August 2014

Hello everyone! I can’t believe it’s August already. The summer is flying by and I hope you are all enjoying it. It hasn’t been super-hot this summer and I guess that’s a good thing especially if you’re trying to work outside in your garden. This is such a fabulous time for reaping what we sow in our veggie gardens. I just canned some zucchini relish and soon I’ll be canning peaches. I can’t wait.

Our bus trip to Whistling Gardens and Bonnieheath Lavender Estate Winery was amazing! Thank you to Darren Heimbecker and Steve & Anita Buehner for being wonderful hosts at both venues. St. James Eatery out of Waterford catered the lunch and it was absolutely delicious. After our guided tour of Whistling Gardens we were able to eat lunch and wander about until we were whisked off to Bonnieheath Lavender Estate to see the beautiful white and purple lavender fields. Thank you to our vice president Debbie Thomas for organizing this event. The bus was full and everyone had a good time. Some photos have been uploaded to our website so be sure to check them out.

After a well-deserved break in July your executive and directors immediately got back to work. The Trillium Award Committee sent out an army of judges to scrutinize the more than 40 homes that were nominated for the prestigious awards. 15 residential properties and 3 commercial properties received this year’s award: 628 South Cayuga Street W., 414 Maple Street, 39 Oswego Park, 438 Robinson Rd., 438 Broad St. W., 8 Meadowbrook, 2610 Lakeshore Rd., 787 Marshall Rd., 405 Chestnut St., 908 Cedar St., 1362 Bird Rd., 112 Jarrett Place, 113 Kneider Blvd., 450 Main St. W., 440 Broad St. E., Highway Chapel Church, Dunnville & District Credit Union, and the Dunnville Public Library. Congratulations to all the winners!

Trillium Awards are a very important part of our society’s mandate. Each year we honour Dunnville’s denizens for their hard work making their homes and gardens beautiful. By working hard to make their properties beautiful they are in turn making our town beautiful. We will be presenting the Trillium Awards to the winners at our upcoming general meeting on August 21st. Please be sure to attend to congratulate the recipients and to savour a piece of the Trillium cake.   Many of our present day members first came to a meeting because they won an award and ended up joining. We look forward to Councillor Lorne Boyko assisting with the presentations as he has for the past few years.

Our speaker for the upcoming August general meeting will be Leanne Dykun of Blooming Designs which is located in downtown Dunnville. She will be giving a floral demonstration. Pay close attention because she’ll be offering up great tips on how to put together a winning entry for the Flower & Vegetable show in September.

Speaking of the Flower & Vegetable show, director Pauline Bradford has put together a fun and informal class list for us. We will have more information for you at the upcoming meeting. Our guest speaker for the evening will be Ron Duxbury. Topics: Unique bird-houses and bird-feeders, and Dahlias. His bird houses are always on display at the annual Home & Garden show at the arena and they are so unique. It will be a fun evening for sure!

The flowerbeds around town are absolutely stunning, and so are the 2 huge planters that the DHS purchased with help from a grant from Haldimand County. If you haven’t seen them they are located on Lock Street, filled with annuals and looking beautiful. Our army of volunteers have been working very hard at keeping the beds weeded and Egger Truck & Machine is looking after watering them again this year. The downtown fountain is looking better than ever thanks to Egger Truck & Machine. It has been overhauled and it’s now operating beautifully. Instead of spraying from each corner toward the centre, the water now spouts from the centre. It looks great.

On a sad note, we lost John Ballanger who passed away on June 8th. He has been a long time member of the DHS, along with his wife Betty Ballanger who runs our Ways & Means table at each meeting. Hugs to you, Betty. John was well liked and will be sadly missed by all.

Garden tip of the month: This is the best time of the year! Fruits and vegetables are coming into season, and our food has never tasted so good. If you’re not growing your own in your backyard garden, be sure to buy local! Go to your local market, and watch for Ontario products in the grocery stores.

See you at the general meeting

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

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