There are two seasons in Ottawa-winter and construction? Not so for our gardens. We can enjoy the beauty of nature and our gardens all year long with a little planning and know how. Big or small, seeing our gardens as four-season tableaus keeps our gardens “alive” in our minds and hearts.

MHS is honoured to present an evening with renowned and influential gardener, Paul Zammit. Enjoy this enthusiastic presentation filled with advice and insights from the winner of the 2019 Landscape Ontario, Garden Communicator of the Year award.

Paul Zammit is a professor of horticulture at Niagara College. Previously, Paul spent 10 years as the director of horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Paul has been a passionate voice for horticulture for over 25 years. His knowledge has been showcased in magazines, television, and radio

As climate change brings hotter weather, more extreme precipitation events, and drought, how can we gardeners adapt? Master Gardener Rebecca Last addresses strategies for water-wise gardening in four general categories: water conservation techniques, including soil building; water harvesting; plant selection; and garden design, including a brief introduction to permaculture.

COVID-19 Arrangements

In line with the Firehall’s virtual-programming approach, Garden Club meetings will be held, at least until the end of the year, virtually using the Zoom application. Members should register either for the season or on a meeting-by-meeting basis with the Firehall’s online registration process to receive the Zoom meeting coordinates. Registration for tours will be directly with the tour organizer. Mask-use and appropriate physical distancing during tours must be observed.

Meeting Fees:

2020—21 season: $25 for individuals; $40 for a family; drop-in fee—$7 per meeting. Fees for Gees Bees and Riverwood Gardens tours and the seasonal workshop are extra.

Old Ottawa South Community Centre (The Firehall—260 Sunnyside Ave.) at 613 247-4946 and www.oldottawasouth.ca

Cette présentation est une introduction au jardinage biologique, avec une emphase sur la production maraichère. Joignez-vous à Odette McIntyre, Maître-Jardinier, pour cet atelier en français sur le vocabulaire sur le jardinage biologique; les pour et les contre de cette approche; les techniques; une compréhension de votre propre jardin; des analyses simples de votre sol; des idées de gestion des mauvaises herbes, des insectes nuisibles et des maladies; la rotation des récoltes et le co-jardinage de plantes compagnes. Odette va partager une liste de ressources pour le jardinage biliogique dans la région d’Ottawa. 

À propos d’Odette McIntyre

Odette a eu le coup de foudre pour l’horticulture à l’âge de 8 ans, dans son village natal de Ste Anne de Beaupré, Québec. Elle a poursiuivi des études en Phytotechnologie à l’Institut de Technologie Agricole de La Pocatière. Après sa graduation en 1980, Odette a travaillé au Jardin Botanique de Montréal avant de déménager dans la région de Toronto où elle a continué à oeuvrer en Horticulture dans la Région de York.  Odette est devenue Maître-Jardinier en 2015. Elle vient de se relocaliser à Ottawa en 2020.

You can grow vegetables here and there and anywhere! Join Master Gardener Judith Cox for an introduction to vegetable gardening.

A Master Gardener since 2011, Judith Cox has always loved working with plants, and enjoys sharing that love with others. Heritage vegetables are a favourite of hers along with roses and herbs and fairy gardens. After working for 15 years as the gardener for Saunders Farm, she is now a garden consultant and a volunteer at Master Gardener advice clinics at local farmer’s markets. As of 2020, she is president of the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society and writes a weekly column called Veggie Bites. She also sells her watercolour/pen and ink cards.

The Friends of the Farm Board of Directors cordially invites you to attend our 2021 Annual General Meeting. Membership in FCEF is not required to attend; however only FCEF members are eligible to vote. The business portion of the meeting will be followed by a virtual presentation entitled Horticultural Therapy: Connecting with Nature from horticultural therapist Sarah Shapiro. 

Please register through our website if you would like to attend. The meeting link with be sent only to those who have registered. 

Sarah Shapiro practices horticultural therapy at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa. She runs both one-on-one and group horticultural therapy programs for veterans and and community seniors, including those with dementia and in palliative care. Sarah incorporates complementary and adjunct therapies into her programs, including mindfulness, meditation, and aromatherapy. She is a member of the Ottawa Horticultural Society, the Ottawa Herb Society, the Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association, and the Friends of the Farm. 

• The Friends of the Farm board of directors cordially invites the public to attend our 2021 Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Membership in FCEF is not required to attend; however only fully paid members may vote.

• The AGM will be held virtually. Details to follow soon.

• The meeting will be followed by a virtual presentation from the horticultural therapist Sarah Shapiro.

• Please register if you plan to attend. The meeting link will be sent only to registered attendees. 

• If you are a member, please make arrangements to renew your membership, if necessary, to be eligible to vote. You can do so in one of two ways: by printing the membership form and sending with cheque payment via mail, or by renewing online prior to the meeting. Please provide adequate time for your renewal to be processed (2 weeks for mail, 24 hours for online).

Sarah Shapiro practices horticultural therapy at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa. She runs both one-on-one and group horticultural therapy programs for veterans and community seniors, including those with dementia and in palliative care. Sarah incorporates complementary and adjunct therapies into her programs, including mindfulness, meditation, and aromatherapy. She is also a member of the Ottawa Horticultural Society, Ottawa Herb Society, The Canadian Horticultural Therapy Association, and the Friends of the Farm.

COST: Admission is free, but registration is required to obtain the link to the meeting’s platform.

INFO:  The Friends of the Farm office is closed, and voicemail messages are monitored on an irregular basis. Email info@friendsofthefarm.ca for any issues.

Spring is coming and with it the Ottawa Horticultural Society’s second-ever online plant sale! This sale will offer a variety of indoor plants, perennials including native plants, and will feature seedlings of annuals, edibles, and perennials, all donated by OHS members.  All items will be “buy now” for immediate sale; no auction items.

Link to the sale: https://www.32auctions.com/OHS2021

The sale website opens at 10:00 a.m. on May 22nd and closes at 6:00 p.m. on May 25th.

The sale will be run through 32Auctions, the same site as we ran our Fall sale and Auction.  Before the sale site opens, you will need to create a username and password for the 32auctions site if you don’t already have one.  You can do so here: https://www.32auctions.com/ by clicking on the “Login” link and then following the link that says “Don’t have an account? Create an account now”.

All plants purchased will be available for pick-up on Sat. May 29, 2021 between 12 and 3 pm at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 1606 Fisher Ave. at Normandy Cres. (Ottawa) in the parking lot behind the church (entrance to parking lot is on Normandy). Please wear a mask and follow social distancing rules.

Please bring your item numbers and names of items, boxes or trays to carry your plants, and proof of payment. Payment can be made through Stripe on the auction website. Credit card/debit payments will also be accepted at the time of pick-up, as well as cheques. No cash please – we are trying to be as contactless as possible.

Spring is coming and with it the Ottawa Horticultural Society’s second-ever online plant sale! This sale will offer a variety of indoor plants, perennials including native plants, and will feature seedlings of annuals, edibles, and perennials, all donated by OHS members.  All items will be “buy now” for immediate sale; no auction items.

The link to the sale is https://www.32auctions.com/OHS2021

The sale website opens at 10:00 a.m. on May 22nd and closes at 6:00 p.m. on May 25th.

The sale will be run through 32Auctions, the same site as we ran our Fall sale and Auction.  Before the sale site opens, you will need to create a username and password for the 32auctions site if you don’t already have one.  You can do so here: https://www.32auctions.com/ by clicking on the “Login” link and then following the link that says “Don’t have an account? Create an account now”.

All plants purchased will be available for pick-up on Sat. May 29, 2021 between 12 and 3 pm at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 1606 Fisher Ave. at Normandy Cres. (Ottawa) in the parking lot behind the church (entrance to parking lot is on Normandy). Please wear a mask and follow social distancing rules.

Please bring your item numbers and names of items, boxes or trays to carry your plants, and proof of payment. Payment can be made through Stripe on the auction website. Credit card/debit payments will also be accepted at the time of pick-up, as well as cheques. No cash please – we are trying to be as contactless as possible.

Spring is coming and with it the Ottawa Horticultural Society’s second-ever online plant sale! This sale will offer a variety of indoor plants, perennials including native plants, and will feature seedlings of annuals, edibles, and perennials, all donated by OHS members.  All items will be “buy now” for immediate sale; no auction items.

The link to the sale is https://www.32auctions.com/OHS2021

The sale website opens at 10:00 a.m. on May 22nd and closes at 6:00 p.m. on May 25th.

The sale will be run through 32Auctions, the same site as we ran our Fall sale and Auction.  Before the sale site opens, you will need to create a username and password for the 32auctions site if you don’t already have one.  You can do so here: https://www.32auctions.com/ by clicking on the “Login” link and then following the link that says “Don’t have an account? Create an account now”.

All plants purchased will be available for pick-up on Sat. May 29, 2021 between 12 and 3 pm at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 1606 Fisher Ave. at Normandy Cres. (Ottawa) in the parking lot behind the church (entrance to parking lot is on Normandy). Please wear a mask and follow social distancing rules.

Please bring your item numbers and names of items, boxes or trays to carry your plants, and proof of payment. Payment can be made through Stripe on the auction website. Credit card/debit payments will also be accepted at the time of pick-up, as well as cheques. No cash please – we are trying to be as contactless as possible.

Spring is coming and with it the Ottawa Horticultural Society’s second-ever online plant sale! This sale will offer a variety of indoor plants, perennials including native plants, and will feature seedlings of annuals, edibles, and perennials, all donated by OHS members.  All items will be “buy now” for immediate sale; no auction items.

The link to the sale is https://www.32auctions.com/OHS2021

The sale website opens at 10:00 a.m. on May 22nd and closes at 6:00 p.m. on May 25th.

The sale will be run through 32Auctions, the same site as we ran our Fall sale and Auction.  Before the sale site opens, you will need to create a username and password for the 32auctions site if you don’t already have one.  You can do so here: https://www.32auctions.com/ by clicking on the “Login” link and then following the link that says “Don’t have an account? Create an account now”.

All plants purchased will be available for pick-up on Sat. May 29, 2021 between 12 and 3 pm at St. Mark’s Anglican Church, 1606 Fisher Ave. at Normandy Cres. (Ottawa) in the parking lot behind the church (entrance to parking lot is on Normandy). Please wear a mask and follow social distancing rules.

Please bring your item numbers and names of items, boxes or trays to carry your plants, and proof of payment. Payment can be made through Stripe on the auction website. Credit card/debit payments will also be accepted at the time of pick-up, as well as cheques. No cash please – we are trying to be as contactless as possible.

Don’t miss the OHS’s featured speaker for 2021, Doug Tallamy!

Recent headlines about global insect declines and three billion fewer birds in
North America are a bleak reality check about how ineffective our
current landscape designs have been at sustaining the plants and animals
that sustain us. Such losses are not an option if we wish to continue
our current standard of living on Planet Earth. The good news is that
none of this is inevitable.

Professor and author Doug Tallamy will discuss simple steps that each of us can –
and must – take to reverse declining biodiversity and will explain why
we, ourselves, are nature’s best hope.

Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife
Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 104
research publications and has taught insect related courses for 40
years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many
ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine
the diversity of animal communities. His book “Bringing Nature Home: How
Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens” was published by Timber
Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden
Writers’ Association. “The Living Landscape”, co-authored with Rick
Darke, was published in 2014.

Doug’s new book “Nature’s Best Hope”, released by Timber Press in February 2020, is a New York Times Best
Seller. Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas
Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence, the
2018 AHS B.Y. Morrison Communication Award and the 2019 Cynthia Westcott
Scientific Writing Award.

Photo provided by the speaker.

————————-
This presentation will be a free Webinar. There is no registration required.
Please consider supporting the future activities of the OHS though
renewing your membership or joining for $15/yr, or though a donation at https://ottawahort.org

How to view the presentation:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMkJSn2gaoejcGCdzK6xRWg

To join the presentation, please click on the YouTube link to go to the
OHS YouTube Channel. To simply watch the presentation there is nothing
else you need to do. The presentation will also be recorded and
available at this link afterwards. The easiest way to find the channel
is using the link; if you are on YouTube and do a search please use
Ottawa Horticultural Society (we aren’t the only ones that use OHS as an
acronym!).

Starting the video:
Once you are on the site, you must click on the rectangle of the video to
start watching. Until 7:30 you will see a screen that says the
presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m., so please be patient.

Involving children in the garden will not only give you joy but will also give them a new look at the world.  As an honorary garden fairy herself, Judith Cox, Master Gardener, has a background as a nursery school teacher and is superb at engaging little people in simple gardening activities.  

A Master Gardener since 2011, Judith Cox has always loved working with plants, and enjoys sharing that love with others.  Heritage vegetables are a favourite of hers along with roses and herbs and fairy gardens.  After working for 15 years as the gardener for Saunders Farm, she is now a garden consultant and speaker, and a volunteer at Master Gardener advice clinics at local farmer’s markets. As of 2020, she is president of the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society and writes a weekly column called Veggie Bites. 

Are you tired of weeding, mowing, watering your lawn?  Have you considered going grassless?  Master Gardener Julianne Labreche decided to remove the turf grass from her front yard and transform the yard into a ‘meadowscape’ for pollinators, including bees and butterflies.  Julianne will discuss the ‘how’s and why’s’  of going grassless a brief history of the North American lawn costs, challenges and care of lawns zone-appropriate plant alternatives to sod ideas and inspiration on ways to create a grassless front garden

About the speaker:

Julianne Labreche has been a Master Gardener for over two decades with the Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton. She is also certified as a Master Naturalist. Her nature and garden articles are published regularly in Lee Valley Tools. Julianne’s garden is certified with the Canadian Wildlife Federation and with Monarch Watch. She is a recipient of an Ontario Service Medal for her volunteer work. She loves to garden ‘on the wild side’ with a focus on native plants, pollinators and birds. 

Speaker & Topic TBA
Plus: Plant & Vegetable Show and election of WCGC executive for 2021 – 2022

Zoom event.

Please pre-register. There are limited spaces.

Email: presentation@wcgc.ca with your name and email address.

A Zoom invitation will be sent to you a few days before the
event. 

 Free for members, $5 for guests. Annual membership: $15
(solo); $20 (family)

If you live in a place where you don’t have any regular garden beds, such as an apartment or condo, containers are the way to go to still enjoy the benefits of gardening while saving you time and energy and requiring little space.  Containers of plants are like miniature gardens that can be placed anywhere to add instant charm, a focal point or supply vegetables and herbs.  Master Gardeners Catherine Disley and Rob Stuart will cover the basics of container gardening – the type of soil best for the types of plants you want to grow, when and how often to water, and the importance of mulching, deadheading and winter storage. Discover what is required to get optimum growth and what plant combinations do well in sun, shade or some of each.

We’ll also explain how to craft a DIY hewn stone-look planter where you can grow many alpine type plants all in a small container! 

About the speakers:

Catherine Disley has worked in a variety of horticultural industries such as garden centres, florists, and interior tropical plant maintenance.  Drawing on her floral design background, she creates container arrangements combining interesting plants, flowers and foliage.  She grows vegetables and small fruits, as well as perennial and annual flowers to support beneficial insects, pollinators and wildlife.  Catherine has been a member of Master Gardeners of Ottawa Carleton for 12 years and enjoys providing gardening advice and promoting the use of native plants and sustainable gardening practices.  

Rob Stuart started a vegetable plot at 10 and he has been an avid gardener ever since. He has grown vegetable and flowers wherever he has lived. Since 2003, he has focused on alpine gardening and is an active member of rock garden societies where he takes full advantage of seed exchanges. He currently volunteers with the Friends of the Farm, weeding weekly in the Rock Garden.  He grows most of his plants from seed.  He is also adept at other methods of propagation: cuttings; soft, hard and root; layering; division and the use of leaf cuttings.   He obtained his Master Gardener accreditation from the University of Guelph in 2016 and enjoys sharing his knowledge.  

Online presentation by David Galbraith of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Burlington.

The story of the early development of botanical and large public gardens in Canada has been largely overlooked by historians. A few existing gardens with 19th century roots are well known, like the Halifax Public Gardens and the gardens at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. Nearly all other extant botanical gardens in Canada were founded in the 20th Century, as major public parks and gardens. Before 1900 a variety of botanical gardens were either proposed or constructed and then lost, especially in Quebec and Ontario, and their stories have been largely forgotten. Throughout the 19th Century several others were proposed but never built. We’ll look at some of the intriguing characters behind these projects such as Christian Ramsey, 9th Countess of Dalhousie, John Litchfield, and Egerton Ryerson, and contrast their gardens with those that have survived, placing them in their historical contexts.

Speaker David Galbraith is head of science at Ontario’s Royal Botanical Gardens. He joined RBG in 1995 to help link botanical gardens across Canada around plant conservation projects. Since becoming head of science in 2006 he has been responsible for staff in RBG’s herbarium, library, archives, and plant taxonomy. He has become interested in the histories of botanical gardens as educational and research centres as well as their cultural origins. This has been in part because RBG’s extensive archival collections, including those of the Centre for Canadian Historical Horticultural Studies, are managed within his department. Beginning with RBG’s own history and cultural landscape, David has been extending his research into the origins and cultural connections of botanical gardens across Canada.

Photo from City of Toronto Archives provided by the speaker.

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This presentation will be a free Webinar. There is no registration required. Please consider supporting the future activities of the OHS though renewing your membership or joining for $15/yr, or though a donation at https://ottawahort.org

How to view the presentation:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMkJSn2gaoejcGCdzK6xRWg

To join the presentation, please click on the YouTube link to go to the OHS YouTube Channel. To simply watch the presentation there is nothing else you need to do. The presentation will also be recorded and available at this link afterwards. The easiest way to find the channel is using the link; if you are on YouTube and do a search please use Ottawa Horticultural Society (we aren’t the only ones that use OHS as an acronym!).

Starting the video:

Once you are on the site, you must click on the rectangle of the video to start watching. Until 7:30 you will see a screen that says the presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m., so please be patient.

Le jardinage en contentants est un moyen d’avoir un jardin même si vous avez peu d’espace (p.ex. sur un balcon).  Il est aussi une façon de faire pousser des annuelles, des herbes, des légumes et des plantes d’intérieur de façon qu’ils pourraient être déplacés facilement dans votre espace à l’extérieur.   Toutefois, pour avoir du succès avec cette mode de jardinage il faut suivre quelques pratiques et prendre en consideration quelques règles.  Joignez-vous à Claire McCaughey, Maître Jardinier pour cet atelier en français  où Claire discutera le choix de plantes, les types de contenants, le terrau pour les contenants, fertilisation, les ravageurs et maladies des plantes, et quoi faire avec votre jardin en contenants à la fin de la saison.

À propos de Claire McCaughey

Claire a toujours aimé le jardinage depuis son enfance en Irlande.  Sa grande-mère avait un grand jardin sauvage. Il y a six ans, elle s’est mis à étudier formellement l’horticulture et l’aménagement de paysage dans les programmes de l’Université de Guelph.  Elle s’est joint à Master Gardeners d’Ottawa en 2015 et elle a reçu son certification comme Maître-Jardinier en 2018.  Elle a aussi une petite entreprise de jardinage. Elle aime beaucoup aider les gens à résoudre les problèmes et défis du jardin et à créer des beaux jardins.   Parmi ses intérêts courants sont les plantes indigènes et les jardins de plantes comestibles. 

“Thugs Bullies and Sneaks” with Rebecca Last, Master Gardener

This talk addresses the issue of selecting the right plant for the right location. It offers a review of plants to be wary of – those that have thuggish tendencies or other unfortunate outcomes when improperly sited.

All meetings start at 7:30 pm. This year’s programs will be presented virtually by Zoom. Members will be sent a link to the Zoom meeting. Non-members can email pakenhamhort@gmail to receive the link. All are welcome