“Fostering the love of Gardening and the Beautification of our City.”

June 2007
President’s Message

Thank you to the many members who are getting involved in our society!! More and more members are volunteering their time to help make our programs and events successful.

A big thank you to Pat Madill and the plant sale committee for their organization and diligence and to ALL who helped make our major fundraising event a huge success.

Our “living wreath” workshop that was held this past Tuesday was well worth the effort. There were smiles and beads of perspiration on the faces of the many women that came out to get instruction by Linda Ellery …..even in the heat!

Please mark your calendar for both our Members’ Garden Tour and Flower Show coming up in July. I
am excited just seeing the enthusiasm and work that is going on for these two events.

What makes the act of giving more meaningful is to sacrifice something or give up something in the process. I see more and more that our members are doing just that, sacrificing their time, their energy and giving and giving again.

Thank you once again, to all of you for your commitment to making this society a success story.

Darlene Lecour
President

Our next meeting : Tuesday, June 26
7:00 p.m.
Christ Church Anglican, 890 Vimy Street

Master Gardener: Q & A

Tues. June 26 – General Meeting & Strawberry Social

Eat your yard: growing, your own vegetables, fruit and herbs
With Monica McLaren

Eat your yard is Monica’s motto and she will tell us
just how all of us can join this growing trend.

Strawberry delights will be provided by your executive.

Members only Garden Tour
Sunday, July 8th, 10 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. – rain or shine

Yes, you the members are invited to our members-only garden tour. See the back of this newsletter for all the garden locations and event information.
Want to bring a friend? They pay $10.00 which includes their membership in the Society as well.
Sat. July 28th - FUN in the SUN : Annual Flower and Vegetable Show
Northgate Shopping Centre

Wed. Aug. 8th Garden Photography Workshop with Mike De Moree

September 25 – Plant and rake without Ache
with David Henschel, Symetrics

October 23 – Wildcrafting : Harvesting Nature’s Bounty
with Lucy Emmott and Jeremy St. Onge

November 27 – Annual general meeting
Christmas Workshop with
Bouquet d’Amour staff

Youth Page

Hello Seedlings!
I hope you enjoyed our 6 weeks together at the library. I had lots of fun! Did you?

Remember to keep watering your plants (but not too much) in your garden. With this heat, plants do need a drink more often. Water in the morning before school or as soon as you get up out of bed and water in the evening (maybe your parents can help you at this time – Seedlings need their rest, too).

If you have any questions, you can always reach me via email at
[email protected] or by telephone at (705) 752-1826.
Remember to ask your parents or a responsible adult for permission first!

Easy Plant Craft Project - Seed Pictures

What you need
1. Seeds of all kinds: sunflower, pumpkin, peanut, gourd, split pea, turnip, rice, radish, popcorn, squash, flower
2. Large square piece of white or gray cardboard
3. White glue

What to do
• Draw a picture on the cardboard. You can trace it from a book if you want. Then copy it onto the cardboard.
• Paint a line of glue around the cardboard near the outside edge. This will be the picture frame. Place seeds on the glued area. The frame looks nicest if use only one or two types of seeds rather than a mixture. Let this dry overnight. Then turn the cardboard over and tap it. Any loose seeds will fall off. Reglue them.
• Now glue seeds on your design. Let it dry overnight. Turn the cardboard over. Tap it. Reglue any loose seeds that fall off.

Interview with a gardener… Deborah Emmerson
In a mean little plot on a dreary street in Scotland my grandmother grew the most beautiful fragrant roses that were the pride of the neighborhood and she would plant sweet peas for me (the flower of my birth month). My earliest memories begin in that garden…I remember being held in the cocoon of her arms - we were standing at the front window, gazing out at the garden and playfully arguing back and forth -“Bebbie’s Gaden” I growled; face pressed to hers – “No, Nana’s Garden” my Grandmother gently replied in her soft Scottish burr. (Today I have a sign in my garden stating “Bebbie’s Gaden”)

When I garden it brings her close to me. The world slows down and I have time to reflect on the things that are important – family and friends – past and present.

My garden is a living memory quilt, a mauve rose grows for my daughter who loves purple, a Queen Elizabeth rose reminds me of the one from my grandmothers garden and the yellow climbing rose is a memorial to a young cousin (I was planting it at the moment I received the call about his death). My favorite plants are the ones shared from friend’s gardens- they all tell a story.

I don’t remember when the gardening “bug” bit me, perhaps it was the orange seeds I planted with my grandmother and placed on the windowsill or on another windowsill in my first Canadian home where I placed containers of watercress seeds with my father – but I don’t think it’s something I’ll be cured of anytime soon!

Caring for Spring Blooming Bulbs after they have bloomed

It is recommended that the flower heads of spring bulbs be removed after
blooming but ensure that the leaves are left undisturbed until they die
off (do not bend over or braid the leaves). However, if the leaves show signs of
disease, it is better to remove them just after yellowing begins and
discard them in the garbage, not the compost. To energize the bulbs after
blooming scratch in fertilizer especially designed for bulbs (bone meal alone
does not provide all the nutrients that the bulb fertilizer does). Do this
right after blooming and then again after one month. Simply scratch into the
soil surface a handful of the fertilizer and water well so the fertilizer
reaches the roots.
If you plant annuals to hide the leaves as they die off, do not plant
annuals that require a lot of water as they extra water will weaken the
bulbs. Lightly watering over the summer but add extra water in the fall
if fall conditions are dry.
Did you know that tulips that have been forced will not likely bloom
again if planted out in the garden? However, other types of bulbs (daffodils,
hyacinth, crocus and muscari) will. I planted these bulbs in the garden
last year after the soil was workable and the following spring had blooms.

-submitted by Monica McLaren, North Bay Master Gardener
Muffin recipes please

We have had requests for two recipes from the plant sale – the banana-oatmeal muffins and the orange muffins. If you brought them to the sale, and would like to share your recipe, please give them to Geri at the next meeting.
Thanks.

FLOWER SHOW 2007
"Fun In the Sun"
Sat. July 28th in Sears Court
at Northgate Shopping Centre

This year we are going to have a little ......"Fun in the Sun".
Sears Court at Northgate Shopping Centre will feel like a tropical paradise!
Skirted with our colourful flowers arrangements which will make us all
feel happy...like bright summer flowers do!
Start planning your designs now, here are some of the design categories for the show........

Margaritaville - Small arrangement displayed in a margarita glass (acrylic)
(The stem of glass will not be included in overall height of arrangement.)
Summer Wind - a bouquet of mixed grasses

Summer Time Blues - An arrangement primarily with blue flowers white
accents

Beach Treasures - A dried arrangement incorporating drift wood within the design

Down by the Bay - A water viewing design

Itsy Bitsy Yellow Polka Dot Bikini - Miniature arrangement primarily yellow

Just for Fun - A bouquet with every colour imaginable

Lost Sandal - an arrangement that incorporates one sandal

Scree Garden - Sand, stones and succulents

Living Wreath - as a display or an entry
If time won't allow you to create a floral design consider just putting
in your favorite flower, vegetable or fruit.....we want to see what
you've been growing. The full show booklet will be available at the
Strawberry Social General Meeting June 26th at Christ Church.
If you know someone who would like to enter in the show but is not a
member of the North Bay Horticultural Society, they can still become a
member, the day of the show for only $10.00 and put entries in the show.
Please get an entrant number and exhibit cards from Audrey Morton before
the show if possible and fill them in, this will speed up our set up time Saturday morning.
Entries will be received between 9am - 10:30am the day of the show,
entries will not be accepted after the 10:30 deadline, so don't be late!
Judging will begin at 11am.
Let's have fun and show North Bay just how much fun we do have in the Sun!

June Charette
Chairperson

Website of the month
http://www.hostalibrary.org/

This website has great photos of so many varieties of hostas and lost of information about them, including what to watch for in regards to the hosta virus.

Thanks you to all!!!

A sincere thank you to all members for making the plant sale a success beyond expectations. It wouldn’t have happened with out the hard work and time devoted by everyone!
-submitted by Pat Madill, Plant sale chair

A big THANK YOU goes out to Marie Louise Frankel from Northern Perennials for donating the plants from her property once again this year, as she has done for many years. On Saturday May 5, Pat Madill, this year’s plant sale coordinator, arranged for about a dozen of us to dig and pot up as many plants as we could conceivable take home in our cars to look after until the plant sale. We had a lot of fun, the weather was wonderful and Marie Louise was happy to help out.

This may be Marie Louise’s last year to be able to help us because her property is for sale and she has opened “Monarch Rise, Bed & Breakfast For Your Family, Pets, and Horses”, a four-seasons resort located on hwy 17 East towards Mattawa, #7945 on the left side of the highway (705-744-1882). As you pass by, why not drop in and say hi. She is very excited about her new venture and we wish her all the best!
Lilac Bed

Come on out and join the Lilac Bed at the Waterfront. This bed was planted by and is cared for by the North Bay Horticultural Society and our team name is of course “The Green Thumbs” to match our newsletter. We meet the first and third Tuesday of the month from June to October or as required. Learn how to use dormant oil, mulch and prune lilacs. It’s a very easy bed to care for and because it is located at the Waterfront, you will also become a Heritage Gardener.

It is the only bed at the waterfront with dual ownership. We care for the bed and the City provides us with mulch and compost. As a thank you, the “Heritage Gardeners” gives us a day at the Pinewood, the last Sunday in February when we could all use a little pick-me-up. This is free to us since the City picks up the tab for our $25.00 a plate dinner with guest speakers in the morning and afternoon. There is a silent auction table filled with wonderful gardening delights and many gardening vendors selling everything from books and plants to tools and ornaments.

So come on out and have some fun learning about lilacs and meet your fellow members. We meet June 5, 19; July 10, 24; Aug 7, 21; Sep 4, 18; and Oct 9, 23.

Submitted by Betty Foy

For the answer to all your gardening questions, call the
North Bay Master Gardeners
a volunteer organization of trained horticulturalists here to help you with all the gardening answers.
Call them at 495-0920 or email them at [email protected].
There is no charge for this service!

Garden guide for Mid June to Mid July
Continue to transplant annuals, perennials, evergreens, container stock, fall mums.
Fertilize trees, shrubs, evergreens, ground covers if needed.
Treat annual flowers with a feeding of 15-30-15 fertilizer.
Remove rose blooms before they fade to dry for using in potpourris or sachets.
Earmark some flowers, plants and vegetables that you would like to exhibit at the Flower Show and tend to them with this in mind.
Continue to fertilize vegetables.
Shallow hoe the garden regularly to control weeds, especially after rain.
Mulch borders to help preserve moisture and keep weeds in check.
Deadhead flowering annuals to encourage more blooms.
Pinch back annuals that are getting straggly.
Continue to stake and support plants as they grow.
Water garden thoroughly during dry spells.
Give lawn a second feeding of fertilizer in July.
Harvest early vegetables - start canning and freezing vegetables and fruits as they ripen.
Spray aphids with insecticidal soap as they appear.

Need to contact us with comments, questions or suggestions?
North Bay Horticultural Society
P.O. Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6
Website : Go to www.gardenontario.org and follow the links!
Email : [email protected]
Proud member of the Ontario Horticultural Association District 18
We meet the 4th Tuesday of the month at Christ Church Anglican, 890 Vimy Street
at 7 p.m. (excluding January, July, August and December)

Treasurer’s report to May 31 /07

Investment savings $3500.00
Bank statement (Apr. 30/07) $ 1365.17
Outstanding cheques last month $ -102.32
Outstanding cheques this month $ 501.36
Deposit $ 4052.86
Expenditures $ 1198.86
Total current account $4618.21

Expenditures
Horticultural meetings $ 383.47
Green Thumb $ 103.86
Bank charges $ 105.81
Social and gifts $ 17.08
Civic beautification $ 77.78
Donations (Plant sale) $ 100.00
Plant sale $ 410.86
$1198.86

Receipts
Membership $ 355.00
Workshops $ 420.00
T-shirts $ 10.00
Ed Lawrence’s book $ 303.06
Total receipts $ 4052.86

General meeting minutes Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Held at Christ Church, 890 Vimy Street, North Bay, Ontario

Geri Openshaw called the meeting to order at 7:10pm. 46 members were in attendance.
Business
Minutes of the April 24, 2007 General Meeting Minutes as presented in the Green Thumb were MOVED to be adopted by Linda Graham. SECONDED by June Charette. CARRIED.
MOTION to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented in the Green Thumb by Helen Bannerman. SECONDED by Debbie Caldwell. CARRIED.

Announcements
Book Fundraiser an “Ed Lawrence Fundraiser” with his book “Gardening Grief & Glory”. The books are $26 each. As an incentive, the author, Ed Lawrence will host an event at the location of the group who sells the most books – “An Event with Ed”. For more information on Ed Lawrence, his website is www.gardeningwithed.com and he is on CBC Radio at 1:00pm daily.
Annual Spring District Meeting in Argyle, Ontario on June 2, 2007. This is the last night to sign up for the District Meeting. Speaker is Susan Major of Chisolm, “Growing Hard & Soft Fruit in the North”. See Lorne Cutts if interested in attending.
Judy Brewer would like volunteer help at the Community Vegetable Garden on Main Street (downtown). Saturday mornings from 10:00 – 11:30 am and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 pm. Great opportunity to teach grandchildren.
Artsperience – Wednesday, June 13 at 6:30 pm featuring Mark Cullen on “Tips and Trends for the Canadian Gardener”. Price: FREE.
Congratulations to Loren Cutts with certificate of “Ontario Volunteer” for 10 years. Special thanks to Lorne for supplying the North Bay After 5 Ladies Club with floral arrangements for door prizes. The Club featured the Horticultural Society for their May meeting.
Our special gratitude and thanks for John Tripp and his many Society contributions. He shared his wealth of knowledge with appearances as our guest speaker, Master Gardener Open Question Period and participating wholeheartedly in Horticultural Society endeavours. He will be sorely missed. Our sincerest condolences to his wife Helen.
Thank you to Janet Vos and the new Youth Seedlings Storytime Program at the Public Library. It’s great fun, and has been well received by the children.
Living Wreath Workshop June 12 at 7:00pm. This is the last night to sign up. You can see a wreath at the Farmer’s Market or Laportes. Maureen has list of required supplies at back.
Reality Judging Competition for our June General Meeting and Strawberry Social
Geri read a letter sent to Harriet Madigan of the Heritage Gardeners giving the Society support in aid of Sweetman’s Garden.

Committee Reports

Civic Beautification Report.
Ruby McLeod and her volunteer group of 13 planted five beds at Canadore College today (May 22). They planted: 10 flats of Begonias, 5 flats of Salvia, 5 flats of Alyssum; 2 flats of Dahlias, 8 flats of Impatiens, 120 Geraniums, 2 flats of Marigolds and 2 flats of Dusty Miller for a grand total of 1,932 plants. Canadore is now ready for their graduation class on May 31st. Canadore covered all fees and provided lunch for the 13 volunteers. The Great Group of Volunteers were: Cindy Wilson, Bette Atkinson, Judy Watling, Jane Watling, Rosalyn Charland, Ruth Bolan, Peggy Dillon, Helen Bannerman, Debbie Lee, Audrey Morton, Susan Philbin, Gail Fisher, Ruby McLeod.

June 4, starting at 9:00am, Ruby is looking for volunteers to plants the bed at Dellandrea Place. June 9 we’ll be planting the Theme Bed at the Waterfront. See Ruby to volunteer. The tulips behind the library look great. Eight bags of soil will be arriving after tulips are finished to refurbish the top soil.

Plant Sale.
The Plant Sale will be Saturday, May 26th at Christ Church on 890 Vimy Street. Volunteers to arrive for 8:30am. The church will be open on Friday afternoon. Set up will be Friday at 5:00pm. Looking for volunteers to bake muffins. Please keep track of all volunteer hours and pass to Pat Madill.

Flower Show Update.
The Flower Show is booked for July 28th at Northgate Square from 10:00am – 2:00pm. The theme is “Fun in the Sun”. We should have plenty of floral choices in bloom for the show. The Flower Show Book should be ready for the June meeting and in the Green Thumb with many new categories, e.g. Margaritaville, arrangement in a margarita glass.

Publicity Report.
Thanks to Norm, Geri Lynn, Ruth and June who volunteered at the Publicity Table at the Northgate Square Shopping Mall on Saturday, May 12 from 10:30am – 4:30pm. Special thanks to Walmart for plant decorations. Require volunteers for Saturday, June 16 at 10:30am – 4:30pm. Membership brochures and Society Literature can be purchased at table. See June to volunteer.
Membership Report.
We now have over 110 members in good standing & 20 outstanding. We still hope to reach 150. Members were encouraged to renew.

Social Committee
The executive will supply desserts for our Strawberry Social in June. Ten door prizes were donated by Home Depot and won by: Debbie Lee, Sue Finnis, Linda Graham, Vicki Weimer, June Charette, Ruth Wright, Nancy Dyck, MaryAnn Gomm, Geri Openshaw, Leona Paquette.

Coming Events
• May 26 Plant Sale
• June 2, Annual Spring District Meeting, Argyle Legion
• June 12th, Living Wreath Workshop with Linda Ellery. Registration tonight with prepayment.
• OHA Convention in Owen Sound, August 10-12, 2007
• Society Shirts are still available in assorted colours at $30 each. See June to order.
MOTION to adjourn business at 7:45p.m. by June Charette
Master Gardener – Vicki Weimer took questions.
Feature Presentation: Lisa Cutts from Home Depot with the Extreme Makeover – Curb Appeal.