March 2016
Happy Spring!!!!! It’s almost here! The days are finally getting longer. I can drive to work and home again in the daylight. I love this time of year: we can finally burst out of our cocoons of forced-air heated homes and bulky, scratchy winter clothes and get ready to take in the sunshine and….wait a minute. I think I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still March and I’m sure we’ll get more snow. Maybe it’s best not to put our winter clothes away just yet. After all, last month Wiarton Willie said 6 more weeks of winter. But it won’t be long until we can get out and start digging!
Our spring and summer events are coming fast. First on the agenda will be the Lions’ Home & Garden show in April at the Dunnville Memorial Arena. It’s a two day event, Friday the 15th and Saturday the 16th. Please plan on helping out with a shift or two manning the booth. Last year we had a great time with our membership drive and demonstrations and I’m sure there’s more of the same planned for this year.
Our Trillium Awards committee is taking a break this year. The awards are an integral part of our society and we’ve decided that maybe it’s time to take a long hard look at the rules and regulations and see if there is room for some changes. We will keep you posted if and when any changes are made and the awards will definitely be back, better than ever, in 2017! So while the awards are on hiatus we will be have a day of “members only” garden tours. We have numerous members offering up their gorgeous gardens for viewing. Mark your calendars: the date is Sunday, July 10th from 10:00 am to 2:00 p.m.
Each year the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade accepts nominations for Ontario Volunteer Service Awards. Recipients are recognized for continuous years of service as volunteers in their communities and this year the DHS has nominated Karen Waltham, Doris Thomson and Janice Croft who each have 30+ years. All three ladies are life members: Karen and Janice have both served as President and Doris has served as Secretary and Treasurer. The awards will be presented in a special ceremony at the Vittoria and District Community Centre on March 31st with our President and Vice-President attending. There will be many special ceremonies held across Ontario where recipients are presented with a stylized trillium service pin and a personalized certificate acknowledging their years of service. Congratulations, ladies, on your nominations and thank you for your many years of hard work and dedication with the Dunnville Horticultural Society.
Speaking of volunteer awards, our very own Steve Elgersma has been nominated by the DHS for the Chamber of Commerce’s prestigious Citizen of the Year award for volunteering in Dunnville. I do believe that Steve logs the most volunteer hours (non-executive) for our society well as volunteering for other organizations in town. At almost any given time you will see him in the town flowerbeds weeding and cleaning up. Thank you, Steve, for your tireless efforts. Many services in our area rely on volunteers and Dunnville is very lucky to have someone like you.
Our guest speaker last month was Theresa Forte. She talked to our group about naturalizing our gardens to attract butterflies, bees and birds. She showed many beautiful photographs that she had taken and generously donated a matted photograph for a door prize. Thank you, Theresa for your wonderful demonstration.
This month our guest speaker will be Adam Koziol from Earthgen, in Dunnville. His topic will be “Native Tree Plantings with Fast Results”. Earthgen is an innovative grower of native trees located just outside of town with new methods of propagating and growing for environmentally sound and fast results. I really have no idea how to explain it so be sure to come and listen to Adam on Thursday. This should prove to be a very informative evening.
Don’t forget that this upcoming get-together is on St. Patrick’s Day so don’t be surprised to see some leprechauns greeting you at the door!
See you then!
Sue Mazi, DHS Corresponding secretary.
Essential advice for the gardener: grow peas of mind, lettuce be thankful, squash selfishness, turnip to help thy neighbor, and always make thyme for loved ones. ~Author Unknown