Oct. 2012 Hello Everyone! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. It’s a great time of year to visit family and friends to partake in way too much turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. I especially love the turkey leftovers that seem to go on and on and on. This time of year is busy with vegetables being harvested, church bazaars and fall fairs, canning, pumpkin patches and Halloween. There is so much to see and do and things can get quite hectic, especially if you have flowerbeds to put away for the winter. There never seems to be enough time and a sudden onset of cold, wet weather can certainly thwart the best of our intentions to get outside. Watching the squirrels hard at work with their walnuts makes me wish there was a way I could put them to work cleaning up the rest of the yard!
October also means it’s time or the DHS to put the town’s flowerbeds to sleep for the winter. The scheduled clean up date is Saturday, October 13th. Lori passed around a sign-up sheet for volunteers at the September general meeting and held a special meeting on September 27th to organize the day. Volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated. Please contact Lori at 905-701-8512 if you would like to help. She and Rob will be hosting a BBQ at their home afterwards to feed everyone after a good day’s work.
The 2012 Trillium Awards were presented at our September general meeting. Congratulations again to the residential and commercial winners. On behalf of the executive, directors and members I would like to extend a huge thank you to Susan Lusted, OHA District 9 Director, and Councillor Lorne Boyko for being on hand to present the awards. The new format for presenting them was a big success and we will continue to do it this way from now on. We had many of our winners attend the meeting and some of them even became members! The directors did an amazing job with the food and the cake was absolutely beautiful and delicious. Eddie Chau from the Chronicle attended the meeting and a group photo of the winners was in the September 26th edition in the “Community” section. Great picture! The framed photos of the winning properties will be on display at the Optimist Hall until next September. You can also visit our website www.dunnvillehortsoc.gardenontario.org to see them.
At the general meeting this month we will be holding our annual Potluck dinner. Members can bring their favourite dishes (but are not obligated to) and there’s always lots of good food in which to indulge. Don’t forget that the meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m. to accommodate dinner. Our guest speaker for this month’s general meeting is from Oakridge Garden Centre who will be discussing “putting your gardens to bed”. There are so many things we need to know and do to make our flowerbeds awesome for next season.
Don’t forget the photography contest which is being held at the November general meeting. There are 4 categories (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) and you can enter a maximum of 1 photo in each category. This time of year is especially nice to get out and capture the beautiful fall colours. We would love to see your creative side so don’t be afraid to enter! We will also be holding installations of our new directors so please plan to attend.
Garden tip of the Month:
Chrysanthemums are readily available in most stores and garden centres and are a colourful addition to our gardens, decks and patios this time of year. Did you know that if you plant them in your garden now they will not likely come back next year? These plants are in full bloom and all of their energy is being put into the flowers. They likely will not be able to establish a good root system in time. The best thing to do if you want perennial garden mums is to buy them in the spring and let them grow and develop in your garden over the season.
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