Wed. Nov. 23, 2016: Potluck and DIY Projects


We support our local food bank by collecting donations at each of our meetings!

Wednesday, Nov. 23, 2016

Holiday Potluck
& DIY Projects

7:00pm - 7:30pm
We'll start with our annual holiday potluck social.  Bring along your favourite treats and enjoy the company of our garden friends! :)

7:30pm - 9:00pm 
Many great suggestions came from our first meeting!  This month, we'll explore one of them.  Valerie is going to present a deluge of do-it-yourself ideas for making your own decorative garden art projects.  We'll dive deeper into a few of them to see basic step-by-step instructions.

As a bonus we will make a little something to take home with us!
Please let us know if we need to update your contact information.
thepagc@gmail.com

Wed. Oct. 26, 2016: Rhododendrons 101 & Registration Continues

We support our local food bank by collecting donations at each of our meetings!

Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016

Special Guest:
Rhodo's 101

7:00pm - 7:30pm
Registration continues - it's not too late!

7:30pm - 9:00pm 
Cora Swinamer is a Landscape Designer from Head of St Margaret's Bay and is the owner of Under the Arbor Landscape Design www.underthearbor.ca. She was formerly president of the Atlantic Rhododendron and Horticultural Society. She prepared this presentation for the Society to further their mission to educate and expand the use of Rhododendrons and other Ericaceous (acid loving) plants in the landscape. Cora is a passionate gardener and has spent the past 20 years expanding her collection of rhododendrons, magnolia, ornamental grasses and Japanese Maples. Her gardens have been featured previously in various Garden Tours as well as the former East Coast Gardening Magazine.  Her Landscape Design business allows her to share her knowledge and passion for plants with others.The talk covers topics including how to select and grow rhododendrons and azalea in our maritime gardens.  It includes wonderful photographs of the plants and how they look in mixed borders.  You will receive a handout that lists the 'Top Ten' rhodos and azaleas prepared by the Atlantic Rhododendron and Horticultural Society.

Special thanks to Kathy Parsons for organizing!

New Season Starts Wednesday, September 28, 7pm, PRCC

Come join the fun!
Summer is trying to hold on for us!  These cooler days are a great time to be in the garden!

Wednesday, September 28th is our first meeting of the season and we hope you'll invite your friends!!  We will once again be meeting at the Prospect Road Community Centre.  Social time starts at 7pm.  Business starts at 7:30pm.

Registration fees will be $20 per person or $30 per couple for the year. We will be hosting 8 meetings this year with special guest speakers at many meetings plus plans for potluck socials in both November and May (see the growing schedule in the sidebar).

In our first meeting of the season, we like to share pictures from our gardens.  Please bring up to 30 pictures on a thumb drive or email them in advance to thepagc@gmail.com and I'll get them ready for viewing.

We'll be letting you know more about the planned activities as they take shape.

Don't forget, we're on Facebook too.... just click the button in our sidebar to join!

Thanks to Heather Cox for sharing this beautiful pic of her garden!

June 17 - 19, 2016: Garden Days


Garden Days is Canada’s coast to coast, three-day celebration honouring of the role of gardens in our communities and in our lives. It takes place annually, over the Father’s Day Weekend, June 17 to 19th 2016.

The Maritime spokesperson for Garden Days is best-selling author and award-winning radio host, Niki Jabbour, who is taking part in a ‘Garden Days Garden Party’ at the Halifax Public Gardens on Saturday June 18th from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm.

Garden Days Garden Party:
  • 9:30 to 10:15 am - Gardener Yoga, led by local yogi and garden expert, Jane Rostek.
  • 10:30 to 11 am - Q & A Gardening Panel with Niki Jabbour, Crystal Godfrey (Secret Gardens by Crystal), Iain Jack (Fernwood Plant Nursery) and Jane Rostek. Come ask your gardening questions & get expert advice!
  • 11 to 11:30 am - Niki Jabbour shows how to create a ‘Garden BFF’ planter that features veggies, herbs & edible flowers to feed you AND the pollinators!
  • 11:30 to noon - Jane Rostek shares the best spring-planted bulbs for pots & gardens - dahlias, gladiolas and more!
  • Noon to 12:30 pm - Intimidated by container gardening? Let Crystal Godfrey inspire you with her creative demo on designing a beautiful & artistic potted garden.
  • 12:30 to 1 pm - Iain Jack has Fern Fever! Come learn about the Victorian obsession with ferns as he digs into the roots of ‘Fern Mania’ and showcases rare & unusual varieties.
  • 1 to 1:30 pm - An informal follow-up Q & A with our experts!
Garden Days is organized by the Canadian Garden Council, and is a three-day celebration of gardens and gardening.  The program’s objective is to draw attention to Canada’s garden culture, history and innovations, and to underscore the importance of public and private gardens, the values of home gardening and the promotion of environmental stewardship. 

Garden Days is sponsored by: VIA Rail Canada, Enterprise Canada, GardenDecor.ca, Scotts Miracle-Grow, Garant, Garden Making magazine, Baxter Travel Media and Savvy Gardening, and supported by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association.

Follow Garden Days on Twitter @CanadasGardens and join in the conversation at #GardenDaysCanada.

Like Garden Days on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CanadianGardenCouncil.
For more information about Garden Days, please visit www.gardendays.ca.

For more information, media only, please contact:
Niki Jabbour, tel: 902-221-1859
Email: niki@nikijabbour.com

Carol Cowan, Canadian Garden Council,  tel:  416-929-1066 Email:  zebra@passport.ca

Saturday, June 4, 2016: Our Club Plant Sale

To view the event on Facebook, click here.


When
Saturday, June 4, 2016 @ 9:00am

Where
Prospect Road Elementary School parking lot
(2199 Prospect Rd, Hatchet Lake, NS B3T 1R8, Canada)

What:
The Prospect Area Gardening Club members are potting up some beautiful plants at excellent prices from their very own gardens! Drop in to visit a gardener, talk plants, ask questions, and discover new additions for your garden!

Rain date
The following Saturday, June 11, 2016 @ 9:00am

Wed. May 25, 2016: Potluck Social & Activities

We support our local food bank by collecting donations at each of our meetings!

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Potluck Social
& Activities

Let's wrap up this year's meetings with a big celebration of the sun!

7:00pm - 7:30pm 
We'll start with some social time and get our potluck social underway - it's always a wonderful feast!  Sandra will also have some of her tomato plants for sale with part of the procedes going to Prostate Cancer Canada.

7:30pm - 9:00pm
We'll spend a bit of time planning the final details of the yard sale and finish off the evening with a special video on day lilies shared by Ron and Joan.

See you soon!
Please let us know if we need to update your contact information.
thepagc@gmail.com

NSAGC Plant Sales and More

May 2016 Plant Sales 

  • Bedford Horticultural Society
    Saturday, May 21, 10-11:30
    at the Scott Manor House, 15 Fort Sackville Drive, Bedford
  • Halifax Westmoor Horticultural Society
    Saturday, May 28, 2016 at 9 am.
    at St. John the Baptist Parish Hall, 26 Purcell’s Cove Road, Halifax (near Chocolate Lake Recreational Centre).
  • Dartmouth Horticultural Society Saturday, May 28, 9-11:30
    at the Churchill Academy Gymnasium, 5 Crichton Ave. Dartmouth

Rose Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

I promised I would send out the information of the Rose Milkweed that we gave away at district meeting and here it is.

We still have a few of these large plants left if anyone is interested in purchasing them for $10. They are in a 1 gallon pot. (902) 832-7006 For those who have them, just a reminder, they do need to be hardened off.

Rose Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) is a showy pink blooming asclepias species that is a food plant for Monarch butterfly caterpillers and a nectar source for adult butterflies. Also known as Swamp Milkweed, it grows well in moist or wet soils.

Zones 3 - 9
Native to North America
Full Sun or part sun
Blooms early to late summer, Pink flowers, 3-4 feet tall, up to 3 feet wide.
Grows in any soil, clay, sandy or average soil
Average moisture, also moist or wet soils

NSAGC Email Message

Hi everyone,
Below is an email message that we received from the NSAGC.
Looking forward to seeing everyone this Wednesday evening at the Hammonds Plains Garden Club meeting!
Kind regards,
Val :)

First of all, we have plants for sale.
1. Astilbe:   We have a few Astilbe Peach Blossom left over from the Salt Scapes Expo and I have them in my garage.  Anyone wishing to purchase some or one can email me or call me at 902-832-7006.  They are bare root plants selling for $3.00 each. This plant is deer resistant and attracts butterflies and hummingbirds. Part or full shade, will also tolerate full sun if it has enough moisture. I will be bringing these to Bedford Horts meeting on Monday evening.

2. Ligularia:  We are taking orders for bare root Ligularia Othello.  These are selling for $2 each and I will have them available on June 5th.  Payment is required ahead of time.
To order these, please send me an email.  (pamela.maclean@gmail.com) We will work out payment.  For those who have already ordered through their clubs, there is no need to order again.

3.  District Meeting: Just a reminder for District Meeting on May 7th,  Registration at 9am.

4.  Fourth Annual Gaggle of Gardeners Bus Trip-Thursday July 7th.  Please see the following from Debbie Symonds.

Hi everyone!  It's almost time to Gaggle!

I'm pleased to announce that the Dartmouth Garden Club will be hosting its 4th Annual Gaggle of Gardeners bus trip on Thursday, July 7th, 2016.  I will require confirmation of your registration and your payment no later than June 18th.  This invitation will also be open to other garden clubs and community organizations, and will be advertised extensively this year.  Seats should sell very quickly!  Please note that our bus is a wee bit smaller than last year so we won't be able to sell as many seats (but they assure me the loo will be working!).

We have booked a 48-seat air-conditioned tour bus and I want to fill it to capacity.  Please encourage your family, friends, work colleagues, and neighbours to come along with us--it's going to be a fabulous, fun-filled day of shopping and eating!

Cost to register for the bus trip is $40.00 for Dartmouth Horticultural Society members, $45.00 for all others, and is payable upon registration.  If you are paying by cheque, please make the cheque payable to Dartmouth Horticultural Society, NOT ME.  We take cash and cheques only--no credit cards.  You can give me your payment directly at one of our monthly meetings, you can mail it to me, or you can drop it off at my house (6 Aberdeen Court, Dartmouth, NS, B2X 1K4).

As in the past, I'll provide you with a tentative agenda for the day (subject to change), and important things for you to remember.  

8:45am
Meet at Mic Mac Mall parking lot.  If you are facing the now-abandoned Target store, look to the LEFT of the front doors and you will see the tour bus parked there.
9:00am
Bus leaves Dartmouth and drives straight to Baldwin's Nurseries in Falmouth.
10:00am
Bus arrives at Baldwin's and we shop.
10:45am
Bus leaves Baldwin's and drives to Horlings Plants, Grand Pre.
11:15am
Bus arrives at Horlings and we shop.
12:00pm
Bus leaves Horlings and drives to Evangeline Inn and Motel, Grand Pre.
12:15pm
Bus arrives at Evangeline's Cafe and we eat.
1:00pm
Bus leaves Evangeline's Cafe and drives to Glad Gardens, Waterville.
1:30pm
Bus arrives at Glad Gardens and we shop.
2:15pm
Bus leaves Glad Gardens and drives to Briar Patch Farm and Nursery, Berwick.
2:30pm
Bus arrives at Briar Patch and we shop.
3:15pm
Bus leaves Briar Patch and heads back to Dartmouth.
6:00pm
Bus arrives at Mic Mac Mall where pandemonium ensues.  Please make sure your ride is waiting for you.  Do not leave your plants behind in your excitement to get home.  Anyone abandoned at Mic Mac Mall will NOT have a sleep-over at my house.
We strongly encourage you to take a vacation day and join us.  Weekdays at these nurseries are much less chaotic than weekends, and you don't have to wait in long line-ups to pay for your purchases.
 1.  The cost of the tour does not include purchases made at any of the venues nor does it include lunch.
 2.      Please bring the following items with you (just in case):  bottled water (there's a washroom on the bus), bug spray (if it's humid we'll probably encounter mosquitos, especially at Baldwin's), suntan lotion, wet wipes, light hooded jacket or hooded sweater (in the event of rain) or clear plastic rain poncho from the Dollar Store.  These items can be left on board the bus if you don't need them.
3.  I am going to provide you with approximately 12 stickers that will have your name clearly printed which can be attached to your purchases when they are stowed underneath the bus.  Many of the centers use the same grey plastic bags and it tends to be confusing when we return to Dartmouth and try to figure out which bags belong to which people.  It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye.
 4.      We are going to try to stick to the agenda as closely as we can, so please try to be back at the bus at the required departure times.  We've never had to leave someone behind yet, but you don't want to be the first!
 5.      It might be a good idea to have some cash in your wallet.  Not all vendors take debit cards.  And I'm not lending you any money.
 6.      The bus has a storage compartment underneath the body where we can store our plants and vegetables and baked goods and containers and trees and shrubs and any travellers who misbehave.  Everything will be safe there.
 7.   There will be a minimal amount of walking at the nurseries; however, we will be doing a lot of scurrying from place to place, so be sure to wear comfortable, non-skid walking shoes or sandals.  Try to choose pretty ones.  Ugly shoes can sometimes offend me.
 8.   Keep in mind that this is a long, busy day, so pace yourself and don't overdo it.  I have no intention of giving you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
 9.   Gaggles are fun.  Invite someone you normally shop with to join us.  Remember, it's not a garden tour ... it's a shopping trip.
 10.   Please bring your camera so that you can take lots of photos of our Gaggle having fun.   We'll share the photos later!
 11.   If you could stuff a couple of Sobeys bags in your purse, it would be appreciated.  We might need them for plants or pukers.
12.   There will be no refunds once you have paid your registration fee, so it might be a good idea to have a friend on standby to join the Gaggle in your place (just in case you get sick the day of the tour).
 13.   The actual agenda might change slightly by the time we actually leave.  Sometimes garden centers close early, or they don't have enough staff mid-week, or they've heard about us and don't want us to come visit them.
 14.   Fingers crossed—if you are well-behaved, I might consider planning the Gaggle trip next year!
 Debbie
Deborah A. Symonds
6 Aberdeen Court, Dartmouth, NS   B2X 1K4
dsymonds@hotmail.com
902.435.9010