for his excellence in serving as the District s Webmaster was a good year as membership increased as well as the attendance at meetings. The Stoney Creek News started publishing a monthly column about club activities which raised the Club s profile and garnered new members and guests. The Club is thankful for the core group of dedicated members who have given freely of their time and encourages all members to become involved in the Club s activities. Their annual plant sale was successful and after a year without a newsletter, once again have a very enthusiastic Editor. Waterford & District prevailed through the spring frosts and summer drought and held a wonderful Annual Flower & Vegetable Show in July. Their small Society was able to enjoy the day with great prize giveaways and record level entries despite the season. A record number also turned out for their May Plant Sale. People came from all over to enjoy those Waterford plants! Members enjoyed presentations given by interesting guest experts throughout the year. Winona with its 55 members enjoyed seven speakers who presented a variety of topics, including Beekeeping, Roses, Whistling Gardens, Trillium Awards, Mum Show and Alaska Gardens. Members enjoyed a tour of Whistling Gardens, a winter decorating workshop and a potluck dinner with entertainment. Two fundraising events were held: Plant/Garage/Bake Sale in June and they sold plants at their Winona Peach Festival booth. Five bursaries were awarded to elementary and high school students for their interest in horticulture. Members maintained four raised gardens in Winona. 38

41 District 7 Dufferin, Wellington Counties District Director - Jane McDonald 14 Societies Arthur & District with only 26 members is the smallest Society in District 7. A few dedicated members are trying to entice new members to join but with little success. They currently do not have a structured program of meetings, speakers and/or shows. They continue to hold a plant sale but due to lack of interest have decided to cancel their flower shows. The youth group though fewer in number remains very active, planting civic planters, holding four meetings, planting their own gardens and taking part in local parades where they pass out seed packages with notes inviting new members to join in the fun. This is a Society at risk and we as a District will try to help. Clifford & District remains the largest Society. They had two flower shows with entries for youth and adult members. This year during the months without meetings they held three card parties to engage their members and their guests. The costs were minimal but the results were invaluable as they solidified the community spirit within the group. During the gardening season they maintained the town planters and fourteen flower beds. Proceeds from a Chinese auction went towards replacing the remainder of the street planters. (In 2012 six were replaced and in 2013 they replaced seven.) Youth members continued to participate in the Plant a Row, Grow a Row program. Their produce was entered in both horticultural (Society shows) and agricultural (Fall Fair) competitions with the remainder being donated to the local food bank. Elora & Salem is the District s oldest Society, established in Their longevity is due in part to listening to their members and providing a program that they can support. The annual plant and manure sale in May earned sufficient funds to sustain Society initiatives. They also supported a Garden Club for students in Grade 1 to 4 at the Elora Public School. The Society sponsored youth entries at the local fall fair and offered a scholarship of $200 to a student graduating from high school who will continue their education in a horticultural field. Members planted and maintained twelve community flower beds. In 2013 a committee began to lay plans for a new community garden to be situated at the Elora Public School in The Peony Project (the Society floral emblem) recognized nine great front gardens in Elora and Salem with a sign and a certificate. Erin held two successful flower shows with an increased number of design entries. In June a bus trip to the Oshawa Peony Festival was a great success. Later in the month the tour of local gardens was also successful despite the weather. The Society continued to work with the municipality on MacMillan Park and the local trail 39

42 ways. In September the Society held a hypertufa workshop that was attended by adult and youth, new members and old. Everyone went home with a hypertufa project to be proud of. Fergus & District continues to offer its members great speakers on a smorgasbord of topics...something for everyone truly applies. Three flower shows, a successful plant sale and their annual garden tour of local gardens provide a strong backbone for the Society. The approximately thirty members of the Dig in the Dirt crew are the limbs. They are out in the community weekly maintaining seventeen local gardens. Each of the gardens is unique due to the location and growing conditions. From the peonies in Terry Fox Park to the gardens in high traffic wide open areas, to Templin Gardens on the rocky edge of the Grand River, the residents of the area are exposed to many types of gardens and the plant material used to create a successful project. In April Fergus hosted the District AGM welcoming members from twelve Societies and in December they proudly presented Marjorie Dow with a 50 Year Pin. Grand Valley & District had a very busy year. A new flower show was added in June. A new garden with a dry stone wall was started in the centre of town and a new initiative with the Grand Valley Teen Advisory Group was undertaken. In addition they held their annual plant sale, went on a bus trip to Whistling Gardens and hosted a garden tour of six local gardens which featured the art of some members of the Riverbend Artists of Grand Valley. All this on top of eleven meetings during the year that featured quality speakers on topics such as woodland gardening, dry stone walls, lasagna gardening, floral design and composting. Guelph hosted the District s Fall General Meeting in October. The Society holds four Mini-Shows in conjunction with their meetings and an annual Summer Flower Show at a downtown location. Once again members boarded a bus in March and headed off to Canada Blooms. In July their Garden Showcase took members and non-members on a self-guided tour of seven local gardens each featuring the work of local artists. The Society maintained three city flower beds and provided support, both advisory and financial, to a Guelph Secondary School s horticultural program. A major undertaking was not only to plant and maintain the Royal Crest garden but to provide financial support for plant material as the City could no longer afford that particular garden. Meetings are always well attended but the Society struggles to get members to accept positions on the Board. Guelph Township held two successful plant sales in May, one in conjunction with the Green Legacy Tree Distribution. Members enjoyed interesting speakers on xeriscaping, seed saving and planting with native trees and plant material. In June a workshop was held in the Marian Brennan Enabling Garden. Members made obelisks using cedar boughs. Some members donated their obelisk to the garden, a Society project. The Civic Planting committee planted large and small trees around the garden and in front of the library. An espalier pear tree was planted in the garden in memory of Marjorie Durnford, past OHA President, District Director and Lifemember. The Society held four flower shows with entries for both adult and youth 40

43 members. The youth Society met seven times during the year. At their meetings they made a terrarium, floral doorstop, seed mosaic, wind chime, butterfly house and more. Entries were also sent to the Convention. Their youth leader also held two workshops at the local library for youth 6-12 years of age. Like many Societies, Guelph Township is unable to fill all the positions on their board and executive. Harriston & District continued to offer its members a good mix of speakers, shows, and outreach programs. The Harriston Garden Festival in June attracted an excellent array of vendors who in turn drew hundreds of visitors. In July members went on a combined farm and garden tour they watched robotic milking, walked thru a bush and visited a bee/honey operation before visiting the gardens of three members. These gardens, all on the same road with over an acre of property each, exhibited three completely different landscape/garden designs. A variety of fundraisers (January Soup & Sandwich Lunch, Silent Auction, Poinsettia Sale) enables the Society to book quality speakers on new and interesting topics such as Living Off The Land, Growing With Cold Frames, Dry Stonewalling and Flowers to Fragrance (on lavender). Hillsburgh increased its membership by six it may not sound like a lot but that s over a 10% increase for a Society that has been struggling in the past. Members meet January to April and September to November and in June and November members are invited to participate in workshops. In June members made stepping stones and in November a wreath using evergreens and other natural material. Each year the Society orders bare root perennials in April which they pot up and sell at their plant sale in May. They also start several varieties of heirloom tomatoes and each year the demand for both increases. A trip to the Oshawa Peony Festival was well attended. Hillsburgh does not hold their own flower shows but members are invited to enter the Erin Horticultural Society shows. This arrangement has benefited both Societies. Moorefield & District successfully petitioned the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to change their name from Maryborough Horticultural Society as that township no longer exists. Society members maintained several gardens in the area, including one at a local retirement home. Three flower shows and several great speakers kept members engaged throughout the year. Attendance at the Annual Meeting and Pot Luck Supper has improved in part due to a new fun Christmas Show featuring Christmas designs and crafts and a special entry for men to display their favourite hobby. Mount Forest adopted the theme From The Garden To The Table and chose their speakers accordingly. Herbs, garden produce, edible flowers and beer making were a few of the topics covered. Major and minor upgrades to the flower beds maintained by the Society were undertaken. Hundreds of bulbs were planted in front of the new sportsplex by student volunteers. Participation in three flower shows was down slightly. When health issues prevented the President from performing all her duties and responsibilities, Society members graciously volunteered to help. By working together they created a special bond that would carry on into the new year. 41

44 Orangeville & District enjoyed speakers on tree care, Lyme disease, new trends in garden design, floral designs with a modern slant and shade gardening with native plants. There were three flower shows, a photographic competition, a garden tour, two workshops and a bus trip for members to participate in. The Orangeville Gardening Angels planted and maintained ten public gardens throughout the city. Society members manned a booth at the Orangeville Home and Garden Show and assisted with two Compost Days. One member led a workshop on balcony herb planters at an Ontario Early Years Centre where participants put together a planter containing a selection of herbs which they could take home with a handful of recipes. Grant monies were supplemented by a plant sale, silent auction and several smaller raffles to pay higher room rentals, speaker fees and administrative costs. Shelburne and District met eight times during the year and despite the distance to larger towns and cities was able to attract quality speakers on unique and interesting topics. There were two flower shows but participation is declining. The Photographic Competition in September is becoming more popular. There was a plant sale in May and another in September. The Society had a display at the Shelburne Fall Fair. Shelburne is the only Society in the District that has its own blog. Members receive an to advise them of new posts on the blog meeting dates, reports, information sharing, etc. Their blog has been visited by people from all over Canada as well as abroad (United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, France, The Netherlands and more). District 8 Bruce, Grey, Huron Counties District Director - Sharon Nivins 18 Societies District 8 had a very successful year. Eighteen societies comprised of 1,219 members worked very hard to beautify their communities garden/planters by continuing maintenance, donating and planting countless plants, easily racking up 21,553 volunteer hours. Several societies received an OHA tree grant and Seaforth received the community garden grant. For our AGM, Suzanne Hanna presented Seedy Saturday and from this, we had a hands on session making seed balls at our fall board meeting. We also made stepping stones and hosted a workshop on online filing of the OHA Annual Society Reports. 42

45 Auburn had a very successful year, with all of their meetings being well attended, spectacular plant sale proceeds of $ this year, and a membership increase of four new members. They continued to get calls to present on the Land Stewardship Project for other Societies (group facilitators). Auburn s Garden Tour featured three gardens from the Huron Perth Undiscovered Gardens Brochure. They also hosted their 3 rd Annual Pumpkin Party and Potluck, once again well supported by the community and enjoyed by all. The Society has very positive media coverage for all events that they host, which speaks volumes when the media are calling them, or just presenting at the functions. The Christmas Decorating Workshop was also very well received. They continue to maintain several flower beds in their village of 300 residents. Brussels in early September hosted a hospitality booth and plant sale at Brussels Farmer s Market where plants from members gardens were purchased by donation rather than a set price - very successful. One of their members prepared a brochure describing who and what they are which was used to promote the Society at the Market. Much time was spent in May and the summer months maintaining town flower beds and their Butterfly Garden at the Conservation area. Chesley had an increase in membership. Several gardens and town markers continued to be maintained, a bed was renovated and replanted in the Chesley Cemetery and a bed at the local hospital was supervised by a CHS committee. Events included a well-attended Spring Plant Sale, Yard Sale, a smaller but very successful July Flower Show, a Potluck Picnic in August when the Flower Show awards were given out to every winner, and a one day self- driven garden tour to two gardens in Grey County. There were several speakers through the year and a fall flower arranging workshop. The year was completed with the annual Christmas Potluck dinner for members and guests. Clinton enjoyed speakers who highlighted different topics: The Stratford Festival Gardens in all their seasons, How to display your exhibits at the flower show, Habits and expectations of hellebores, heuchera and hosta, Identifying different birds, Environmental Land Stewardship, Herb teas from around the world, and How to make natural Christmas wreaths. The Society continued to have their Annual Plant Auction, a booth at the Clinton Spring Fair, a garden tour (of Cuddy Gardens, Wrightman s Alpines and Hosta Choice in the Strathroy area), the Flower Show and Toonie Cafe, and a wonderful Pot Luck Dinner. Members maintained the flower beds at the Sloman School Car Park in Clinton. Durham planted perennials and more annuals in various gardens, placed plants etc around the Town of Durham, and planted and maintained five of their parks. They also made up the summer Bridge Baskets on the main streets. They held a Plants & Herb Sale, a Flower Show along with Salad Luncheon, helped and participated in Durham s Annual Fall Fair winning 1 st prize for their group display, and enjoyed a Fall Supper. The Society had great speakers and welcomed many new members and guests this year. 43

46 Goderich had 72 members who continued to encourage the planting of trees, shrubs and flowers in five public gardens and private grounds by providing a Plant Auction and Plant Exchange. Special Events included: displays at the three day Arts and Crafts and one day Children s Festivals, a Summer Garden Tour, Flower Show, Summer BBQ, Anniversary Gala and Christmas Party. The Society has continued to plant and maintain at the environmental restoration of The Bog and has successfully met the requirements of the Tree and Special Project grants from the OHA. New projects for the year ahead include the development of a Butterfly Habitat and a Seed Exchange. Hanover held a successful Plant Sale in spite of rain May 31 and June 1. There was a Tree Planting in recognition of Hanover Horticultural Society s 50 th Anniversary, the hosting of the District 8 Annual Meeting, and their Beautiful Gardens Flower Show with many wonderful entries on July 6 where Mary Weber won Judge s Choice. Members enjoyed a picnic at Henk and Donna Gaasenbeek s home in June, after which they stopped to see some Showy Lady Slippers (the Society s floral emblem) growing in a roadside ditch. President Carl Preuss attended the OHA Convention in Thunder Bay. The year included a Christmas dinner, a workshop to make Xmas arrangements and the annual meeting with District Director, Sharon Nivins, and her husband as guests Hensall marked the 30 th anniversary of their Society in They participated in the 145 th Hensall Spring Fair ( Looking Back - Celebrating our Community ) parade with a float - professionally made signs denoted the 30 th anniversary, decorated with beautiful handmade pansies by their very talented members, all brought together with purple sinemay garland and bows. The float won first prize in the parade. In September the Society hosted the 30 th anniversary dinner with guest speaker David Phillips, Senior Climatologist with Environment Canada, who gave a very interesting, informative and humorous talk on the weather. Businesses of Hensall and the greater area generously donated door prizes. It was a great evening - fine food, fellowship and fun!! Kincardine experienced highlights such as informative speakers who taught them about Monarch Butterflies, Sea Buckthorn, Hostas and other great plants. They learned how to make winter urns and how to put their gardens to bed. One speaker took them to Salerno and the Amalfi Coast of Italy. The Bring A Friend Night achieved a good attendance. Another success was the flower show with a great number of members getting prizes for the first time. The garden tour was again excellent as the major fundraiser. In May they held their plant sale which turned out to be a good morning with no rain for once. In December members enjoyed the potluck Christmas dinner, and they look forward to another great year ahead. Lucknow had a very productive year. Besides the 38 barrows that are planted and placed on Campbell St. (Main St. in town), the gardens at the arena, the medical center, the raised bed at the north end of town, the flowers on the bridge at the east end of town and a flower bed in Waterworks Park s garden, the Society also supported the efforts of the Lucknow Beautification Committee with the new 44

47 signage at the entrances to town. They had a very successful Soup and Sandwich lunch, flower show, annual tea, interesting meetings, and a garden tour where they saw some beautiful gardens. There was also a joint meeting with other societies that was a great success and they hope to do more of these meetings in the future. Markdale planted and maintained gardens, flowerbeds, and wooden barrels/boxes throughout the downtown area. They held a plant sale in May, a members Flower Show in June (with 84 entries in 28 categories) and a Mystery Garden Tour of five residential gardens in July. At their eight general meetings, the Society welcomed notable speakers presentations on topics of Logging with Horses, Beekeeping, Night Gardens and others. The compilation of the Society s 100 years history was completed by a member. The year closed out with a winning entry in the town s Santa Claus Parade and a members potluck dinner. Neustadt held eight regular meetings plus the annual meeting. Many interesting speakers were invited including The Bat Guy, and also Cradlerock Homestead, a home built from mortar and wood and off the grid. The garden walk was to a lavender farm. They held a flower show in July with good participation and also had a table with a raffle at the spring and fall craft shows. At the annual meeting Sharon Nivins, District 8 Director, showed us How to Decorate for Christmas on a Budget. The Society planted two trees in the local park in honour of two passed members and installed a plaque at the park to honour all donors for the triangle flower bed. Ripley planted two trees at the Ripley Cemetery to honour Ann Finlayson, Past District Director andcindy Emmerton and Lorie Weber who had been in charge of the District 8 Photography contest for a few years. Guest speakers for the year included Amanda Hunter, owner and operator of Green Feet Forest Garden, also a Sustainable Ecosystem Specialist planning to create organic butterfly food and heritage gardens. Rose Weir gave a presentation on Blooms & Gardens year round. Kelly Lush, Project Manager for Huron-Kinloss, spoke on needs of the community. Tara Lynn Martin discussed the revitalization of the Village, and Carolyn Keely demonstrated the care and decorating of the Poinsettia. The Society also formed a Youth Group which is very active. Seaforth was pleased that the Seaforth Library public seating project was designed, constructed and completed in The patio area is enhanced with a wooden pergola, benches and surrounding gardens. Financial backing was received from Huron East and the Seaforth Community Trust. Two grants from the OHA allowed the Society to plant trees in a park and to assist the Food Bank s community garden with the purchase of much needed tools. Southport appreciated hearing lots of great speakers who graced them with their knowledge and presence. Brandon Gibbons-Vanderwel, who is a local greenhouse owner, invited members to the greenhouse to show them new plants and their innovative ideas for the season. Shirley Koch, from Riverbend Nursery, introduced 45

48 them to Itoh peonies. Willa Wick took them on a walking tour of some fabulous dry walls on her European trip. The Society is looking at re-inventing a garden tour as a fundraiser for the 2014 season. Tara continued to use the Adopt A Garden plan on village plantings. It has been very effective. Twelve beds, eighteen hanging baskets, ten street boxes and ten bridge boxes are maintained each year. A plant sale is held annually as is a summer flower show for adults and youth. Christmas Inspirations is held each November, an evening of information and a silent auction providing funds for their local Christmas Outreach. This was received very well by their community with 99 in attendance. The Society has been active since 1924 and will be celebrating their 90 th Anniversary in Teeswater honoured four members with their years of volunteer service awards held in Kitchener: Millie Blackwell 45 years, John MacDonald 20 years, Joyce MacDonald 30 years, Elizabeth Stobo 10 years and Gerald Baptist 25 years. Some members went to Goderich for the District 8 tree planting for the 60 th anniversary of the Queen s Coronation. The Society did the flower beds at the post office and town hall for the year, went on a bus trip to Lynndock Gardens in June, and provided a display at the Teeswater Fall Fair in August. At regular meetings there were great speakers on various topics related to gardening, making flower arrangements, and working on a farm as a student in a different country for a few months. The town is still working at putting in the sewers. Wingham hosted the Annual Spring Meeting for District 8 in April. They have a new logo for letterhead and publications and a new banner. Their annual bus trip visited the Cuddy Gardens in Strathroy and Huron Ridge Nursery in Zurich. They held their annual bake sale and quilt raffle to raise funds, and formed an affiliation with the Wingham Community Garden and the Huron Food Bank. Members have been decorating a store window in town with horticultural seasonal themes. The Society completed the renovation of the Mary Lloyd Garden Trail and hosted a grand re-opening ceremony. The nine raised beds, installed in late fall (2012), were planted with perennials and shrubs. Members also maintained the town parks and the welcome town signs by planting, watering and weeding the beds, renovated one of the sign gardens, and worked with a youth group to mulch the town gardens. Cruickshank Park was decorated with lights for Christmas and the Society hosted the lighting ceremony. They also added plants and bulbs to the Alice Munro Literary Garden and proudly provided a congratulatory sign for her Nobel Literary Prize. 46

49 District 9 Haldimand, Niagara North, Niagara South District Director - Sue Lusted 13 Societies District 9 submitted over 17,000 volunteer hours. Its executive submitted an additional 4,000. We donated $1,000 to this year s Niagara Region Science Fair and awards were presented to five students. A donation of $1,000 was made to the Legacy Garden at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. Our Fall Forum took place at the School of Horticulture. James Graham who is the president of the OHA gave a presentation on Gardening in Small Spaces. Ted Kretz from Vermeers in Welland did a presentation on Fairy Gardens which was delightful. We felt that when Convention 2012 was over, things would slow down but as you can see, it was another great year here in Niagara. Dunnville had a busy year in They were named Haldimand s volunteer group of the year. Over eighty trees, plants and shrubs were planted in town. Add to that the two hundred flats of annuals and new planters to enhance the town fountain, and the town of Dunnville did indeed look beautiful. Over thirty beds were maintained. A partnership was set up with the high school in town, students assisted at meetings, two Adirondack chairs were made and raffled at the Home and Garden show. Membership continues to grow in this very busy horticultural Society. Fort Erie also partnered with students at the local high school assisting them with a vegetable sale and working with them in the greenhouse. Plans were finalized to install a rose garden at Gilmore Hall in spring of Members made centerpieces for an Advisory Council Dinner and the funds were donated to the high school. The memorial gardens at the Douglas Seniors Center were replanted. The Society website was upgraded this year. Members were in attendance at Niagara Seedy Saturday, and other District 9 functions. Grimsby again won the Doris Lightheart Award for the greatest increase in membership for the second year in a row. The club is actively promoted by the local newspapers, makes appearances at the local Farmers Market, and the Home and Garden Show. Talks were given at the local library. Members planted the hanging baskets which could be seen in the downtown area. Hands on demos were given at the Farmers Market. Over eighty Trillium awards were presented in Floral arrangements were prepared for the 1812 house tour. The garden club presented two scholarships to students from both area high schools. 47

50 Lincoln has worked hard on strengthening their partnership with the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre. Work proceeded on rejuvenating and cleaning up the Millennium Forest. A new site had to be chosen for the annual plant sale with the demise of the local fairgrounds. Bursaries for local high school students and the Niagara School of Horticulture supported local students. As you may have surmised, the Lincoln Garden Club & Horticultural Society is truly a team effort. No task or undertaking is successful without the helping hands and ideas of others those on the executive committee and its members. Niagara Falls continued to be a strong influence in the community. Schools in Bloom and Arbor Day were supported at the grade school level. Scholarships were given to students attending the Niagara School of Horticulture. The Flower and Garden Show was in its 92 nd year and the Vegetable Show its 60 th year. The Society has a flower show each month and boasts that one of its members, Barb Blythin, is its most productive design and horticultural exhibitor. Flower beds at the Armoury and Fire Hall were planted and maintained. The annual garden tour continued to be their major fundraiser. Another very active group here in Niagara. Niagara-on-the-Lake is District 9 s largest Society. Members created and distributed flowers for seniors as a Welcome Spring celebration. Donations were made to the Willowbank Heritage Garden and to the Niagara on the Lake community garden. Members visited Canada Blooms partnering with St. Catharines Horticultural Society. Trees were planted as replacements for those damaged by the 2012 storm. Over three hundred floral arrangements were made and distributed to local nursing homes. Frames and plaques were provided for the 1812 Rose plantings. As you may have gathered, this Society is very involved in the community. Pelham took a trip to Whistling Gardens near Wilsonville and another to local gardens in Burlington. Each of their meetings had a guest speaker. Gardens were planted at the Maple Acres Library as well as the Legion. Garden magazine subscriptions were donated to the local library. Planning was put in place to participate in a community garden in conjunction with a local Communities in Bloom group. Delegates travelled to Thunder Bay for the OHA 2013 convention. Port Colborne had a relatively busy year for their group. They carried on with their usual projects such as the flower shows, community planting and the May plant sale which was their major fundraiser. A Bur Oak was planted for the Queen s Jubilee in the Doan Cemetery which is a heritage site. They always enjoy their meetings and were pleased to have some excellent speakers again. This group also hosted flower shows at their monthly meetings and were fortunate enough to have three judges as members. It is always a challenge to find new and exciting topics for the meetings, without forgetting those new members whose garden knowledge is more limited. 48

51 Ridgeway held their major fundraising perennial sale in May. Members enjoyed a spending trip to Jack Kent s Potting Shed. They had excellent participation in flower shows and a Floral Design course was taught by members in the summer. The Society was able to support the planting and maintaining of gardens at Maple Park Lodge in Fort Erie. Ridgeway hosted the Fall Forum at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture. St. Catharines hosted a successful plant sale at the Burgoyne arena. A well-attended garden tour in July was a huge success. Profits of $7,000 were realized from these two fund raisers. A donation of $5,000 was made to the Green Committee of St. Catharines for the planned Johanson Park on Glendale Ave. Rose Walsh who is the president was asked to speak at the annual city beautification awards where she presented three awards valued at $600 to the city. Smithville held a garden tour in July and September. Bursaries were given to a high school student entering the horticultural field. A planter workshop was held and the club participated in the West Niagara Fair. Christmas urns were made at a workshop. Though a small group, their membership is growing; they came in second in District 9 for growth in membership. Thorold had a busy year. A tree was planted to commemorate the 200 th anniversary of the War of Their members updated and passed their constitution. Seven members gardens were submitted for review to a Canadian gardening magazine. One of the member s gardens was selected and will be featured in the Spring 2014 issue. Welland successfully redid and passed their constitution. Welland is the rose city and this year, the Annual Rose Show made a triumphant return. This longstanding tradition was a huge hit with the members, the public and the judges. Monthly meetings were well attended. The annual plant sale was well run and provided most of the Society s funds for the year was successful due to the members enthusiasm, participation, and friendship. 49

52 District 10 Elgin, Middlesex, Oxford, Perth District Director - Roland Craig 24 Societies District 10, more commonly known as Thames Valley, contains 24 Societies from Listowel in the North to Port Burwell in the South, Woodstock to the East and Rodney in the West. They have all made me very proud to be their District Director and each has made very substantial contributions to horticulture. In the last four years although it s been a struggle to maintain a steady membership, I have watched the Volunteer Hours rise to over 52,000. I personally congratulate you all on this achievement. I m very fortunate to also have an excellent Board of Assistants who can always be counted on for support in everything we set out to do.thank you. Aylmer and District held ten monthly meetings with a variety of speakers and sustained a membership of 100. They conducted community outreach and a membership drive at local garden centres which increased the Society s total by 25%. Their plant sale and auction was a great success. The Society also carried out maintenance on one garden, planted 600 daffodils in Rotary Park, Aylmer, as well as three sycamore trees in Balmoral Park, Aylmer. Belmont and Area may be a small Society but continually works towards keeping the village beautiful. They sell strawberries for three weeks in summer to raise funds. Dorchester has a Seniors group that did regular plantings even increasing the number of plants throughout the village right up until Christmas. A successful trip to Guelph Arboretum and the Royal Botanical Gardens was a highlight. The Society gave a bursary to Lord Dorchester High School which went to a young person who is going on to study the environment. Add to that, they have a very active Junior Group of 20 with many projects, plantings and flower arranging activities. The Society is very proud of its Juniors. Dutton-Dunwich successfully hosted the OHA District 10 AGM and planted a commemorative Carolinian tree in Buttermilk Bog. In an attempt to alleviate baskets drying out, the Society tried using inserts this year. Their annual Golf Tournament was again well received and it and the Plant and Bake sale were the major fundraisers. Glencoe had a very busy year including the planning of the 2014 AGM which took many hours. Again, the Society was actively involved in the local Fair where new members were warmly received along with regular returning members. Many speakers and workshops filled the year. As a group, members helped with the planting and maintaining of the community gardens in Southwest Middlesex and participated in Communities in Bloom. Their last meeting before summer break took place at Hosta Choice, always a favourite with members. 50

53 Grand Bend and Area planted and maintained fifteen gardens helping Lambton Shores win 5 Blooms in the Communities in Blooms National Awards program. Activities included taking on a project to reduce the invasive Phragmites in twelve different cells in the area and decorating four gardens for Christmas along with the Chamber of Commerce. A Membership Drive increased the group s total by 24% and engaged 81 local businesses in supporting the Society. Ingersoll and District held their plant auction which brought in some new faces and was a good source of income for the new year. Adding to that, lots of fun and laughter on road trips proved a big draw. They ended the year with a Pot Luck Dinner followed by a Christmas Centrepiece Demonstration. Kirkton had a busy, busy year with four workshops, four youth events, four open meetings, three flower shows, and four community events. They planted and maintained the KWCC beds, decorated the stage at the Fair, gave five Amaryllis bulbs to local nursing homes, held floral design activity for a VON Adult Daycare Program and had three Directors recognised with Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. Lambeth enjoyed eight speakers at monthly meetings covering topics such as the non-profit group Reforest London, Birding, Tree Carving, Growing Chefs, and also with James Graham informing and entertaining the membership. This was a difficult year for trips with only one successful one to Whistling Gardens. Their main fundraiser is still the annual plant sale. They presented their annual Rose and Flower Show in June, Back to the Farm, and also planted the Civic Beds in partnership with the Lambeth Lions Club. and newsletters kept everyone informed. Listowel and District celebrated their 20 th anniversary in June with Paul Zammit as the guest speaker. Others for the year inspiring the audience included Robert Traut on Bonsai Trees, Cathy Swain from Van Noort Bulbs; plus, the membership viewed robotic milkers in action. Wow! Has farming ever changed. London completed projects started in Their president moved to the East Coast and they transitioned to a combined management. They had a number of fabulous speakers and continued with community projects at CNIB, St Johns Ambulance and Tourism London. The City granted their wish to repatriate the Trilliums in the Coves. Archie Graham stepped in at year end to the VP position to get her wings and decide on being President. London Fanshawe held a very special meeting in May on their 10 th Anniversary with over 100 in attendance. They partnered with Reforest London s program to plant one million trees and to date their contribution has been 90. A bus trip to the Niagara Region was enjoyed visiting many places. Community outreach continued at McCormick House and Salvation Army Village and Covent Garden Market, accomplished by 3150 volunteer hours. 51

54 Parkhill Area, to keep up their reputation, maintained 37 boulevard beds, 50 hanging baskets and 16 gardens. By far the most important achievement was the carving by sculptor Robin Wenzoski of the Royal Oak that had died in Coronation Park. It was planted for the Coronation of King George VI in 1937 and honours the 2011 nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It is indeed a focal point. The year ended by decorating the downtown area with swags and enjoying a Christmas Pot Luck. Port Burwell-Bayham went on a tour of Jim Mabee s property enjoying plants, trees and wild life, which along with noteworthy speakers made for another excellent year. Two benches were placed on the Pier with name plates. A bursary was given to East Elgin Secondary School. Rodney and District noted that after many community discussions a contractor was hired to renovate the Fairground Gates which carry plaques honouring the 100 th Anniversary of agriculture pioneers who settled in the area. The Society won two awards at the Fair. Hanging baskets, containers and flower beds were planted in Spring. The cemetery bed was cleaned up, four trees were replaced at the Water Treatment Plant, there was a display at International Hall in October and membership tables gave them a total of 200, all thanks to volunteers. St. Marys planted five trees, and held a bake sale, garden fair, garden tour, two plant auctions, and a yard sale, all part of fundraising. They planted and maintained seven gardens and decorated the Legion, Hospital and Museum for winter. They had one Design Workshop, four flower shows, five meetings with guest speakers, and Youth classes in one school. Sixty-three Youth entries were taken to the Convention and twenty-two to the CNE. They also joined Undiscovered Gardens of Huron Perth. St. Thomas and District again had a very busy year with a full slate of monthly meetings with excellent speakers. Fundraising was accomplished through a plant sale, yard sale and garden tour. The Society again held an annual Rose and Flower Show titled All Aboard with great success. They hosted the District 10 Fall executive meeting at the revamped Train Station. Volunteers worked three weekends at Canandale Garden Centres Kids Club. A donation was made towards the purchase of the Railway Bridge on Sunset Drive, future plans of which include an elevated park and gardens. Stratford and District provided a knockout display at the Stratford Festival. They continued having Master Gardeners give tips along with monthly speakers which has become very popular. The June Flower show was well attended and the Garden Tour was again a financial success. Strathroy-Caradoc designs, plants and maintains eight community gardens each season where many wedding and family pictures are taken. Fundraising consisted of a spring barbeque at Zimmermans Garden Centre, a plant and bake sale, and a garden tour of eight gardens.a summer outing to Masfrankc Garden Centre and a July Social dessert night was enjoyed by all. A Christmas Pot Luck ended the year in November. 52

55 Tavistock and Area had a year that was anything but regular. After many months of planning, the Society hosted the District 10 AGM at which they had a rotating display of work done by all the Societies. The day ended with every attendee taking home a taste of Tavistock. A wonderful array of topics filled the remainder of the year ending with a Pot luck Dinner. Thorndale and Area had a successful year with their annual Plant Sale, Flower Show and Greenthumb Garden Tour. They continued to add bulbs to and maintain public gardens. An information booth was provided at Heemans Garden Centre and at London Middlesex Master Gardeners Seedy Saturday. As well as the local I Love Thorndale Group, they also supported several youth activities [Growing Chefs and local Bug Club]. Tillsonburg found that their annual Garden Auction sales were down slightly over last year and plans are in the works to improve this situation. Implementing new permanent name tags should help members get to know each other. Bus trips and the flower competition made for another excellent year. West Lorne and Community co-hosted a meeting with Rodney with speaker Denis Fallat of Van Noort Bulbs, and continued holding workshops on various subjects led by a Society member. They also had meteorologist Jay Campbell speak on climate change which was a huge success. Woodstock planted the raised bed downtown and provided plants to the VON Day Care Program. They participated in the Woodstock Leisure and Recreation Show, the Adult Seniors Event, the Home and Garden Show, and supplied many volunteers to Woodstock Fair. They also held a Christmas Container Workshop. The Society is pleased that their web site is now up and running. District 11 Essex, Kent, Lambton Counties District Director - Katharine Smyth 14 Societies Ambassador/Lasalle donated handicap-accessible potting benches to retirement homes, judged LaSalle homes Christmas Lights Displays, and 156 attended the second annual Garden Tour. They raised enough money from plant sales and the tour to give two awards to St. Clair College horticultural students and three other schools with gardening programs. The Society also hosted the 2013 Fall Advisory Meeting. 53

56 Amherstburg/Fort Malden donated $3,500 to Amherstburg Hanging Basket Program. The Society received the 2012 Director s Choice Award from Amherstburg Chamber of Commerce for town beautification projects. The 28 th Annual Garden Tour saw 400+ people. Ten commercial/homeowners received Trillium Awards. The Society presented an urn and plaque to the late Hon. Eugene Whelan s family. Members landscaped for Amherstburg s first Habitat for Humanity home. Belle River & District, after years of planning, designed and built a Healing Garden in Belle River. They continued to award two bursaries, provided gardening books to the Elementary schools, supported the local food bank, and held a Planting Workshop for Grade 3 students on the Wednesday before Mother s Day. Blenheim-Harwich found documentation that indicated incorporation in They donated a book to the library, and a newspaper subscription to C.I.B. Chatham. They held a rain barrel fundraiser and sold redbud trees. Members looked after a booth at the Chatham Home Show. The Society sent delegates to the AGM, Fall Advisory Meeting and Convention. They had a successful container garden program, provided a bursary to a BDHS student and continued their successful annual Virtual Garden Tour. Chatham, as District 11 s new society, received their charter in November with 60 members signed up. Essex planted annuals in fifteen downtown garden beds adopted by the public. They hosted a successful Gardeners Day Trip bus trip to the District of Norfolk. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz flower show filled the entire auditorium of Essex United Church. 67 members submitted 825 volunteer hours. The Society also hosted a plant and seed exchange and silent auction. Greater Windsor expanded the Windsor Community Museum garden as part of the Binational Peace Garden Trail. They hosted a successful plant sale and seed exchange and participated in a Plant a Row initiative. A Membership Drive brought in 27 new members. The Society participated in the Better Living Conference demonstrating container and moonlight gardening workshops. They expanded the Life After Fifty Centre Memorial Garden. Kingsville accomplished many things. They enjoyed eight speakers; planted and maintained fourteen planters and sixteen flower beds; built a display at the Migration Festival; held two Plant Sales; a Flower Show in June; attended the Older Adults Expo; made flower arrangements once a month and a flower arrangement for the Christmas House Tour; held two Pot Luck Suppers and planted an 1812 Peace Garden. Leamington held meetings where guest speakers were informative and entertaining covering a wide variety of garden issues. They also enjoyed a tour of Mucci Greenhouses, a state of the art facility. To achieve their mandate of beautifying Leamington, members planted and maintained beds and pots around town, planted trees and installed a bicycle station, etc. Fundraisers were a plant sale and a raffle. It was a sad year, too, with the loss of their President, Berit Collings, greatly missed. 54

57 Ridgetown was actively involved with Communities in Bloom and the Ridgetown Beautification Committee. Members cleaned up the Richard Street circular garden and library path, maintained five public gardens and twenty-one wooden street planters. They had a summer-long plant sale at the Saturday Community Market. The Society also spring cleaned the Village Retirement Home, demonstrated centerpieces at Naahii Ridge Public School and participated in judging school classes. Sarnia & District held eight monthly meetings with speakers, filmed by TV Cogeco. There were members garden tours and the annual plant sale and picnic, three newsletters, and nine nurseries gave discounts. Community involvement includes the Sarnia Centennial Project 2014: rejuvenating the Public Library south bed. The College Avenue Garden is an historic site on the Doors Open Tour. Projects: WWI red poppy campaign, common milkweed, Boy Scouts Canada trees for WWI Veterans. Thamesville planted and maintained flower beds and hanging baskets. Fall and Christmas decorations were placed on main street. Raised planters, filled with the War of 1812 roses for the east end of London Rd. were placed in preparation for the upcoming celebration in October. Tilbury has 75 members who attended nine monthly meetings with interesting guest speakers and video presentations. They were even able to tour a greenhouse and get some tips from the experts. They held a profitable plant sale and BBQ in May, and planted and maintained numerous flower beds and gardens throughout the town. They were instrumental in the design, planting and maintenance of the period landscape at the Historical Society s new home in the Lanoue House, as well as the new gazebo park Carrick s Corner in the downtown area. The Union Gas Genies assisted with planting this new focal point in town. They held a successful Flower Show in June and enjoyed attending Blenheim s garden tour. The Society partnered with Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority for their Memorial Tree planting ceremony in September at Northside Park. The local paper, the Tilbury Times. is a great support and ran photos of all of their events. All in all, a busy year! Watford-Warwick boasts 205 very active members including 20 youth members. One talk they enjoyed was on the importance of bees. They sold wood lanterns at Christmas Home tours. The Society changed from memorial trees to memorial stones in light of Ash tree issues. Members cared for multiple public gardens - 75 planters, 45 hanging baskets, and hosted a successful AGM in April

58 District 12 Cochrane, Timiskaming, North Nipissing District Director - Kees Stryland 7 Societies District 12 Northeastern Ontario is made up of seven Societies. This is a large District - from Kapuskasing in the north to Englehart in the south. This means a long driving time to travel between Societies. Cochrane held meetings, workshops, a flower and vegetable show and helped to beautify the community by looking after several gardens, e.g. hospital, parks, entrance to the town. Englehart had a very busy year with 10 general meetings. Topics included photography, summer flowering bulbs, new products for 2013, preparing exhibits for the Flower Show and making Christmas designs. A Christmas Workshop, open to the public, was well attended with over 50 kits being sold. The August Flower Show was a great success - exhibits were up by 100 entries. The main fund raiser, a May Plant & Bake Sale, went very well with most items sold in one hour. Iroquois Falls kept their members active with municipal plantings and monthly meetings. Kapuskasing continues to plant and tend flower and shrub beds at the entrance to town. Topics at the general meetings included growing vegetables, selecting trees and shrubs for zone 2, the use of plants in Native Canadian culture, benefits of gardening for good mental health and creating a Christmas centrepiece. In the fall, members toured a local Jacob Sheep Farm. The Society hosted the District 12 AGM. The Garden Tour featured a wide range of gardens in town, at the lake and in the country. The fund raising events were a spring plant & bake sale and a 50/50 draw at the Flower Show. Kirkland Lake planted almost 5,000 annuals in the downtown area - much appreciated by the townspeople and visitors. A successful Flower Show was held with flowers and fresh vegetables, photography, scrapbooking exhibits and a children s category. The chief fund raiser is a Stop and Shop with a roast beef dinner and homemade pies. Two outstanding monthly meetings were a talk on her outstanding contributions to the Society. Porcupine planted several areas of the community. The Bur Oak tree to celebrate the Queen s 60 th Jubilee was planted in front of a local Church. Timmins held gardening presentations, planted over 1000 annuals in a community park, started a Facebook page and designed a new logoω for the Society. An annual rose show and a summer flower and vegetable show were held. Members designed a1940s style garden which will be planted around an old mine house at the Timmins Museum. 56

59 District 13 Algoma, Manitoulin, Sudbury District Director - Suzanne Hanna 14 Societies District 13 encompasses three distinct areas: Algoma Region in the west, Sudbury Region in the east and Manitoulin Island and is comprised of 14 societies. The District works hard to communicate regularly and provide round table discussions and interesting speakers at District Advisory meetings. We encourage our member societies to focus on increasing their membership by presenting the society with the largest percentage of growth with the prestigious Membership Trophy. We host two Seedy Saturday/Sunday events and a Gardening Festival and provide our Judges with an annual Workshop to support their certification. Assiginack s dedicated members welcomed an increase in membership this year. They continued to maintain the twelve barrels in their community and ran the Assiginack Blooms Competition for its second year. In July the membership arranged a very successful tour of gardens on the Bruce Peninsula. Blind River continues to serve as the location for District 13 Advisory meetings held in March and October. The society donated $1,000 towards the purchase of Crimson King maple trees for town parks and organized public information sessions at a local garden centre. Bruce Station finally planted the District 13 s Bur Oak in commemoration of the Queen s Diamond Jubilee and held a Royal Tea celebration to mark the occasion. The Society created a Facebook page and received District 13 s Membership Trophy due to its 72% increase in members. Campbell celebrated its 85 th anniversary this year by hosting the District 13 AGM on May 11th on Manitoulin Island. Speaker Andy Fyon, Director of the Ontario Geological Survey, spoke about how geology below the ground determines what grows above it and in the afternoon, Mike Meeker regaled the audience with his story of how he developed Meeker s Magic Mix compost by combining fish waste with sawdust. Elliot Lake was pleased with its general meeting attendance this year and participated in two Volunteer Fairs in spring and fall. As a result, their society benefited from being assigned a person to provide help with garden projects during the year. The membership held their Flower & Vegetable Show on July 13th and sold small vases of fresh flowers at the end of the event. Espanola s two major projects came to fruition in 2013; the Triangle Park and the Algoma Street Community Garden. Native trees were planted in Triangle Park and 57

60 a pergola was installed. The community garden had a very successful initial year with ten gardeners and hopes to build more boxes, plant fruit trees and install a perennial bed next year. French River & District, our youngest Society, worked with their municipality to plan and develop a garden at the Cenotaph and received $500 in OHA Special Projects funding for the purchase of shrubs for this project. Their members were highly visible planting and maintaining gardens and supporting groups throughout the community. Lake George focused on outreach this year by sending out newsletters to residents of four townships regarding the problem of black knot fungus that attacks fruit trees. Their society continues to award two annual scholarships to students (one male, one female) at a local high school. Members purchased more 1812 Roses and are finding that they are doing well in Zone 4. Massey-Walford, although small in number, celebrated their 50 th anniversary with a luncheon and Flower Show. Their goal for this year is to complete the shade garden at the Massey Library. Sault Ste. Marie sponsored the annual Seedy Saturday event in March 2013 and raised enough funds to adopt two varieties of endangered vegetable seeds from the Canadian Seed Library. They hosted two seed saving workshops - one in the Sault, the other in Desbarats with the assistance of Bauta Family Initative on Seed Security and District agricultural funds. They also solicited members by participating in several community events such as Common Grounds and Hello Spring. Spanish members are working on a three phase community beautification plan to revitalize their main area and turn it into an attraction for tourists and residents to enjoy. They held their 3 rd annual Haunted House fundraiser which continues to grow bigger and better each year. Over 40 volunteers provided approximately 1,000+ hours towards the organization of this popular event. St. Joseph Island members plant and maintain the public gardens in the villages of Richards Landing and Hilton Beach and other locations on their beautiful island. Their Christmas Craft Night is a much anticipated community event that provides participants with a fresh wreath or arrangement for the holiday season. Sudbury, our largest society, continues to feature outstanding speakers and several horticultural competitions. This year the membership organized the Sudbury Seedy Sunday event, the Gardening Festival and the perennially popular Open Garden Weekend. The inaugural Floral Design Workshop, an all-day, hands on seminar held in August was well attended. Thessalon, one of our smallest societies in the District, planted almost 40 planters and several very large beds at various locations in the Town of Thessalon. The membership was awarded with a one-time grant from their township for the installation of a gazebo in Fleron Park. They also hosted three small children s gardening workshops at their local library. 58

61 District 14 Kenora, Rainy River, Thunder Bay District Director - Shirley Robson 9 Societies District 14 s highlight of the year was the hosting of the 107 th OHA Convention with the theme of Up North and Down To Earth. Our convention was smaller than usual with 212 delegates because of the great distances the delegates had to travel. The speakers talked about solving some of the challenges that northern gardeners deal with. It is typical to have less than 100 frost free days which can be a daunting challenge. Our region continues to produce fruits, vegetables, grains and meat with amazing flavour and northern vigour. A total of 93 District 14 volunteers came together wearing their purple tee-shirts with the new District 14 logo. Our volunteers were happy to assist delegates in any way they could. Atikokan had a very busy year helping with the Thunder Bay 2013 convention. Extra time was given by members to make this event a resounding success. The Society held six well attended workshops of which two were for the youth of the community. A bake sale was their fund raiser for the year s bursary where proceeds go to a graduating student from the Atikokan High School who is enrolled in the Environmental Sciences. The successful student was Lucas Paulson, who was accepted into McGill University. Thirty-one hanging baskets were hung along Mackenzie Avenue and down O Brien Street. Bedding plants were purchased for their public plantings in association with the Atikokan Beautification Committee of which the Society is a member. The Green and Clean programme continued to be a success as less and less garbage is picked up each year. They entered a float in the Christmas Parade with the theme of Christmas Around the World. There were eleven executive meetings, three general meetings and the annual meeting in November; membership totaled 217; and the executive remained the same as last year. Dryden had deer as its biggest problem and continued to look for new/easier ways to keep them out of their gardens. The Society increased their membership and will continue to work on that. They had a variety of informative programs including how/when to pollinate as well as learning about naked seeds and orchids. They are working on involving their members in choosing topics and presenting programs. The number of entries in the flower show increased, and they will have 1/2 sessions in the spring to explain what the judge is looking for. Their most exciting adventure is the planning and development of a Music Garden on the grounds of the Dryden Regional Training and Cultural Centre. A committee has been formed and plans are being discussed. 59

62 Evergreen Thumbs made seed tapes, had a demonstration of winter sowing in which members sowed seeds in miniature greenhouses to be put outside immediately. Their premiums for 2013 were begonia plants and at the April meeting at a member s greenhouse planted their premiums, some of which were sold at the Plant Sale in May. They also purchased Asiatic lilies through the Westman Horticultural Society in Brandon, Manitoba and many of them were sold at the Plant Sale as well, a great annual fundraiser for the Society. After the sale, a member did a planting demonstration at the Community Garden Site. Members planted the planters at the Machin Medical Clinic as well as at the Pine Tree (Centennial) Park on beautiful Eagle Lake. The Society also made an annual donation to area churches for the purchase of flowers for containers or gardens on their premises. They also bought planters from Vermilion Bay Community Garden for their Youth Gardeners. Many members attended the Annual General Meeting and OHA Conference in Thunder Bay. The July meeting was punctuated by a Wildflower Walk on a trail behind Fort Vermilion. There was also another successful Garden Party for the children held at the Community Gardens. Their First Annual Flower Show was held at Fort Vermilion in August and from this event, members learned a lot about displaying flowers and had fun as well!! Fall meetings included a Plant and Veggie Exchange as well as a Fall Feast, which was shared with the Sew-and-Sew Quilters. The partnership with the Community Gardens continued successfully this year. Some members helped at work parties, and the club rented a garden bed to grow vegetables that were donated to the seniors in the area. Fort Frances began its year in January with a Board of Director s meeting where all of their committees for the year s planned events were formed. The first general meeting was held in March. Members voted on sending a flyer to approximately 700 homes in hopes of drafting new members and even though all agreed that this was a good idea, it did not prove to be productive as only a few faces came out to the meetings. The local Chamber of Commerce also put an advertisement in their member newsletter in hopes of recruiting new members to assist with maintaining gardens. Unfortunately, this too proved to be only semi-successful with a few people offering some assistance to the Society. The annual plant sale was held at the home of member Neil Laur and it was a success as usual. At the annual picnic in the park members and guests were treated to a fantastic potluck supper. A Garden Party was enjoyed at Rainycrest Home for the aged (in the courtyards), and there were several garden tours. The annual Flower and Vegetable Show at the Farmer s Market had 202 visitors. Entries were not judged this time but instead visitors voted on a People s Choice Award for the numerous beautiful flower arrangements. In August Alex and Michael gave presentations on Birds and Butterflies and Nell spoke on the gardens she visited on a past trip to England. The annual photo contest, potato contest and Taste of the Harvest occurred in September with October bringing the election of officers for 2014 and the wind-up potluck supper. 60

63 Geraldton provided the Legion and two churches with bedding plants to beautify their grounds. The Society planted the Welcome Bed with the logo of the Geraldton District Hospital as it celebrated its 50 th Anniversary this year. They continued their participation in the upkeep of the gardens at the hospital and clinic, as well as the revamping of Rotary Park. Their fundraisers were three barbeques, a plant sale, and a bakeless bake sale. They held one pot luck dinner to finish the year with sixty-five members which includes two Life members. Longlac held their first meeting of the year in April, where they finalized plans for the Cemetery Trees. A very generous anonymous person donated monies so the Society could buy trees for the local cemetery, species were discussed and Linda Skinner, president, agreed to purchase them in Thunder Bay. They would be planted by the Town s work force. There was a planting session in May, where each year members bring a container or planter starting with a certain letter, this time W. It was a fun night with a lot of interesting baskets : wheel barrows, wheels, woks, watermelon rind, and a wishing well. Longlac hosts Summerfest, and the Society plays a very important role. They borrowed planters from yards, prepared a float for the parade, and floats are judged. They had prizes for the top three. Carol Poirier and Jocelyne Bangs-Jeffrey attended the convention in Thunder Bay and were volunteers at different events. Linda, Carol and Jocelyne donated items for the silent auction. The Society planted six gardens around town and maintained them throughout the summer: Rexall Place, Senior s Building, Tourist Information Centre, Post Office and two churches. They hosted a Christmas Craft Sale in conjunction with the Catholic School where members donated items, made baskets with decorative bows, raffled them and raised a considerable amount of money. They also started their membership drive there, with a total of forty-one for the year. At the final meeting of the year in November, they had their election of officers, enjoyed a delicious lunch, and instead of a gift exchange, donated items for the food bank. Nipigon Red Rock had twenty-six members and two life members, four executive meetings and five general meetings. Presentations included the Audubon Christmas Bird Count by MNR biologist Rob Swainson, Floral Design by Erika North, Updates on the 2013 OHA Convention by Marie Hynna, Thunder Bay District Horticultural Society, Horticultural Therapy, and Christmas Bow Making. The Society and the Nipigon Public Library hosted a presentation at the library by Jason Dampier on What do YOU see? Bug or Beauty? In April members took part in the annual Waterfowl Viewing field trip along the Nipigon River guided by biologists from the Ministry of Natural Resources. Twenty seven bird species were viewed. In March the executive hosted a surprise birthday party for two life members. Guests were from Red Rock, Nipigon and surrounding area and Thunder Bay. Town flower beds were planted in June and then maintained throughout the summer. Four members attended the Convention in July and the president attended the District Meeting and also volunteered at the Convention. A member started a weekly Gardening Club for the Long Term Residents at the Nipigon Hospital. Sunflower seeds were distributed to grade three students in the five local area schools and the students 61

64 were taught how to grow them. Throughout the year the Society sold black plastic and slow release fertilizer. Gardening books and reference material were available for loan. The Society wrapped up the year with an executive Christmas party. Sioux Lookout began working to improve waning interest. They are still struggling to get volunteers to participate and have about ten active members. A new executive was elected, a membership drive was completed and a scarecrow contest was also held in order to bring attention to the group. In the new year, the group has plans to further that work by holding plant sales, other contests and fundraisers as well as by continuing the work started in 2013 on the Memory Garden at the new hospital grounds. Thunder Bay had a busy year enjoying presentations at their meetings on Photography, Mini-Designs, and Conditioning of Plants which were geared to the OHA 2013 Convention competitions, Winter Gardening featuring seed starting, and the Monarch Butterfly. The spring Home and Garden Show in April, showcased the Convention. The Society partnered with the C.L.E. for the Slice of Pizza Project where tomato plants are provided by the Society and potted up by the grade three students to take back to their school. The Annual Plant Auction took place in May, and despite the late spring a good selection of plants was available. July came with the 2013 OHA. Convention on July The theme was Up North and Down to Earth. The Society hosted 212 delegates with the help of 93 volunteers from District 14. The convention was a great success, with a variety of speakers, super decorations and services of the Valhalla Inn. In autumn members were treated to a Taste of Summer along with Mint Tea and enjoyed the Squash Queen with a variety of squash and recipes on display. The Civic Beautification Awards were presented by the City of Thunder Bay, Parks and Recreation Division in association with the Society. Photographs of all gardens were on display. The annual Christmas Pot-Luck included a presentation on Holiday Décor and the Annual General Meeting and Installation which was attended by James Graham, President of the Ontario Horticultural Association. 62

65 District 15 Peel, York Region West, Toronto West District Director - Carole Spraggett 17 Societies District 15 had a membership of 2039 and 29 youth members. There were 42 community projects with 9 new ones in 2013 and volunteer hours amounting to an impressive 41,308. Bolton & District completed its 18 th year. The highlight was being named the Town of Caledon s 2013 Environmentalist of the Year. The $500 prize will be given to the children s learning gardens at the Albion Hills Community Farm. Another victory was the website winning 1 st prize in the OHA website competition. Grants and donations raised $31,200 from organizations and individuals to plant native trees and shrubs. The Society held a celebration for donors and volunteers, unveiling a plaque at Bolton Mill Park and giving Certificates of Appreciation to nineteen contributors for environmental projects over the past fifteen years. Brampton held their first Seedy Saturday in conjunction with the City of Brampton on Saturday, March 9. Over 900 people attended to hear speakers and chat with the vendors. The Annual Garden Tour of private gardens in the community went well. They continued to select gardens relatively close together to make it easier for the ticket holders. More specialty perennials were added to the Annual Plant Sale and they sold well. To address a declining membership, a second annual Bring a Friend night was held at the March General Meeting, which included Paul Zammit as the speaker, plus a gift draw for the member and friend. Caledon increased membership and provided more volunteers for activities and their youth group, plus added new insight to what the club can offer. Members were looking for enthusiastic speakers and insightful topics. The society arranged for Paul Zammit to demonstrate making winter urns, which was very popular. Chinguacousy invited a speaker each month to do a presentation on various topics of interest and tried to use some of their own members expertise to help the bottom line. For example, Aleta Baldwin demonstrated table arrangements to make for Christmas, and Asna Black did a presentation on berries with a sampling of jams made from her own berry patch. In January a Pot Luck Dinner and Penny Auction was a good fundraiser and in September, members enjoyed a spectacular Fall Flower Show. They continued to do floral arrangements for historic Bovaird House and assisted the residents of Greenway Retirement Home to make floral arrangements for Mother s Day and Christmas. A grant of $ was made to a student at Judith Nyman High School who will continue studies in the horticultural field. 63

66 Cloverleaf s Junior Program youth were involved in many new and exciting projects from creating the first aboriginal garden in a Mississauga school (St. Gerard), to painting hundreds of rocks for the Mineola Entry Garden and the Welcome Banner for the OHA Convention (The Froebel Kindergarten) plus they participated in a special youth class in the Flower Show. In December, the Cloverleaf Junior Program was published in a well-known Canadian health magazine ALIVE - for getting children outside. To date, the program is recognized in seven schools in Mississauga for its contribution to bringing experiences of nature back to youth and outh back to nature. The Society also hosted a very successful District 15 AGM. Credit Valley enjoyed pre-meeting events, new this year, (demos, MG clinics, flower show primer, member judged design competition, and member grown produce tasting to encourage member participation and interaction, all of which were very well received and successful. There were two holiday centrepiece workshops for members and a holiday centrepiece workshop for seniors at a local long-term care residence. The Society partnered with Riverwood Conservancy for three gardening events and donated $1000 to the Conservancy. They held two very successful fundraisers (Plant Sale and Garden Tour) which allowed them to continue their existing community projects and explore additional ones for A $1000 CVHS Scholarship was awarded to a student in horticulture at University of Guelph, four Litter-Not Walks in a local park trail adopted by the Society took place, and 120 poinsettias were donated to Credit Valley Hospital, Trillium Health Centre and Interim Place at Christmas. Etobicoke had a quiet year as EHS struggled to recruit board members and volunteers to help with new initiatives and projects, so they were only able to continue with existing projects. Those included the annual Plant Sale, the primary school student Christmas centrepiece project, and maintaining the gardens at three sites in Etobicoke. Many members also helped in judging the annual Toronto Great Gardens Contest each summer. Nobleton & King City participated in two plant sales in May with excellent results, although buyers were fewer than in other years. The gardens on their tour (on an extremely hot day) were spectacular, the committee finding a variety of beautiful properties, exceeding expectations. For the second time in many years the bulb sales at Kettleby Fair were rained out. Six flower shows brought new participants, showing more interest in this portion of meetings. A wreath-making evening ended the AGM potluck dinner with the wonderful finished wreaths being raffled off to members. Barb Downey, Director, York West, the Mayor of King and a Councillor joined the party. The Horticultural Societies of Parkdale and Toronto found that the transition from hard-copy to electronic publishing of the newsletter, and enhancements of their website, with links to multiple sources in the community, increased their public presence. The new Committee on Outreach and Education also served that goal, as did participation in Seedy Saturday, Getting the Jump on Spring, the Plant Fair and the Garden Tour. Committees on Finance and on Future Planning were also struck in order to strengthen the organization. The annual membership was increased to $20.00 per adult. 64

67 Richmond Hill is now 99 years old and going into its 100 th anniversary year. Throughout the year, many Society members were involved with Town projects & events. The beautiful indoor plants at McConaghy were tended year-round and in April, members planted more than 800 baskets, barrels and boxes that were later installed along Yonge Street and Major Mackenzie Drive by the Town as part of the beautification of Richmond Hill. Used tulips planted in Town parks were delivered to members homes for drying. Beautiful gardens were maintained at Hill House Hospice, the Millennium Garden at the Mill Pond, Herb Garden at the Heritage Centre and the McLatchy Garden at the Performing Arts Centre. Volunteers promoted the Society at Healthy Yards, Heritage Village Day, Mill pond Splash and the Five Senses Festival. In November at the Remembrance Day Service a wreath was laid at the cenotaph. Other events included the popular dessert competition in February, bus trips to Canada Blooms and also to Whistling Gardens in June. The Spring Plant Sale was a fundraising success with volunteers who answered questions and gave valuable gardening advice, and the rain barrel fundraiser was equally successful. The very popular Front Garden Recognition program continued and in September members enjoyed the annual Corn Roast. The last Society event of the year was the Flower Show Awards Presentation in December at the Richmond Hill Country Club. 85 people enjoyed a lovely evening of excellent food, good company, and entertainment. Roselands was excited to have received the Bill Baker Memorial Award for their youth group. The children were thrilled. There were three flower shows, a pot luck dinner and penny auction. The two plant sales were a huge success and the primary means of revenue. Roselands contributes to the community in two ways. Twice a year they plant urns and window boxes for West Park Long Term Centre and also, they donate over 800 tulip bulbs to community schools. For the first time Roselands participated in Pearen Park skating rink with donations of hats, mittens, socks and scarfs. Schomberg held seven regular meetings with flower shows, had their annual Plant Sale for Mother s Day, and a Garden Tour in June. They planted and maintained their six community gardens and planted four trees in memory of past members. Members participated at the Schomberg Fair with a display booth, and gave the children a sunflower seed in a peat pot to take home. They also had a display booth at the King community group information night. Streetsville continued to maintain Rotary Park and Leslie Log House gardens, had excellent speakers, a bake sale and silent auction, a Christmas Workshop, friendly competitions, and a successful plant sale. Members continued to work with Museums of Mississauga by maintaining the now established gardens at Leslie Log House. They were represented and actively participated in the Environmental Stewardship of the Lake Wabukayne Project. The Society had an excellent garden tour and many of their members served as judges for the Tecumseh Townhouse Garden Competition and Streetscape Mississauga. 65

68 Swansea enjoyed the usual activities - an engaging and informative roster of speakers, busy flower shows and well attended events, including the summer Potluck Picnic, annual bus tour and year-end Christmas Party. Members also participated in the CNE patio planting contest where Swansea received a Second Place award, and in Great Gardens judging. Sadly, the Society also bid farewell to three long-standing members and good friends, two of whom were Life members: Kay Apted, Martha Mueller and Muriel Sides. Thornhill had a great year. Their fundraising (two plant sales and a garden tour) exceeded their financial expectations. They increased their membership, their volunteer base, their volunteer hours, community outreach, and communication to their members and members attendance at meetings. They maintained their five community beautification projects and entered into a pilot project partnership with a Community Garden group. The Society continued to plan for their upcoming Centennial year in 2014 and completed the first Centennial project i.e. planting a memorial tree and placing a rock and plaque to commemorate the first 100 years. The Board and Committee members greatly contributed to the Society s success this year. Westway, due to the diligent work of its members, was able to double the number of volunteer hours submitted from the previous year. WHS enjoyed eight wonderful speakers and culminated the spring session with a tour and information session at two beautiful gardens. The Christmas party and food drive were well attended. Members participated in Successful Gardening and Canada Blooms. Also, the Government Services and Community Fair at Cloverdale Mall provided an excellent opportunity to display and inform the public of the important environment work performed by horticultural societies. Members were part of evening and day events at Westway Junior School where they provided plants for students and their families, gave instruction on how to build a bee house, planted a small tree and continued to plant and maintain the flower bed throughout the seasons. It was a pleasure to attend the District 15 AGM where WHS won the 2 nd place award for their bookmark. Fundraising events included a plant sale, garage sale and raffles. The summer continued to be busy as members judged during the Great Garden Contest, maintained the flower beds at Richview Library, and volunteered at the OHA booth at the CNE where they also won the 2 nd place award in the patio door container competition. Woodbridge heard great and informative speakers (Mark Inglis, Bill Andrews, Henry Lorrain, Christine Moore, Diane Greenfield, Sean James, and their own expert panel) with coffee/tea and desserts enjoyed by all. They held a successful plant sale, celebrated their 90 th anniversary, had a very successful garden tour, launched their new website, continued with maintenance of Wallace House Garden and Armstrong Park and adding flower boxes on Woodbridge Avenue Bridge, and launched their first photo contest for the cover of the yearbook. 66

69 District 16 Simcoe County District Director - Russ Talbot 18 Societies The past year has seen many changes in D16. At our AGM hosted by the Collingwood H.S., I was installed as the new Director succeeding Judith Rogers. During the year we held two Presidents Meetings, had two more Flower Judging School sessions and attended a great Fall Seminar hosted by the Midland H.S. For me, the highlight of the year was welcoming the Wasaga Beach H.S. as the newest member of the O.H.A. and D16. Alliston participated at the ADHS animal shelter yard sale selling perennials; was represented at the Museum on the Boyne s Live Green Event, an environmental/ local event focusing on vegetable gardening and composting; introduced a motion whereby members donate to the Dr. Ives Fund in memory of a deceased member; initiated Power Point Presentations at their general meeting to keep members informed of horticultural events and Society news; and partnered with Alliston s Business Improvement Assoc. to design and display urns in front of selected local businesses. Angus continued to plant, weed and maintain five existing gardens plus the Angus Cenotaph, Angus Cemetery and Peacekeeper s Park. They also weeded and maintained eight window boxes on the Pine River Bridge on Mill St, worked with the BIA to encourage new Canadian flags along main streets and suggested different and hardier plants for the 58 cement planters along Mill St and other locations. The Society purchased and raised a new flag pole at their Peace Gardens. They also participated in the CiB program and were awarded 3 blooms out of 5 blooms for the Clock Tower Gardens, along with a Special Forestry Award from Ontario Parks. Their Home Beautification and Business Beautification award programs were re-instated and awards were handed out at the Flower Show and Tea in August. They assisted with the purchase and planting of a Flowering Crab Apple Tree and shared in the tree dedication for a loved friend of a horticulture member. Barrie enjoyed the usual activities of a bus tour and seminar. They continued with the Hospice garden and made a second donation of $2,500 as well as providing volunteer hours for planting a new garden. Costco donated broken bags of soil and fertilizer which were sold at half price to members. With the fund raising efforts of the silent auction, the Club donated $1,000 to the Dr. Ives Fund. Members planted 1,400 bulbs in the Southshore Centre Garden. This is in celebration of the Garden Club s 140 years in 2014 and they are scheduling a party with the mayor and council person when the daffodils are blooming. 67

70 Beeton had a wonderful year filled with interesting speakers, learning about the Ghosts of the Forest, to growing and cooking tips with herbs, to the famous Paul Zammit and his Lessons from the Garden. Their fall Potluck was well attended at which they held a fundraiser for the Society and had a Harvest Auction where the members that wanted to participate brought something they grew, made or baked, preserved or crafted, to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, a great start on the Christmas list. Bond Head started a Pollinator Patch at Hwy. 400 and County Road 88 where they planted native Rudebeckia Hirta and Side Oats Gramma grass plants. The Society also planted and tended several gardens in the community. Brentwood had a booth at the Creemore Home and Garden show which helped to promote horticulture in the area. Several members, including new ones, attended the District AGM in Collingwood. May was their 40 th anniversary meeting as well as Visitors Night, with Janie Cooper Wilson speaking. The annual plant sale was held at the Brentwood Hall, members worked on the flower beds, and the annual flower show was a highlight with Letty Barolet judging and demonstrating a couple of arrangements. Joyce McGillivary, president for the past five years, stepped down and is looking forward to just being a member. Coldwater directed most of their energies to looking after the few remaining gardens in the Village and accommodating the changes caused by the Trans Canada Trail. They had a well-supported members-only flower show in the spring and an awesome flower show at the Fall Fair. Although the winners there may collect prizes from the Fair Board, members only earned points toward the annual awards presented at the end of the year. Members enjoyed interesting speakers such as David Hawke, Kristin Ego and Chris Bacik. Collingwood had a memorable year, filled with many events. Hosting District 16 Annual General Meeting on April 27 th kept the CHS members very busy. Flower show competitions filled the hall with magnificent arrangements. Two interesting speakers, Garrett Pittenger, Seeds of Diversity and Veronica Sliva, Travel Media Journalist and Garden Writer provided an interesting interlude. Tom and Shirley McCavour and Aira Kaduc have been attending District 16 Judging School. Magnolia and Coffee trees were planted in the Arboretum bringing the number of trees to 162. The Society is still looking towards creating an outdoor Learning Centre in the Arboretum. Creemore, for the first time in several years, had a full slate of Executive and Directors which inspired greater activity and participation. The Spring Plant Sale generated its highest ever return. Creemore Blooms rewarded residents for their efforts to beautify the community. Members travelled to the Oshawa Peony Festival and were treated to a superlative display of blooms. Their July Flower Show obtained a record number of entries. The Society increased its visibility by maintaining a booth at the Creemore Farmers Market. As a result, membership grew by 14.5% to a new high of 96 members. 68

71 Elmvale was presented with the District 16 Trophy for Most New Members in 2012 and placed 2 nd in the Yearbook Cover competition at the OHA convention in Thunder Bay. The Society has two members who will be completing Judging School in June Regrettably, Kevin Healey passed away. He was a founding member and local executive (26 years), District Director, OHA President, an active Master Gardener who presented topics throughout Ontario, and wrote bi-monthly articles for the local newspaper. Gilford thoroughly enjoyed excellent speakers from Eta Mountain speaking on perennials for the changing climate, Steven Biggs on a new twist to vegetable gardening in containers and on a shed roof, to Kate Brewitt on reblooming irises. The Society was honoured to win the District 16 Helen and Earl Cox trophy for their new shade native drought garden that was established at the South Innisfil Arboretum. Midland had a busy year organizing the Plant and Bake Sale in May, the annual Potluck Picnic and workshop, and in the Fall they started the final organization of the Fall Seminar. Orillia at general meetings sold Canna Lily bulbs, houseplants, handmade bags, aprons, jackets, vests, buttons, etc, had a Silent Auction of donated items, and enjoyed guest speakers. The Society designed and planted a large planter inside the library, held fundraiser workshops for a mirrored planter and hanging baskets at a local nursery, had two food bank drives during the Thanksgiving and Christmas general meetings, and a Toy drive at the Christmas executive meeting. They sold perennials from members gardens in spring at the local Farmers Market. Garden Pride recognized 75 homes with lawn signs displayed at each location. Members maintained the flowerbed and planters at the bus terminal, installed large tropical plants at the library and hospital, and organized the distribution of veggie seedlings from students to members for the local food bank. The archives were kept up to date, and the executive was increased to twelve members (four new). The City designed a garden at the waterfront in honour of the Society s 125 th anniversary. Oro-Medonte offered a fundraising sign for only $10: A Passionate Gardener Lives Here. These signs can be left out all year. Their Landscape Appreciation program gave out a Bloomin Good Garden sign but it only stayed for 2 weeks so these others will fill a void for gardeners who wish to display a sign. The Plant Sale and Garden Tour had fantastic turnouts. The Society continued to give their valuable volunteers the Ontario Volunteer Awards as their years of service increased. Their eight Community Gardens get better each year. Their second year with a photo contest had 151 entries and there are now many photos to choose from for bookmarks or the Yearbook. They expanded their workshops with great response. 69

72 Painswick raised almost $2,000 at their Plant and Bake Sale, a highlight of the year. They supported the community by participating in the Innisfil and Rotary Family Fun Day and gave away 300 potted flowers to children and adults to plant at their homes. Halina Graham & Ron Beaumont were on site to demonstrate how to make a Living Garden in a Window. The Society and Friends of the Innisfil Library, Stroud Branch, had a successful 8 th Summer Garden Tour of twelve gorgeous gardens. The Society continued to provide a bursary to a Nantyr Shores Secondary School student to further study in Horticulture & Agriculture. Penetanguishene had a very interesting year in They held three flower shows, and their annual plant sale in May was another successful fundraiser. Their new constitution came into effect and they had their year-end, August 31, They started in October with a new yearbook and their AGM seeing a new executive take over. In December they had a pot luck appetizers and dessert Christmas meeting with Doug Tilcox demonstrating large urns and donating them back to the Society. They strive to entertain and will have fun with horticulture in Stayner had another successful year. Their work in the seven community gardens continued and they are gradually adding more low maintenance perennials. They also continued to improve each of the gardens by the use of mulch etc. Their two plant sales were the main fund raisers for the club. The Society tries to attract new members by having interesting and informative meetings. The year ended with the annual Christmas dinner. Tottenham had a great line up of speakers and many other activities as well. They learned how to combine plants in the garden, the proper way to plant seeds, all about irises, new annuals, shade gardening, winterizing water gardens and indestructible house plants. They had two very successful Flower Shows. In May they also held a very rewarding Plant and Bake Sale at Glimmer Memorial Gardens and in July participated in the Tottenham Community Week Festival. In a tent, they displayed pictures of their gardens and information about the Society, and sold memberships. They also hosted a very worthwhile children s activity where they decorated cups and then planted marigolds in them to take home. The Society s year finished in November with a pre-christmas Pot Luck Supper. As always, the food was fantastic, the fellowship was great, the decorations were gorgeous and the entertainment (Sean Derraugh) was awesome. Several bags and boxes of food were donated to the Tottenham Food Bank and the Society included a cheque for $ Wasaga Beach joined the OHA in Their Garden Club of 16 years became a horticultural society in June. President James Graham welcomed them to the OHA family with his message of Sharing. Members shared their time with the Annual Plant Sale, helping with the town gardens, planning and raising funds for the new Wasaga Beach Community Garden. Their work helping to establish this garden earned the Society the District 16 Community Improvement Award. 70

73 District 17 Durham Region District Director - Sandy Rakestrow 12 Societies Ajax welcomed eight guest speakers who delivered wonderful presentations. In the spring, the Society opted to return to grassroots ideas and had a plant exchange at their regular meeting instead of the annual plant sale. They concluded their year with a wonderful potluck dinner and entertainment: Harmony Highway, a quartet from a local Sweet Adelines chorus sang many familiar songs and included the group in a round sung in four parts. The youth group, now three years old, did remarkably well, maintaining its membership of nine very enthusiastic and engaged young people, very eager to learn and dig in their community garden plot. Beaverton had a busy year with good speakers, including an Advice Clinic Ask the Expert. Highlights were a flower design workshop for members, a Plant Auction of a choice selection of perennials and coveted plants from Society members and local garden centres, the Flower and Vegetable Show at Lakeview Manor - the largest show of the year held for the residents of Lakeview Manor, Long Term Care Facility, and the Holiday Design Auction at the November AGM where members had created and donated indoor and outdoor holiday designs as a fund raiser for the club. Three teams of volunteers donated over 324 hours of labour constructing new garden beds and maintaining old beds for the beautification of downtown Beaverton. They planted white clover with grass seed in an experimental alternative turf for the Mill Gate Boulevard in Beaverton. The resulting turf was weed resistant, drought tolerant and a pleasing deep green colour. A scholarship was awarded to a Brock High School student. Over 120 persons visited the outstanding gardens featured in the Town and Country Garden Tour, an overwhelmingly successful tour that culminated in one of the gardens being photographed for a future edition of Canadian Gardening Magazine. Bowmanville heard inspiring speakers, held a Seed Exchange, Silent Auction, Community Plant Sale, Bus Tour to Whistling Gardens, Society Picnic, and received an Appreciation Award from Bowmanville Museum. The annual Flower and Vegetable Show occurred in September and the AGM and Pot Luck supper completed the year. There were four different seasonal displays at Municipal Buildings in eight planters. The Society also installed a wooden Arbour and continued perennial plantings on the Bowmanville Museum grounds. They provided table centres for a volunteer recognition event by Durham Access to Care. 71

74 Brooklin with Whitby in Bloom enjoyed several popular speakers including Frank Ferragine, Sonia Day and Marjorie Harris. They participated in a number of community events, including the Brooklin Spring Fair parade in which they had a stellar float, and the Harvest Festival. Together with the Brooklin Optimist Club, they organized and ran a program entitled Here We Grow geared to children ages 5-7. Maintaining gardens at the Brooklin Post Office, downtown Clock Tower, Winchester, the Brooklin Horticultural Gardens and the Butterfly Meadow continued and a Clock Garden was added to the Horticultural Gardens. They also had the opportunity to do a Plant Dig at what was once Cullen Gardens. The dig took place just prior to the excavation of the grounds. Cannington held flower shows, a Rose Show and Strawberry Social, heard great speakers, placed four new planters on Cameron Street, and awarded a scholarship to a Brock High School student. Georgina-Brock has an active youth group that focuses on the growing of giant vegetables with a competition and awards at harvest time in September. There were great speakers, a Dessert Party & Open House, Plant Auction, Flower and Vegetable Shows, Silent Auction, Photography Competition, Craft Fair and Sale and the Annual General Meeting and Dinner with prizes and awards. Volunteers looked after regular maintenance of several community gardens and public planters and the Society is considering taking on renovation of the severely overgrown community garden as a new beautification project. Newcastle marked 2013 by four seasonal displays outside Municipal Town Hall and Bowmanville Library. Highlights were the Members Re-Gift Silent Auction, an opportunity to pick up great bargains and contribute fundraising dollars; their Three Expert-Three Workshops event; the plant sale at Maplefest, this year s major fundraiser; a bus tour to Whistling Gardens; and speaker Martin Galloway of Chalk Lake Nurseries who articulately defended the natural beauty and role of flora and fauna traditionally viewed as pests, extolling the value of plants frequently regarded as too lowly, too common and too natural to be of interest or value to a gardener. Orono was awarded an Ontario Trillium grant in conjunction with the Municipality of Clarington and Clarke Museum to build a living wall at the Museum to improve their ability to utilize the space for youth visits. The Society replenished the gardens on-site and made them interactive with the help of the local Pathfinders group. The Society also redesigned two gardens and donated a yellow bench at Buttercup Hollow Park to commemorate the Park s 90th anniversary. Oshawa had a successful year that included interesting speakers, a plant sale, garden tours, advice on landscaping and the environment, and a bus trip. Community involvement included rehabilitative gardening with stroke victims and maintaining the cancer centre gardens, plus events such as Communities in Bloom, Pitch-In, the Peony Festival and the OVBG. Members attended meetings in Orono, in Sudbury, and Seedy Saturday. The club is kept informed and up to date through the Greenleaf newsletter and website. The Society established a Horticultural Scholarship at Durham College which will be awarded for the first time in

75 Pickering had another great start to the year with a very successful plant sale. Speakers like Charlie Dobbin, Malcolm Geast and David Hinton kept everyone entertained and provided valuable information and insights. Members enjoyed their culinary show, and a bus tour to Prince Edward County where one of the highlights was a lavender farm. The AGM completed the program, this year s theme being black and white. Pine Ridge celebrated their 35th Anniversary at the March potluck dinner meeting. Vice President Norma Haney gave a presentation on the history of the club, along with a display of archived material. Members also enjoyed presentations by various other speakers. Special activities included the annual Plant, Bake and Yard Sale in May, the Best Hat Contest with the July potluck picnic, and the Best Looking Pie Contest in October. A winning float was entered in the Blackstock Fair parade and Bus trips were organized to Toronto area gardens. Uxbridge held various successful events, learned from interesting and informative speakers, welcomed support from many businesses in the area and continued with their plantings. In 2013 they added signs to their gardens to show the public that the Society created and maintains them. District 18 Parry Sound, Muskoka, South Nipissing District Director - Sandra Hartill 13 Societies I have had a very interesting year. We started with a wonderful District 18 AGM hosted by Huntsville. My husband and I were honoured to attend the beautiful Parry Sound and District Horticultural Society s 50 th Anniversary celebrations in June. We enjoyed a wonderful catered dinner and a really interesting evening. Argyle hosted a very well organized and fun D 18 Fall Workshop and in November we held our D 18 Presidents Meeting. Visiting many of D 18 societies this year and meeting so many interesting and friendly members was very exciting. While in Parry Sound several times this year, I was able to visit Madeline Hobson in hospital. Until her illness, Madeline was extremely active in the OHA and in her society as a member, Director and President. She has been District Director, District 18 Judging School Convener and also an OHA President to mention a few of her accomplishments. She still enjoys chatting about all things associated with horticulture. 73

76 Argyle had an enjoyable year with a variety of speakers and events. Topics ranged from trees and your homes to Austrian garden tour slides, planting herbs, preservation of birds and flower arranging. Trips included a vegetable garden using mushroom compost and built around rocks, an aquaponic vegetable garden, large hosta gardens and a greenhouse. Projects included planting and weeding flower beds, twelve planters, the annual Flower Show, a canvas art class, more stories from George Walters Elections, the AGM, hosting a very successful District 18 Fall Workshop and lastly a Christmas Potluck. Baysville looked after two gates at Art In the Park, a local craft show in August. All proceeds go to the Society and this year $3,700 was raised. Membership for 2013 was 58. Diversifying programs has been their goal. Workshops have been most successful. A Sprouting workshop was held in April, which was very well attended, and two Flower Shows, a spring one in May and a summer one in August. Marni Wright was popular with her talk on Container Gardening. Members planted and maintained three Baysville parks, Gris Mill, Centennial and Van Setters but manpower has proven challenging as people age. The addition of perennials with mulch has been beneficial in keeping costs and weeds down. The Society is working hard to keep Baysville beautiful. Bracebridge, besides their nine monthly meetings with speakers, was involved in a Horticultural Therapy seminar which was for the community at large, the Earth Day clean-up of their six town gardens and adjacent park areas, a plant and bake sale in May, advising gardeners with vegetable gardens at their Community Gardens, car pool trips to Barrie and Huntsville, Spring and Summer Flower Shows, a Photography Competition, a Front Garden contest with prize money from a local citizen - with an increased number of entries this year, two delegates to the OHA Convention in Thunder Bay and a Fashion Show and Luncheon to raise money for the Society. Callander had a very good year. They held a Plant Sale in May and a Flower Show in August, which were both very successful. Interesting speaker topics included Bug in My Garden, Mushrooms and Wild Edibles, Native Plants and Orchids. In June the new Memory Tree Park sign arrived and a lovely Rededication Ceremony was held in September. Two members enjoyed attending the OHA Convention in Thunder Bay. In July, a tornado uprooted twelve huge trees in the park and they will be replaced using shrubs to attract bees, butterflies and birds. A lovely catered Turkey Dinner was served at the AGM and Officers were installed by D18 Director, Sandra Hartill, in November. Gravenhurst enjoyed good speakers with topics ranging from Native Plants to Art in the Garden. The Society had a very successful bus trip to Canada Blooms. The annual Plant and Bake Sale in May was their biggest fundraiser ever. They realized over $ Thanks go to the volunteers who devoted many hours in the newly renovated Grow Room. Cannas and daylilies were potted up and were amazing sturdy plants ready for sale. Many varieties of flowers and vegetables were started from seed and these were all well received by the public at the sale. 74

77 As usual the Society assisted Communities in Bloom in judging front gardens in town and presented awards to the winners. They held a successful annual Flower and Vegetable Show with two new trophies awarded this year and in August held a BBQ for members. A bursary was awarded to a former Gravenhurst High School student, now in University, for the second year of a four year commitment. Members attended the District 18 AGM, Fall Workshop and Presidents Meeting. The Christmas Potluck Supper and Photography Contest was the last event of the year and was well attended and enjoyed by all. Huntsville had a very busy and gratifying year. They hosted an extremely successful District 18 AGM in April, and also had a very successful Plant Sale and a Garden Tour which was very well attended. Excellent speakers included Ron Lewis The Necessity of a Garden Maintenance Plan, Brenda Maitland A Tale of 2 Gardens, Linda Hugli Seasonal Wreath Demonstration and Workshop, Debbie from Sandhill Garden Market and also a talk on Hardy Fruit Trees. The Society rejuvenated Centennial Park in conjunction with the Town of Huntsville. The garden was redesigned and replanted and the Society paid to have an arborist remove many unwanted trees to make space for existing specimen trees that had been neglected. They also started to maintain the Veterans Memorial Garden in Huntsville. Their Youth Group activities included a tour of a beekeeper s business, planting a pollinator garden at Centennial Park, harvesting apples and making pies, and also making Gingerbread Houses. North Bay enjoyed the 4 th Annual Seed Exchange on Seedy Saturday, Feb 23 rd. President Betty Foy organized a very successful bus trip to Whistling Gardens in Wilsonville. Past President Debbie Lee promoted the Society by contributing twenty articles to the Living Green section in the North Bay Nugget. Six of their hard working members were presented with Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. Their Past Past President celebrated her 20 th Anniversary of Ella s Picnic at the waterfront. That and their successful Garden Tour were both held in July and the Plant Sale in September. Lorne Cutts, a member, was the Canadian Volunteer of the Year in The Society enjoyed a very successful AGM and catered Roast Beef dinner in November. In conjunction with the North Bay Public Library, their Seedlings Storytime program for youth was extremely successful again this year. Parry Sound hosted their 50 th Anniversary Dinner in June with Carol Dunk and Sandra Hartill in attendance, along with other dignitaries. It was an extremely successful event enjoyed by everyone. Three members attended the District 18 AGM in Huntsville and four members were sent to the OHA Convention in Thunder Bay, a great learning experience. Members also attended the District 18 Fall Workshop in Argyle and the President s Meeting in Novar. Megan Morrison was the first Youth to win the Liz Trolove Youth Award. The Youth Group attended meetings, entered exhibits in shows and helped out at the Plant Sale and Geranium Tea. Their activities included creating stepping-stones, birdhouses, worm composting, bird feeders and learning about photography. 75

78 Powassan reports that this was an exciting year as they grew from 25 members to 67! Members enjoyed interesting meetings and workshops as the Executive worked hard to make 2013 successful. The Society maintained the gardens in town and is hoping to plan more events such as a plant sale and a flower show in Unfortunately, one of their lifetime members, Evelyn Hogan, who had been a member for many, many years, passed away. She was 100 years old. Rosseau began the year with a Potluck Dinner and a speaker who outlined the work being done to restore the gardens at the Parry Sound Fire Tower. Other speakers included Marni Wright Straw Bale Gardening and Kristi Virgoe Good Bugs, Bad Bugs. Members continued the maintenance and extension of gardens at the Health Centre and the beautification of the village with gardens and planters. The year ended with the AGM and another delicious Potluck Dinner. Sprucedale continued to maintain the gardens they previously cared for. Curbstones were positioned around the Sprucedale Community Centre Garden and a plaque was placed in memory of their Beautification Director, Les Knott, also a Past President, who was involved in this garden from its inception. Their Potluck Dinner was very successful, with a slide show of the Garden Tour by Lori Sild. They had many engaging speakers including Mike McIntosh Don t Attract Bears to Your Garden, Board s Honey Farm Apitherapy, Apiaries and Bees, Robert Ritchie Trees and Wood and Ted Reed Scree Gardens. The Society finished off the year with time spent enjoying each other s company. What a great way to end a fantastic year. Sundridge had 73 members this year with 10 new members. They enjoyed some very good speakers whose topics included Container Gardening, Grasses, New and Interesting Plants, All about Bees and Honey and Daffodils. They had a demonstration of a Christmas centerpiece and also on the use of succulents as a centerpiece. A great Plant Sale was held in May, and June 29 th was the date of the Canada Day Parade. Many members decorated wheelbarrows, wagons and themselves for this fun event with the Society winning first prize as a group. They had a lovely bus trip to Canada Blooms and another to Goldenbrook Hostas in Blackstock, John s Perennials and the Lucy Maud Montgomery Museum. Members had a busy time working in the Community Gardens, renovating the Children s Garden, and planting and maintaining eight gardens, twelve upright containers, eight small containers, ten hanging baskets and three new containers bought this year for a grouping at Main and Union Streets. A wonderful Mystery Garden Tour was enjoyed by everyone, and at the AGM and Installation of Officers, a Food Drive was held for the Sundridge Food Bank. Whitestone had a busy planting season, continuing the work on the revamping of the flowerbed in Ardbeg. The 2012 revamped garden in front of the LCBO store was maintained and plantings added as well. The Municipality had erected a new municipal building and Fire Hall, and a new flower garden was built in 2012 but there was only enough time to plant some bulbs. Shrubs and flowers were added this year. There were good guest speakers and some of the members stepped up and gave interesting presentations and workshops. Though membership is still low, the Society had some new members join and they look forward to sharing ideas and knowledge. 76

79 District 19 Regional Municipality of Waterloo District Director - Gary Brenner 9 Societies District 19 focused on teambuilding between its nine societies. In the fall we held our first annual District photo contest. Our objective was to promote awareness of the OHA photo contest rules and to encourage all District members to participate. We also held two special shopping events at two different local nurseries where both nurseries offered all District members a 20% discount on their merchandise. Ahead of us is the 2016 OHA convention which we are planning for and looking forward to hosting. Ayr continued to serve the community in a positive way. Interesting speakers and new Outreach programs were offered. A successful bus trip to Whistling Gardens, Bonnieheath Lavender Farm and Nova Villa Winery provided a good opportunity to celebrate the beauty of the neighbouring counties with fifty-five participants from Ayr, Wellesley, Wilmot, Preston and Galt Societies. In the fall a group toured Onondaga Farms, and the 750 tulips bulbs donated by Home Hardware were planted, 550 around the pond, at the Library and in Victoria Park, the remainder being distributed to the three elementary schools, the Community Garden and Roseville Community School. Elmira rediscovered their logo, a yellow gladiolus, which they intend to use in correspondence and advertising. The Junior Garden Club of ten enthusiastic young gardeners met once a week to plan, plant, weed, prune and harvest their gardens. Members enjoyed a wonderful presentation on orchids by Gerhard Kompter of the Central Ontario Orchid Society and Kate Owens of St. Jacobs Country Gardens conducted a seasonal wreath make-and-take workshop in November where participants made a beautiful wreath for the holiday season. Galt was very proud that membership numbers continued to grow at ALL activities, and the 23 rd Annual Dream Garden Conference 2013 was at its capacity. It will now be held at the Waterloo Regional Police Association building which will provide more space for the growing number of participants and vendors, plus there will be a better speaker system. Hespeler participated in the Forbes Park Festival in July where members gave out sunflowers, information on the society and gardening advice. They planted and maintained Bergey Hill, Ellacott Lookout and Queen Street gardens. Members enjoyed creating tipsy-turvy planters, tea cup garden ornaments and Christmas urns at workshops. The annual plant sale in May helped boost their bank account with the addition of a few hundred dollars. Interesting and informative guest speakers were heard at many of their monthly meetings. 77

80 Kitchener reached a membership of 504, an increase of 11.7% over 2012 and the first time in years that the membership has exceeded 500. In addition to regular events (Bulb Sale & Plant Exchange, monthly seminars and garden tours), the Society hosted their 4 th annual Seedy Saturday (approx. 200 attendees) and a Bus Tour for the members. The App developed by Steve McKenna for the ipad that allows members to automatically update their membership roles at any Society activity along with the diverse seminars, events and programs are most likely the reasons for the significant increase in membership. Two Society members were responsible for selecting gardens to tour in June, July and August and their selections have been well received by the membership. Elaine Baldwin, Programme Coordinator, was responsible for the selection of quality speakers and has been doing an excellent job for the membership. In April, Dana Schultz delivered a special seminar on the early signs of Spring. Preston received a number of large fiberglass pots donated by the Cambridge Centre Mall. The Society installed them in the flower beds at Gore Park, filled them with Canna and annuals, and passed on surplus pots to other Societies. Volunteers continued to tend the Cambridge City garden of Gore Park. The Society vegetable garden at Spring Farm was expanded for the third year running. Five members shared the plots and grew vegetables and herbs of their choice. Waterloo had one of its most memorable meetings when they had no guest speaker. At their annual meeting in January they hosted a Winter Garden Party and several Board Members gave presentations on the Gardening New Year s Resolution. They were surprised that some of the members volunteered to share their resolutions with the group as well, after which there was a social time which included a specially decorated cake. The annual Bus Trip in June had two full buses, its destination being the Hamilton and Burlington area and included a stop at a heritage oak tree in Burlington which dates from before The Pot Luck Dinner in November featured a demonstration on making a seasonal urn and members shared a delicious buffet dinner. Wellesley continued to enjoy sharing ideas about plants, trees and gardens. Their Junior Gardeners program was started with three small but eager gardeners who won awards for their gardens. Anita Buehner of Bonnieheath Lavender inspired members with her beautiful lavender farm story and Maryanne Weiler amazed everyone with her Evolution of a Garden presentation. In August members very much enjoyed an afternoon of tea and a guided tour around the gardens at Langdon Hall. Wilmot enjoyed its most important day in their horticultural year, their Garden Explosion, held on the first Saturday of February each year. Excellent speakers, David Hobson and James Graham, and a very interesting fashion show were features. Interesting topics such as bird migration were presented at monthly meetings during the year. There were thirty-six participants in their Junior Gardener program. Members enjoyed a tour of ten gardens in the summer, and volunteers looked after about 75 flower beds throughout Wilmot Township. They also planted 500 red tulip bulbs that Home Hardware donated to New Hamburg. 78

81 2013 OHA CONVENTION Up North and Down to Earth Thunder Bay, Ontario July 19-21, 2013 The 107 th OHA Convention was proudly hosted at the Valhalla Inn, in Thunder Bay by Northwestern Ontario s District 14, which is comprised of nine societies. In the west, we have Atikokan, Dryden, Evergreen Thumbs, and Fort Frances. Sioux Lookout is one hour to the north of Dryden. To the east we have Geraldton, Longlac, and Nipigon-Red Rock, and in the centre, Thunder Bay. A total of 93 District 14 volunteers came together, wearing their purple t-shirts with the new District 14 logo, ready to assist the delegates. Opening ceremonies were held on Friday, July 19, commencing with the Piper Ian MacLeod piping in the flag party, dignitaries, Past Presidents, OHA Board, and District Directors. Announcements for those entering the room were given by Ian Robson. Bert Card led the delegates in singing the National Anthem, which was followed by greetings from dignitaries. The plenary sessions on Friday morning started with a presentation by Dr. Robert Stewart on the topic The Great Lakes Action to protect, conserve, and restore the Lake Superior Basin Ecosystem. On Saturday morning, Kevin Belluz of Belluz Farms spoke on Slow Food Superior Style and left freshly picked strawberry baskets to be enjoyed by the delegates. James Graham spoke on Sunday morning on the importance of Community Gardens. The delegates had a choice of 11 seminars on a variety of topics which they could attend during the afternoons. Five different bus tours left both Friday and Saturday afternoon and on Sunday, volunteer drivers brought groups out to the Thunder Bay Art Gallery Garden Tour. Those interested in Floral Design had three judging updates to select from. The competitions for adults and youth in the various categories were on display in the hotel s Viking and Scandia rooms. A meeting for the OHA Judges was held on Friday afternoon in the Scandia rooms, where Ken Fink and Kathryn Lindsay had the judges in attendance practicing on the entries that had been already judged in the morning. The participating judges gave their reasons for the choice and then the actual status of the entry was revealed. Several judges were thrilled to see they had selected the same winners. The judges were then reminded about the rules and guidelines used by judges to assess the quality of exhibits and the awarding of prizes. The Youth Leaders held their meeting late Saturday afternoon, so that they also could take advantage of the various seminars and bus tours. The barbeque and social held on Friday evening was very well attended. The delegates had the choice of eating in the Valhalla s open air courtyard or bringing their plates to eat in the Ballroom. Jim n I offered the delegates a wide repertoire of original, traditional and contemporary melodies in the courtyard and ballroom during the dinner hour. 79

82 The delegates were given time to mingle, renew acquaintances, and make new ones. Delegates also had opportunities to look at photo albums on display and bid on the Silent Auction items. 4 Flipper Flannigan s Flat Footed Four had some delegates up on their feet dancing to the music, while others enjoyed watching. They played a variety of Celtic and Bluegrass music. During the break in the entertainment, OHA President John Sellers presented Erika North, President of the Thunder Bay Horticultural Society, with a 90 th Anniversary letter and Certificate from the OHA. Current and Past Presidents were invited to the celebrations. Photos were taken to document the event and Erika cut and distributed the celebratory cake. As with all other conventions, the OHA business and reports were conducted at the Saturday plenary session. At the Saturday night Gala Dinner and Awards, the names of the recipients of the Community Improvement, Youth Leader, Award of Merit (2), and Honour Roll Awards (2) were read and presented. Vice-President James Graham presented the Trillium Award to Katherine Andrachuk from District 15. President John Sellers presented the Silver Medal Award and certificate to Gary and Dianne Westlake from District 4. The Gala keynote speaker Fred Jones was introduced by Kathryn Lindsay. At each OHA Convention Awards Banquet, the keynote speaker is funded by the Richmond Hill Garden and Horticultural Society in memory of Past-President Gladys McLatchy. Fred entertained the delegates by recounting how he had to help both his mother and grandmother (both experts in the garden) and now-wife Laura in a presentation entitled Confessions of a Gardening Grunt. Fred said he did not inherit his forbearer s green thumb but is very happy that Laura has. Trevor Fielder s floral installation Stretching the Mind through Creative Design made an exceptional floral display. He created an outdoor picnic scene, with the sunset reflecting in the lake; an arrangement made with a variety of brightly coloured snapdragons that resembled a camp fire, sparks and all. A blanket lay across pine boughs along with a picnic sandwich made with birch bark (bread) with a filling of rose petals, a fruit salad, and sherbet for desert. Loblaw s sponsored some of the flowers. The Sunday Plenary dealt with more OHA business, elections, and presentations to retiring Directors and the retiring President, John Sellers. Incoming President James Graham spoke of the importance of a Community Garden and the sharing of its produce. In closing, Shirley Robson thanked everyone for coming Up North and being Down to Earth. Pat Stachon, Director of District 1, was invited to the stage for the transfer of the standard. Her crew of volunteers came on stage to welcome everyone to Cornwall and distributed loot bags filled with information about Cornwall and a gift of their local Maple Syrup. In closing, let me say that this process has been difficult yet exhilarating, exhausting yet uplifting, and above all rewarding. To quote William Arthur Ward I have found that the pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; and the realist adjusts the sails. Shirley Robson, Director, District 14 80

83 Awards Presented at the 2013 OHA Convention Silver Medal Gary & Dianne Westlake Peterborough Horticultural Society Trillium Award Katherine Andrachuk Horticultural Societies of Parkdale & Toronto Cecile Young Kirkland Lake Horticultural Society Youth Leader Award Kim Oly Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga Community Improvement Award Joyce Bockmaster Woodbridge Garden & Horticultural Society Award of Merit Bob Wilt Ancaster Horticultural Society Manuel Neto Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga OHA Honour Roll Barbara Waddell Ancaster Horticultural Society Lotte Brunner Cloverleaf Garden Club of Mississauga 81

84 Silver Medal Winners Gary & Dianne Westlake with District 4 Director, Rose Odell and OHA President John Sellers Trillium Award Winner Katherine Andrachuck with OHA 1 st Vice-President James Graham and District 15 Director Carole Spraggett Trillium Award Winner Cecile Young with District 12 Director Kees Stryland at a presentation ceremony at Kirkland Lake 82

85 2013 Convention Resolutions Carried forward from 2012 Convention: Resolution 12/03 Be it resolved that By-Law 13.1 District descriptions be amended to read as follows: b) District 6 - District 6 Carolinian - Defeated. c) District 11 - Southwestern Ontario - Withdrawn Resolution 13/1 Be it resolved that: The office of Second Vice-President be abolished, effective with the beginning of the 2014 elections and that the Constitution and By-Laws be amended accordingly. Carried. Resolution 13/2 Be it resolved that: The Past President s Council will be represented on the board and the executive council of the Ontario Horticultural Association by the Immediate Past President and that the Constitution and By-Laws be amended accordingly. Carried. Resolution 13/3 Be it resolved that: ByLaw 13.1 be amended to read as follows: District 4 - Haliburton, Northumberland, Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes. Carried. Resolution 13/4 Be it resolved that: The Ontario Horticultural Association express appreciation to the Province of Ontario for the assistance provided to Horticultural Societies and to this Association by means of grants and by the continued review and implementation of policies aimed towards the promotion of interest and participation in horticulture. Carried. Resolution 13/5 Be it resolved that: The Ontario Horticultural Association convey to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, his Deputies and Staff, our thanks for the support, assistance and co-operation accorded this Association by Ministry Personnel. Carried. Resolution 13/6 Be it resolved that: The Ontario Horticultural Association extend its thanks to the Director, Assistant Directors, Societies and members of District 14 who worked to plan and conduct the 2013 Convention, and to all others who had any part in contributing to its success. Carried. Resolution 13/7 Be it resolved that: The President and Vice-President shall be elected for a two year term, subject to a confirmatory vote at the next annual general meeting of the Association, or at a meeting called for that purpose. Defeated. 83

86 Thunder Bay welcomes the OHA delegates Convention Registrar Barb O Malley Saturday morning plenary session 84

87 here OHA President John Sellers District 14 Director Shirley Robson welcomes delegates to the 2013 convention Sharon Hill (Treasurer), Kelly Taylor (Secretary), John Sellers (President), Shirley Robson (District 14 Director), James Graham (1 st Vice President), Jeff Blackadar (2 nd Vice President), Carol Dunk (Past President) 85

88 Treasurer Sharon Hill Secretary Kelly Taylor Ready for the banquet, in the ballroom 86

89 The caption goes here Competitions entries the convention 87

90 The caption goes here Outgoing President John Sellers passes the chain of office to incoming President James Graham. District 14 Director Shirley Robson passes the convention flag to District 1 Director Pat Stachon. District 1 is the host for the 2014 convention 88