by Catherine Johnson

What a winter it has been, weather wise. I wonder how our plants are doing with these extreme changes in temperature? And what about all the rain? Hopefully the water is helping to replenish the water table.

The Kemptville Horticultural Society welcomes all men and women, from novice (or wannabe) gardeners to master gardeners. Some members have well established gardens and some come to get ideas on where to start. The society meets the third Wednesday of the month at the Kemptville Pentecostal Church (1964 County Road 43) at 7:30 pm. Each month we have a guest presentation following our short business meeting.

At our February meeting we welcomed Colleen O’Connell and David Cybulski from the Maitland Garden of Hope. They gave a very informative talk called “Butterflies in our Gardens”. They talked about how they developed their garden into a butterfly sanctuary. The Mainland Garden of Hope is a private 1.5 acre garden that is owned by Colleen and David, and is open to the public throughout the summer as part of the 1000 Island and Rideau Canal Garden Trail.

At our March 15th meeting we will welcome Tom Bryant from Landscape Design in Kemptville. Tom will give a presentation called “Softscaping your Garden”. Tom is a member of the Kemptville Horticultural Society and has given us very informative and knowledgeable presentations in the past.

We have a very busy spring and summer planned. Our Society is hosting the Ontario Horticultural Association District 1 AGM in April. Our spring plant sale will take place on Saturday May 13th at the Ferguson Forest Centre, and we are in the preliminary planning stages for our summer bus trip.

Do not forget to mark your calendars for our upcoming 2017 Bud to Bloom Garden tour, to be held on June 24. Tickets will be available to be purchased later in the spring. This year, we are offering eight outstanding gardens as part of the tour, as well as a tea to be held at the Community Hall in Burritt’s Rapids. The gardens will range from smaller beautifully landscaped gardens located within the town of Kemptville, to larger country gardens, some that showcase both outstanding hard and soft landscape features. Proceeds from the garden tour will go towards our two Horticultural Bursaries, awarded to students from the area.

Come out and meet us! You are welcome to be our guest at your first meeting. Our next meeting is on Wednesday March15, at 7:30, at 1964 County Road 43. If you are interested in joining, yearly membership fees are $15. Whether you are an experienced gardener, or someone moving into one of the many new homes being built in North Grenville, we will have something of interest for you. There is also plenty of free gardening advice available during coffee and refreshments. We look forward to meeting you.

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