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

November 2007

Editor Geri Openshaw

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.
'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

- Oliver Herford, I Heard a Bird Sing

Tuesday, November 27th
Annual meeting 7:00 p.m.
Election of officers
Guest speakers
Natural Christmas Decoration
Demonstration by Sue Greig
or
Hands-on Christmas wreath workshop
by Bouquet d’amour
(preregistered members only)

For our November meeting, we ask that everyone bring a non-perishable item for North Bay’s soup kitchen “The Gathering Place”. On their ‘most wanted’ list are canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, dry navy beans, coffee, and tea, or any other items they can use to make a healthy and nutritious soup.
Please remember our City’s less fortunate.

If you have not
renewed your membership for 2008,
now is the time to do it.
The renewal form is on the second page of this newsletter.

Next meeting

Tuesday, Nov 27th, 7:00 p.m.
The Annual General Meeting
Election and installation of officers by Adrian van der Bijl (for District Director Betty Morrison).
Please come out to welcome your 2008 executive members!
followed by questions and answers with the Master Gardener
and
a natural evergreen Christmas decoration demonstration
with Master Gardener Sue Greig
(a hands-ons Christmas wreath workshop with Bouquet D’Amour staff will also take place at the same time for those who have registered and paid for it last meeting)

It’s that time of the year again…

Membership Renewal Form for 2008
All memberships expire each October.
Please fill out and bring to general meeting with your payment. Or mail to:
North Bay Horticultural Society, PO Box 1482, North Bay, ON P1B 8K6

Single Membership…………$10.00 (please circle desired membership)

Family Membership…………$15.00

Child’s membership ………..$ 5.00

Name………………………………..............................................................

Address………………………………..........................................................

Postal code ………………….. Phone number………………………………..

If you would like your Green Thumb emailed, please include your email address
………………………………………………………………………

GARDENING GUIDE

Mid November to Mid February
Keep bird feeders well stocked - replenish suet frequently.
Reduce watering and feeding of houseplants as they slow down their growth at this time of year.
Rotate houseplants every week so that they have even exposure to light.
Regularly inspect houseplants for insects - spraying with insecticidal soap gets rid of most insects.
Snow can be shoveled onto perennial beds for extra protection.
Remove heavy snow from shrubs and evergreens to prevent branches from breaking.
Use boughs from discarded Christmas trees as mulch over low growing perennials.
Check winter protection - secure and/or replace windbreaks around shrubs.
Examine stored tubers, bulbs, etc. for excess moisture and rotting - repack or change storage area as needed.
Map out garden layout - make a garden wish list for the summer.
Order/buy flower and vegetable seeds early to get the best selection.

Chelsea Flower Show Tour

Bob and Fay Jackson areorganizing a tour to London England May 14-26 2008 to coincide with the world famous Chelsea Flower Show. Spend an entire day at the show plus an opportunity to enjoy a theatre performance in Stratford, a flight on the London Eye, a Thames luncheon cruise, three theatre shows in London and visit 5 UNESCO heritage sites. Price includes two meals most days, all tips, entrance fees, ticket prices, airport taxes, foreign taxes, land transportation and professional tour guides.
Bob and Fay have been hosting tours on behalf of Rostad tours since 1993.
The price of the tour is $5995 less $250 if a deposit of $500 is made before Nov. 30 (fully refundable by the end of Feb and/or if for some reason tour is cancelled).
For more information, you can visit the website www.rostad.com (or phone 1-800-361-8687) for more information. Bob and Fay are away util Nov. 25th but you can reach them after that at 752-4659 or email them at [email protected].

Congratulations to Callander Horticultural Society

Callander was thrilled to have been named the top winner of the Ed Lawrence book sales.
We also wish to congratulate Bracebridge and Argyle who came in 5th and 6th. District 18 should be proud as that makes three (3) of the top six (6) in the Province, come from our District.
We have a tentative date for "An Evening with Ed Lawrence" to come to Callander. That would be Thursday evening, June 12th from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Refreshments. Tickets will be $10.00. Doors will open at 6:00 pm. Proceeds from this event will go towards the construction of a gazebo in Memory Tree Park in Callander.
We invite members of the North Bay Horticultural Society to come and hear him.

Isla Reed

Annual Reports
President’s year end review
The North Bay Horticultural Society has had, by all accounts, a successful year.

This executive has been so great to work with – always enthusiastic, dedicated and committed to carrying on the work that needs to be done to grow this society. The executive got together at the beginning of the year at our annual brainstorming session in January and goals were set. Looking back, we can be proud of the achievements made.
Goals
Initiate a Youth Program
Choose a Youth Leader
Focus on Youth Membership
Develop a Website
Plan and Organize Hands-on Workshops
Increase Revenue at Plant Sale
Plan and Organize a Members Only Garden Tour
Increase Membership
Increase Revenue thru workshops, events

In carrying out our mission statement of fostering the love of gardening, we implemented one of our goals: to find a youth leader to foster that love of gardening in our youth. Janet Vos came forward and volunteered to become our youth leader and with her enthusiasm and experience put together our first youth program called Seedlings Storytime. Eleven new Youth members later and partnering with the North Bay Library, Janet ran a weekly segment for children for 10 weeks in the summer and fall.

Further, our membership told us they wanted to do more hands-on workshops. In response our executive arranged for several workshops during the year which were enjoyed by many: Forcing Bulbs, Living Wreath, Photography with Mike de Moree and Christmas Wreath Arrangement by Bouquet d’Amour. These workshops raised additional revenue of approximately $1500.00 for the society.

Another first, the “Members Only Garden Tour,” was so very well organized by Betty Foy and Geri Openshaw and enjoyed by all. Several gardens were displayed, and not a detail was missed as these ladies organized brochures, signage, refreshments and maps to ensure that gardens were enjoyed by all who attended.

In addition, an unexpected highlight this year was being approached by the North Bay Nugget to write and submit articles for a “Gardening Tip” segment published every Tuesday throughout the summer and fall. We decided to call it “Living Green” and our Living Green committee started putting together articles to submit for publication. Maureen Ranger, Geri Openshaw, Audrey Morton and Rosalyn Charland wrote most of the published-weekly articles, and a huge thank you goes out to Rosalyn for using her expertise to not only write but also to edit our articles.

Then to top that off, the Nugget approached us to submit photos of 15 beautiful yards for publication in their “Beautiful Yard” segment in August. Again, a committee organized the layout and arranged for the newspaper to photograph 15 gardens to be showcased.

With all of the hard work that went into the plant sale organized by Pat Madill and membership campaigns, our revenue was increased by approximately $800.00 for the plant sale and membership grew by 24%.

And while extra time and effort goes into new events and workshops, there is always a ton of dedication put forth in putting on our flower show which June Charette has generously taken on yet again this year and our civic beautification program which Ruby McLeod has graciously managed for so many years.

We have had a full slate this year but what a team! The efforts and dedication of the members that have volunteered their time for this society are outstanding. I have thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every one of you as we have worked together to build partnerships and to accomplish our goals for this past year.

What a great model that this society sets, as we work together to mentor each other and foster the young gardeners of the future.

In appreciation,
Darlene Lecour
President, NBHS

Phone committee
The phone committee was busy calling the membership during the 2007 year, reminding and informing them about meetings and their agendas and speakers.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped me keep our membership informed!
– submitted by Audrey Morton

Volunteer hours
This late breaking news, just in. If you entered our June or August flower show; the O.H.A. convention, or any other major flower shows, all of your preparation time counts as volunteer hours. Wow! Want an incentive to enter these major shows? Taking part in any horticultural event counts as volunteer hours – can you believe it? – volunteer hours are needed to enable our society to successfully earn a government grant.
So grab a pencil and add up the time you spent searching for that perfect rose and come prepared to enter your contribution into the Volunteer Hours book at our next meeting. Our bank account will thank you.
-submitted by Pat Madill

Civic Beautification
Beds were planted these locations in the city :

Canadore College (at the back near the pond) – 5 beds planted by 13 members (1932 plants)
**Canadore College/ Nipissing University pays for the plants usually gives the Society an honorarium.

Dellandrea Place - 3 beds planted by 6 members (480 plants)

Chamber of Commerce – 2 tubs planted by 2 members (8 plants)

North Bay Public Library (at back by Children’s dept.) – 1 large bed planted by 5 members (200 plants)

Waterfront Theme Bed – 1 extra large bed planted by 11 members (2120 plants)

Lilac Bed – has 20 large shrubs cared for by 10 members

Other beds are all financed by our Society.
The waterfront designed by Kim Tipler, an artist who does an excellent job. She enjoys designing the flag and receives an honorarium of $100. There has been trouble with vandals at this bed; they trampled the bed, removed some plants and stole our sign (which states that the bed was planted by our Society). Originally the signs were a donation by one of the engineers at the waterfront. They were made by Price Signs.

To summarize, this year 37 members planted 4740 plants. A sincere thank you goes out to all the members who helped to plant and maintain the flower beds. Your help was greatly appreciated.
– submitted by Ruby McLeod

Publicity & Membership

The North Bay Horticultural Society received some great exposure this year to promote our group. Again this year free advertising services have been used to publicize our monthly meetings & special events through three local radio stations, the Nugget Bulletin Board, CBC Radio, Cogeco Cable, Bay Today, MCTV, City of North Bay web site, Chamber of Commerce & Les Compagnons. A small advertisement was paid for in the Nugget for the Plant Sale. Some of the best exposure we received for our Plant Sale, Garden Tour & Flower Show was through all of the extra advertising June Charette was able to promote. This was done through free radio station advertising, web advertising & chat with Dan & Jamie on the Fox. She definitely got much, much more that the budget allowed for the Flower Show. Great work June!! BayToday.ca was at the Flower Show again this year to cover the event.

Geri asked members receiving the Green Thumb to also post the ads for the Plant Sale at their work, church etc. We know the members were busy promoting memberships with Plant Sale customers and bringing along friends to our meetings, pot lucks or workshops. Good news does travel fast. Membership increased to 164 members from 132 in 2006!!

The Nugget gave the Society some wonderful coverage this year by asking members to write gardening articles for their weekly Tuesday garden feature. We got to display our gardening & writing talents, logo & advertise for the Society. We are hopeful that they will ask for more articles next year from May to October & more members will try their hand at writing. Next the Nugget asked for photos for the ‘Beautiful Garden’ segment. They were looking for garden photos to display along with the related advertising they were selling. Beautiful 8 X 10 pictures featured about 13 member gardens of the 16 shots.

This has been a busy, exciting year in the Society.
Submitted by Maureen Ranger

Society card correspondence report
28 cards were sent to Society members: Anniversary 1,Congratulations 1,
Get well 16,Thinking of you 3, Sympathy 7
-Submitted by Peggy Dillon.
NBHS Youth Coordinator’s Report

In 2007, the North Bay Horticultural Society started a youth program again after many years of not having a youth coordinator.

In May 2007, the first Seedlings Storytime started. The Storytime was partnership between the North Bay Public Library and the Horticultural Society for children aged 4 to 10 years. The program included reading a gardening story to the children, growing plants and preparing gardening related crafts. It ran six weeks over the months of May and June for 10 children.

In October, there will be another Seedlings Storytime at the library running six weeks over the months of October to December. The topic for this session is indoor gardening, Christmas crafts, and crafts created with harvested items. The age group is age 4 to 10 years. This session there will be another helper from the Horticultural Society as well.

Over the year, I attempted to meet with a school board trustee to set up a gardening club at one of the schools in the area. I am still trying to set up a meeting between the horticultural society and him.
-submitted by Janet Vos

Treasurer’s report

Investment savings $ 3500.00
Bank statement (Sept.30/07) $ 1452.61
Outstanding cheques this month $+ 59.11
Deposit $+584.08
Expenditures $ -481.25
Subtract last month’s outstanding cheques $ -281.50
Total current account $1333.05

Expenditures
Horticultural meetings $ 25.00
Green Thumb $ 145.41
Bank charges $ 5.64
Travel $ 50.00
Civic beautification $ 36.09
Donations $ 60.00
Social & gifts $ 34.11
Workshop $ 125.00
TOTAL $ 481.25

Receipts
Membership $ 270.00
Workshop $ 285.84
Plant sale $ 8.70
Social $ 19.54
Total receipts $ 584.08

Master Gardener’s Hotline 495-0920
Have a gardening question? Leave a message on their answering machine and local Master Gardener volunteer will call back with an answer! A free service.

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]

North Bay Horticultural Society
Annual Meeting Minutes

\Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Held at Christ Church, 890 Vimy Street, North Bay, Ontario

President Darlene Lecour called the meeting to order at 7:30pm. 30 members were in attendance.

Business

Minutes of the November 2005 General Meeting Minutes were read by Louise Cicci. Minutes were accepted as read.

MOTION to accept the Treasurer’s Report and Committees’ Annual Reports as printed in the Green Thumb by Pat Madill. SECONDED by June Charette. CARRIED.

622 bulbs were planted in the Lily Bed at the Public Library on November 1st. Thanks to our planters Helen Bannerman, Geri Openshaw, Pat Madill, Maureen Ranger and June Charette.

The society will not have meetings during the months of December or January. Meetings will begin at 7:00pm for February 2008.

Darlene read the 2006 Highlights as printed in the Green Thumb.

Elections were conducted by Vicki Wiemer, District Director.

Executive 1st Year Directors 2nd Year Directors
President: Darlene Lecour Ruby McLeod (Civic Beautification) Audrey Morton (Phone Cmt)
Past-President: Geri Openshaw Janet Philips Laurie Blais (Library)
1st Vice-President : vacant Maureen Ranger (Publicity) June Charette (Flower Show)
2nd Vice-President : Pat Madill Janet Vos (Youth Coord) Judy Watling (Social Cmt)
Secretary: Louise Cicci Lorne Cutts
Treasurer: Ruth Wright
Assistant Directors
Helen Bannerman Rosalyn Charland Ida Clavelle
Bette Callaghan Fara Chenette Eileen Garvey
Norma Quirt Jane Watling Annie McGee
Beth Hewson
Closing Reminders
Seed Catalogue available for $2.00. Subscription for Ontario Gardening discounted to $16.98 for 4 issues yearly. Many thanks to Vicki for running the election. Vacancy on District 18 Executive – contact Ted Reid.
Received the reprint of the OHA History. If we order a certain number we get a discount. Darlene will look into it.
Adjournment
MOTION to adjourn by Deborah Emmerson. SECONDED by June Charette. CARRIED. Guest Speaker: John Tripp on Winter Gardening.

Merry Christmas!