Saturday, June 16, 2018: Our Club Plant Sale

To view the event on Facebook, click here.

When: 
Saturday, June 16, 2018 @ 9:00am

Where: 
Prospect Road Elementary School parking lot
(2199 Prospect Rd, Hatchet Lake, NS B3T 1R8, Canada)

What:
The Prospect Area Gardening Club members are potting up some beautiful plants at excellent prices from their very own gardens! Drop in to visit a gardener, talk plants, ask questions, and discover new additions for your garden!

If-Pouring-Rain date: 
The following day: Sunday, June 17, 2018 @ 9:00am

May 23, 2018: NEW Location: Donna Silver's

Tour, Celebrate, and Plan Spring is here and summer is coming! Wednesday, May 23, 2018 at 7pm we will be visiting Donna Silver's beautiful gardens and celebrating the growing season with our year end pot luck while we discuss the plant sale and the plan for next season.  Donna is going to take us on a tour of her amazing property and answer questions related to how they have accomplished such an oasis!  It promises to be a fabulous way to start the summer!  Location details: 283 Brennan's Road, Prospect Bay, NS  B3T 2A3 Hope to see you there!

Garden Days is About to Bloom

Register your activity today!

Français ci-dessous Canada's Annual Celebration of Gardens and Gardening GARDEN DAYS IS ABOUT TO BLOOM – REGISTER YOUR ACTIVITIES TODAY With the middle of June fast approaching, the Canadian Garden Council invites the country's gardens, garden centres, horticultural societies, garden clubs, schools, libraries, wineries, BIAs, individuals and garden experiences of all types to plan activities, or re-schedule existing events, to coincide with the dates Garden Days 2018. What is Garden Days? Starting on June 16 with National Garden Day, Garden Days is the annual, country-wide, nine-day celebration of everything to do with gardens and gardening. Garden Days is an opportunity for Canadians to get outside in their own garden, enjoy a garden tour, visit their favourite public garden, stop in at their local garden centre or travel to a nearby garden destination to enjoy their favorite experience. It's simply about creating awareness of our cultural garden landscape and underscoring the importance of our public and private gardens. It's also about celebrating and bringing awareness to what you do within, and for, your own community. How to Participate To celebrate Garden Days, we invite you to organize a garden- or gardening-related activity between June 16 and 24, inclusive.  It could be an event you already have planned, a garden tour, a lecture series, a garden-related salute to Dad as June 17th is Father's Day –– it's entirely up to you. You could also have your town or city declare its own official Garden Day.  We've made the process super easy. All you need to do is check out this page on the Garden Days website. When you have your Mayor-signed Garden Days proclamation, register it as your city's official garden activity. Whatever you decide to do, register your activity, at no charge, on the website.  It's as simple as clicking on the 'Register Your Activity' button and following the prompts. As soon as you register your activity, we'll send you the Garden Days 'Official Activity' logo, for you to use in promotions of your activity. Marketing and Communications Garden Days is supported with a vibrant social media campaign, a public relations campaign that will create awareness about Garden Days with garden and lifestyle media across the country and an intense, targeted digital advertising campaign that will send visitors to your event.  All these programs kick into high gear at the end of May, so get your activities registered on the site as soon as possible. Tag us so we can share your activities! No doubt you're talking up your activities and events on social media. Be sure to use our Twitter and Instagram hashtags when you post, so we can like and share. Facebook:   Facebook.com/CanadianGardenCouncil       Twitter:        @gardenscanada                           #GardenDaysCanada Instagram:   @CanadianGardenCouncil              #GardenDaysCanada The more we all join in the Garden Days conversation, the more win-win benefits there will be for all. Twitter Chat In order to support your activities and events, we're holding a Garden Days Twitter Chat on Wednesday, June 13 at 8:00 pm (Eastern Time).  Mark this date/time in your calendar and join us on the Chat. With your participation, we're hoping to trend in Canada! National and Regional Spokespeople As well as an energetic social, digital and public relations campaigns geared to sending the public to the website to find out about Garden Days activities in their neighbourhood, we've got a terrific roster of media spokespeople on board to 'talk up' your event. Frankie Flowers (Frank Ferragini) and Larry Hodgson are the English and French, respectively, national Spokespeople. Additionally, we have provincial spokespeople that you will no doubt recognize, who will be promoting Garden Days and maybe even your specific event:  Brian Minter, British Columbia; Patricia Hanbidge, Saskatchewan; Colleen Zacharias, Manitoba; Sean James, Ontario; Albert Mondor, Québec;  Brad Henderson, New Brunswick; Niki Jabbour, Maritimes and Todd Boland, Newfoundland & Labrador. Don't be shy, connect with your provincial spokesperson to let them know all about your Garden Days activity.  You can do this by visiting the home page of the site and clicking on the name of your provincial spokesperson. Garden Days 2018 is poised to be the best ever of this five year-old program.  You can make this a reality by registering your activity/activities TODAY! Garden Days is organized by the Canadian Garden Council, sponsored by the Alumni Association of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture Foundation, Bullfrog Power and Scotts Miracle-Gro and supported by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. La célébration annuelle des jardins et du jardinage du Canada LES JOURNÉES DU JARDIN S'ÉPANOUIRONT BIENTÔT – INSCRIVEZ VOS ACTIVITÉS AUJOURD'HUI Avec la mi-juin qui approche rapidement, le Conseil canadien des jardins invite les jardins, les jardineries, les sociétés d'horticulture, les clubs de jardinage, les écoles, les bibliothèques, les vignobles, les zones d'amélioration commerciale, les particuliers et les jardins publics à planifier des activités et des événements de toutes sortes pour coïncider avec les dates des Journées du jardin 2018. Que sont les Journées du jardin? À partir du 16 juin, qui est la Journée nationale du jardin, les Journées du jardin sont la célébration annuelle nationale de neuf jours de tout ce qui touche aux jardins et au jardinage. Les Journées du jardin sont l'occasion pour les Canadiens de sortir dans leur propre jardin, de participer à un voyage horticole, de visiter leur jardin public favori, de s'arrêter dans leur jardinerie locale ou de se rendre à une destination jardin à proximité pour profiter de leur expérience préférée. Il s'agit simplement de créer une conscience de notre paysage culturel horticole et de souligner l'importance de nos jardins publics et privés. Il est aussi question de célébrer et de souligner ce que nous faisons dans et pour notre propre communauté. Comment participer Pour célébrer les Journées du jardin, nous vous invitons à organiser, du 16 au 24 juin inclusivement, une activité reliée au jardin ou au jardinage. Il pourrait s'agir d'un événement que vous avez déjà planifié, d'une visite de jardin, d'une série de conférences ou d'un remerciement aux papas lié au jardin… car le 17 juin est la fête des Pères. L'activité relève entièrement de vous. Vous pouvez également demander à votre ville de déclarer sa propre Journée officielle du jardin. Nous avons même rendu le processus super facile. Tout ce que vous avez à faire est de consulter cette page sur le site Web des Journées du jardin. Lorsque le maire aura signé la proclamation de votre Journée du jardin, inscrivez-la comme l'activité de jardin officielle de votre ville. Quoi que vous décidiez de faire, ne manquez pas d'inscrire votre activité, sans frais, sur notre site Web. Tout ce que vous avez à faire est de cliquer sur le bouton «Enregistrer votre activité» et de suivre les instructions. Dès que vous aurez inscrit votre activité, nous vous enverrons le logo «Activité officielle» des Journées du jardin que vous pourrez utiliser pour promouvoir votre activité. Marketing et communications Les Journées du jardin sont appuyées par une campagne dynamique de médias sociaux, une campagne de relations publiques qui fera connaître les Journées du jardin à travers le pays auprès des médias de style de vie et horticoles et une campagne publicitaire numérique intense et ciblée qui enverra des visiteurs à votre événement. Tous ces programmes passent à la vitesse supérieure à la fin de mai, alors faites inscrire vos activités sur le site dès que possible. Mentionnez-nous sur un réseau social afin que nous puissions partager vos activités! Nul doute que vous parlez de vos activités et événements sur les médias sociaux. Utilisez alors nos mots-clics Twitter et Instagram lorsque vous publiez vos messages, afin que nous puissions les aimer et les partager. Facebook:           Facebook.com/CanadianGardenCouncil      Twitter:                @journeesdujardin            #journeesdujardin Instagram:           @journeesdujardin            #journeesdujardin Plus il y aura d'intervenants qui participeront à la conversation sur les Journées du jardin, plus il y aura d'avantages qui profitent à tous. Séance de clavardage Twitter Afin de soutenir vos activités et événements, nous organisons une séance de clavardage Journées du jardin sur Twitter le mercredi 13 juin à 20 h (heure de l'Est). Veuillez marquer cette date dans votre calendrier et joignez-vous à la séance. Avec votre participation, nous espérons nous classer sur Twitter au Canada! Porte-paroles nationaux et régionaux En plus des campagnes énergiques sociales, numériques et de relations publiques visant à diriger les citoyens sur notre site Web pour connaître les activités des Journées du jardin dans leur quartier, nous avons une liste impressionnante de porte-paroles auprès des médias pour promouvoir votre événement. Larry Hodgson et Frankie Flowers (Frank Ferragini) sont respectivement les porte-paroles nationaux francophones et anglophones. De plus, nous avons des porte-paroles provinciaux – que vous connaissez sans doute – qui feront la promotion des Journées du jardin et peut-être même de votre propre événement: Brian Minter, Colombie-Britannique; Patricia Hanbidge, Saskatchewan; Colleen Zacharias, Manitoba; Sean James, Ontario; Albert Mondor, Québec; Brad Henderson, Nouveau-Brunswick; Niki Jabbour, Maritimes et Todd Boland, Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador. Ne soyez pas timide! Communiquez avec votre porte-parole provincial pour lui faire part de toutes vos activités lors des Journées du jardin. Vous pouvez le faire en visitant la page d'accueil du site et en cliquant sur le nom de votre porte-parole provincial. Les Journées du jardin 2018 sont en passe de devenir les plus réussies jusqu'à présent de ce programme vieux de cinq ans. Vous pouvez aider à assurer le succès des Journées du jardin en inscrivant votre activité ou vos activités AUJOURD'HUI! Les Journées du jardin sont organisées par le Conseil canadien du jardin et parrainées par l'Alumni Association of the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture Foundation, Bullfrog Power et par Scotts Miracle-Gro. Carol Cowan  marketing@gardencouncil.ca

Thursday, July 5, 2018: 6th Annual Gaggle of Gardeners

TO ALL GARDEN CLUBS ... PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO YOUR MEMBERS!

Hi everyone!  

Let the Gaggle begin!  I'm pleased to announce that the 6th Annual Gaggle of Gardeners bus trip is ready to accept registrations.  I will require confirmation of your registration and your payment as quickly as possible because I have already pre-sold 35 seats!.  This invitation will also be open to other garden clubs and community organizations, and will be advertised extensively.  You might see my poster up around town as well.  

We have booked a 48-seat air-conditioned tour bus which will be filled to capacity (both in the bus and under the bus!).  By the time we arrive back in Dartmouth, most of us will have plants on our laps, petals up our nose, and soil in our shoes.  Please encourage your family, friends, work colleagues, and neighbours to come along with us--it's going to be a fabulous, fun-filled day of shopping and eating!  Feel free to share this email.

Cost to register for the bus trip is $40.00 for Dartmouth Horticultural Society members, $45.00 for all others (please identify if you are a member of another garden club), and is payable upon registration.  If you are paying by cheque, please make the cheque payable to Dartmouth Horticultural Society, NOT ME.  We take cash and cheques only--no credit cards.  You can give me your payment directly at one of our monthly meetings, you can mail it to me, you can invite me over for tea and crumpets so I can pick it up, or you can drop it off at my house (6 Aberdeen Court, Dartmouth, NS, B2X 1K4).  I'd prefer if you didn't etransfer the money to me because I'll probably spend it before it gets to the bank.  I don't think I need to worry about etransfers though because many of you don't know how to do it anyway.

As in the past, I'm providing you with a tentative agenda for the day (subject to change), and important things for you to remember.  

8:45am	Meet at Mic Mac Mall parking lot.  If you are facing the "coming soon" Chapters store, look to the far LEFT of the front doors and you will see the tour bus parked there.
9:00am	Bus leaves Dartmouth (21 Mic Mac Boulevard) and drives straight to Fernwood Plant Nursery
9:45am	Bus arrives at Fernwood and we shop.
10:30am	Bus leaves Fernwood and drives to Old Reo Nursery.
11:00am	Bus arrives at Old Reo Nursery and we shop.
12:00pm	Bus leaves Old Reo Nursery and drives to Wiles Lake Farm Market.
12:20pm	Bus arrives at Wiles Lake Farm Market and we eat and we shop and we pee.
1:30pm	Bus leaves Wiles Lake Farm Market and drives to Village Nursery.
2:15pm	Bus arrives at Village Nursery and we shop.
3:15pm	Bus leaves Village Nursery and drives to Downey's Pitcher Plants.
3:45pm	Bus arrives at Downey's Pitcher Plants and we shop.
4:15pm	Bus leaves Downey's Pitcher Plants and heads for Oceanview.
4:20pm	Bus arrives at Oceanview and we shop.
5:20pm	Bus leaves Oceanview and heads for Dartmouth.
6:00pm	Bus arrives at Mic Mac Mall where pandemonium ensues.  Specific people will be assigned to unload the bus.  DO NOT GRAB ITEMS FROM THE BUS--WAIT YOUR TURN!  Please make sure your ride is waiting for you.  Do not leave your plants behind in your excitement to get home because I will keep them and sell them on Kijiji.  And I will leave YOU behind if your partner does not pick you up at the Mall.

I enWe strongly enourage you to take a vacation day (if you work outside the home) so that you can join us.  Weekdays at these nurseries are much less chaotic than weekends, and you don't have to wait in long line-ups to pay for your purchases.  We get a little special attention from every nursery, whether it's a group discount or a door prize draw or drinks/snacks or free plants.  It's worth your while to go on a Thursday!

 1.  The cost of the tour does not include purchases made at any of the venues nor does it include lunch.  It also does not include the driver's tip.  If you are pleased with the bus driver and want to offer him a token of your appreciation, I will pass around a plastic bag (probably when we get to Wiles Lake Farm Market) for your tip.  Please don't fill up the bag with the spare change floating at the bottom of your purse (it looks awful)—try to give him a bill or at least a toonie.  It's a nice gesture and, if we get the same driver again next year, he will really like us and will be extra nice!

 2.      Please bring the following items with you (just in case):  bottled water (there's a washroom available but will soon be filled with plants as we run out of room ), bug spray (if it's humid we'll probably encounter mosquitos), suntan lotion (I refuse to apply it for you), wet wipes (in case you get short-taken), light hooded jacket or hooded sweater (in the event of rain), or clear plastic rain poncho from the Dollar Store.  These items can be left on board the bus if you don't need them.  The bus is locked at all stops and your purchases/belongings are always safe.

3.  I am going to provide you with approximately 20 stickers that will have your name clearly printed which can be attached to your purchases when they are stowed underneath the bus.  Many of the centres use the same grey plastic bags and it tends to be confusing when we return to Dartmouth and try to figure out which bags belong to which people.  I know you think 20 stickers is too many but I can guarantee that most travellers will use every single one!

 4.      We are going to try to stick to the agenda as closely as we can, so please try to be back at the bus at the required departure times.  I always try to double-check and triple-check that we have everyone on board before we leave the nursery, but mistakes can be made.  I am also open to bribes if you need to stay a couple of extra minutes.

 5.      It might be a good idea to have some cash in your wallet.  Not all vendors take debit cards.  And I'm not lending you any money.  And I will NOT post bail if you get arrested for stealing plants.

 6.      The bus has a storage compartment underneath the body where we can store our plants and vegetables and baked goods and containers and trees and shrubs and any travellers who can't keep up with the rest of us.  Everything will be safe there and, believe it or not, there is little to no damage to the purchases (probably because they are crammed together so tightly!).

 7.   There will be a minimal amount of walking at the nurseries; however, we will be doing a lot of scurrying from place to place, so be sure to wear comfortable, non-skid walking shoes or sandals.  Try to choose pretty ones.  Ugly shoes can sometimes offend me.  And so do squeaking shoes.

 8.   Keep in mind that this is a long, busy day, so pace yourself and don't overdo it.  I have no intention of giving you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.  And don't forget your medications!

 9.   Gaggles are fun.  Invite someone you normally shop with to join us.  Remember, it's not a garden tour ... it's a shopping trip, and the more you spend, the more fun you'll have!

 10.   Please bring your camera so that you can take lots of photos of our Gaggle having fun.   We'll put the photos up on the Dartmouth Horticultural Society's Facebook page later!

 11.   If you could stuff a couple of Sobeys bags in your purse, it would be appreciated.  We might need them for plants or pukers or to steal other people's plants.

12.   There will be no refunds once you have paid your registration fee, so it might be a good idea to have a friend on standby to join the Gaggle in your place (just in case you get sick the day of the tour).  It would be a shame to waste the seat.  Actually, though, it could be used to store extra plants when we get full.

 13.   The actual agenda might change slightly by the time we actually leave.  Sometimes garden centres close early, or they don't have enough staff mid-week, or they've heard about us and don't want us to come visit them or we've heard about them ...

Debbie

Deborah A. Symonds
6 Aberdeen Court, Dartmouth, NS   B2X 1K4
dsymonds @ hotmail.com