Dunnville Horticulture Society

January Program Night Minutes

January 16, 2020 DHS Program Night Minutes
Optimist Club Hall, Dunnville
By: Petra Kruis Daly

A Welcome by DHS President Deb Zynomirski at 7:01pm was given to all attending the evening, Deb then introduced a few topics:
Everyone is asked to sign in at the entrance, they are also encouraged to purchase the ‘Ways and Means’ tickets at the back of the hall, and to purchase memberships for 2020.
Our new volunteer student Brian Liberty was introduced, he will be helping with the audio/visual equipment.
Treasurer’s Report is posted on the back wall, any questions are to be directed to Sharon Sykes, Treasurer.
October minutes are on the back of the agenda and previously emailed to members.

Deb Z then made the following announcements:
Congratulations and welcome to our newest Board Members:
Susan Emery
Angela Latham
Colleen O’Reilly
Sharon Sykes, Treasurer
Look out for the upcoming issue of OHA’s Trillium Magazine (online edition),for an article on our Thompson Creek project submitted by Debbie Thomas.
Also check out the Sachem articles continued by Marlene Link, as well as Haldimand Press articles by Lester Fretz.
Canada Blooms event in Toronto at the Enercare Centre is during March, 13-22, details on the bulletin board at the back.DHS has no planned trip this year
Nelly E was asked to come up and she thanked those who brought snacks for tonight: Wray M, Jenny E, Martha G and Anna O. The following members volunteered to bring snacks for the February Program night: Susan M, Beth P, MaryEllen P and Evelyn W. Thanks were given to all those who volunteer in this capacity.

Deb Z then announced that our break would begin, and for the next 10 minutes everyone was encouraged to take refreshments and snacks, as well as purchase tickets for the Ways and Means, which helps cover the cost of the hall rental each month.

At 7:26pm Deb Z called the meeting to order and introduced the panel of Lester Fretz, Petra Kruis Daly, and herself, who will briefly speak of a variety of garden topics and answer questions from the floor.

After an informative and lively discussions about gardening, Deb Z thanked the panel, then made a few final announcements:
The annual ‘Quint Night’ will be held at the legion on Feb 19. Anyone interested in attending should contact Deb Z. ( $20 per person dinner and speakers).
Topics for the Program nights this year are as follows:
February: Orchids
March: Gardening with climate change
April: Earthgen: Unusual Native trees
May: Mushrooms and Fungi
June: Pollinators: How pollination works.
September: On the Trail Of Monarchs
October: Terrariums
November AGM: Porch Pots

Deb Z then wished everyone a good evening and hoped to see all at February’s Program night. Ways and Means tickets were drawn and winners claimed their prizes.

Talleys for tonight: Guests in attendance:53
Kitchen donations: $57.40
Ways and Means:$61
Memberships sold:$290.00

The 12 Days of (Gardening) Christmas

By Deb Zynomirski, Dunnville Horticultural Society President

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my garden gave to me:

Twelve seeds a sprouting,

Eleven buds a bursting,

Ten dirty fingernails,

Nine days of rain,

Eight weeks of joy,

Seven plants for sharing,

Six weeds a spreading,

Five garden slugs!

Four bird feeders,

Three flowers blooming,

Two bees a buzzing,

And a perfect round tomato!

Merry Christmas to all the gardeners out there! Dunnville Horticultural Society held its annual potluck and AGM on November 21, 2019. Our wonderful members shared in delicious fare and we celebrated our 90th birthday with a huge cake.

The 2020 board of directors was sworn in by Amber Cuthbertson of OHA District 9: Petra Kruis-Daly (Secretary), Sharon Sykes (Treasurer), Debbie Thomas (Past-President), Directors Kim Christoff, Susan Emery, Nelly Engelage, Gloria Hunter, Angela Latham, Wray McLean, Colleen O’Reilly, and myself, Deb Zynomirski (President).

Thank you to the many Dunnville businesses who donated prizes and gift cards for our raffle table! A presentation on “Houseplants 101” was provided. We also enjoyed a tremendous display of photographs for our four-season photo contest. Winners were as follows: spring photo Lester Fretz, summer photo MaryLou Johnson, fall photo Gwen VanNatter, winter photo Cheryl Brown. Congratulations!

Join us again in 2020 for our next get-together on Thursday, January 16 at 7 p.m. at the Dunnville Optimist Hall. A panel of experts will share their knowledge on all things gardening! Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a “green and growing” New Year!

Gardening with Dunnville Horticultural Society in 2020

By Deb Zynomirski,

DHS President

To The Haldimand Press

 

DUNNVILLE—Happy New Year to all you wonderful gardeners out there!

Well, if “green and growing” is your resolution for 2020, then Mother Nature has gotten you off on the right foot this year! The recent mild temperatures have had many garden plants and animals confused. On Boxing Day I spotted a garter snake, my Mother saw a Great Blue Heron, and other friends have reported seeing early tulips poking through the soil. While winter is sure to return and cover everything in a frosty blanket, it was a nice reminder of spring’s resilient return in a few months.

In the meantime, Dunnville Hort Society is back to our regular Program Nights after our holiday break. Join us this Thursday evening at the Dunnville Optimist Club where perennial favourite, Lester Fretz, will regale us with his photos and expert advice on everything from trellis gardens to raised beds. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program starts at 7 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

DHS is excited about our 2020 speaker slate which include the following topics: Orchids, Native Trees, Pollination 101, On the Trail of Monarchs, and more!

Why not join us and bring a friend? What better way to get your 2020 underway, and get yourself “green and growing” too?! Get involved, and keep from becoming “ripe and rotten”!

Haldimand 4-H Garden Club reviews 2019

By Morgan Schaeffer, 

4-H Club Press Reporter

To The Haldimand Press

 

Meeting 1: We had our first meeting May 8, 2019 at the Schaeffer home. We had a great first meeting. We played a fun game about veggies. We discussed recipes that included our favourite fruits and veggies. We had our elections, which resulted in River as President, Olivia as Vice President, Caitlyn as Secretary, and Morgan as Press Reporter.

We received all of our plants for our gardens. We all received the criteria for growing our gardens. The meeting was adjourned. We then enjoyed snacks and drinks and went home excited about planting our gardens.

Meeting 2: We all met in Dunnville at the bridge parking lot on May 25 with the Dunnville Horticultural Society for the town planting day. We were given a bed to plant and we all worked hard to get it done.

Meeting 3: On June 22 we were very lucky to be able to visit Shared Harvest Farm in  Dunnville. We met at the farm and the farmer took us on a tour. He explained all about the way things grow without the use of pesticides and how much better it is for our bodies. This was a great experience.

Meeting 4: On July 10 we met at Judy’s Greenhouse. Judy always does cool things with us. This year we got to build bird houses. We took them home unfinished and then painted them and decorated them the way we wanted and entered them in Achievement Day. During the meeting, we learned about home remedies to control mildew on plants. Thank you to Margret of Judy’s Greenhouses for all you do for this club.

Meeting 5: On September 19 we met at Windecker Woods Flower Farm. We toured the flowers and learned about different types of beds and about flowers from seeds and flowers from bulbs. These beds of flowers were beautiful and as we went through the flowers Petra cut flowers for each of us to take home a beautiful bouquet of fresh cut flowers.

Meeting 6: September 19 we had our Achievement Day with the Dunnville Horticulture Society at the Dunnville Optimist Hall.

We all put entries in for the largest sunflower head, an animal made from a vegetable, a decorated pumpkin, our bird houses all decorated, and a 4×6 picture of us in our garden. These classes were judged by Hort members and prizes and ribbons were given out to the winners. Congratulations to Ben for the best garden.
This was a great club with eight members and two leaders.
Some of our gardens did not do so well this summer, but we did have some that were great.
As a club we say thank you to our leaders.

Laughter and gardening make the best medicine

sunflower is actually made up of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers on one stalk. - Gisele Winton Sarvis/Torstar
Marlene Link shares some fun and silly garden facts
OPINION Jan 04, 2020 by Marlene Link The Sachem

Happy New Year everyone! This year, you will be able to astound your friends and family with these little-known facts about gardens and plants.

For example, did you know that a sunflower is actually made up of 1,000 to 2,000 individual flowers on one stalk?

Or, that there are more micro-organisms in one teaspoon of soil than there are people on Earth? They keep your soil full of nutrients.

In addition, according to studies, plants really do respond to sound. So, keep talking, singing and playing music to keep your plants happy and growing.

Also, did you know that butterflies are more attracted to weeds than to your plants? This is because the breeding process for many of the flowering plants we buy in stores has eliminated a lot of their fragrance. Make sure you sow heirloom variety seeds and plants for more butterflies.

Here’s another interesting tidbit: if you sprinkle baking soda into your tomato soil, it will sweeten your crop and make them less acidic.

Composting doesn’t have to be a long and laborious process. For a quick way to cheat on composting, apply coffee grounds, eggshells, chopped banana peels and other organic matter directly into the soil when planting.

Now we all know some fun (and silly) facts about gardening. Share them with your friends for a chuckle. Laughter combined with gardening makes the best medicine.

Why not join other happy gardeners and would-be gardeners at the Dunnville Horticultural Society’s next program night, Jan. 16?

We will be welcoming local garden expert and group favourite Lester Fretz.

We meet every third Thursday at the Optimist Club Hall, 101 Main St., from 7 to 9 p.m. Or visit us online at our Facebook page, or website www.dunnvillehortandgardenclub.org

For questions or comments, contact president Deb Zynomirski at 416-566-9337 or debzyn@gmail.com.

Marlene Link is a member of the Dunnville Horticultural Society.