Hort Society planting for the future

6• THE CREEMORE ECHO • Friday, May 20, 2022

Hort Society invites you to live the garden life in 2022

by Judi Parker

The Year of the Garden 2022 is a celebration developed by the Canadian Garden Council (CGC) and other horticultural organizations “to educate and inspire Canadians about the vital impact gardens and gardening have on quality of life, at home, in communities, and across Canada”.

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U N I Q U E H A N D M A D E I N D O O R / O U T D O O R P O T S R E - S T O C K E D !

heirloom142.com @heirloom142 705-520-0142 Canada’s House of Commons officially designated 2022 as the Year of the Garden, making Canada the first country to formally celebrate the joys and benefits of gardening for an entire year.

It is well known that Canadians, including many new gardeners, embraced gardening as a way to brighten their lives while staying home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Whether those gardens were practical vegetable gardens or beautiful floral havens, as we return to more sociable activities, gardening will continue to be a great way to enhance our lives.

One way to participate in the Year of the Garden 2022 is to ‘Plant Red’. This initiative was envisioned as a way to pay tribute to lives lost and honour frontline workers who gave so much of themselves during the pandemic. Of course, red is often used as an expression of Canadian pride, another reason to Plant Red in 2022. If you wish to share your Plant Red Garden, you can register it by submitting a photo of your garden; your free entry will be pinned on a map (by community not exact location) and you will receive a special downloadable Plant Red Garden Certificate of participation.

Details are available at livethegardenlife. gardenscanada.ca/plant-red.

There are many other ways to participate in this national celebration of gardening. You may prefer a vegetable garden to feed your family, an ornamental garden, a native plant garden to support pollinators and the environment, or any combination thereof. Whether you choose to enjoy your private garden or participate in a community project, your efforts will enhance your life and improve your community and the natural environment. Whether you fill your back yard or simply place a few containers on a step or balcony, no garden is too small to make a difference!

For more information and inspirational ideas, check out livethegardenlife.gardenscanada.ca. You will find information on everything from events such as National Garden Day (June 18), inspirational garden destinations, and ways to get involved. CGC is also promoting (after two years absence during the pandemic) the Garden Days event, which will be observed nationally from June 11-19, during the Year of the Garden 2022. In our area, this is prime planting season and a perfect time to get started on your garden celebration.

As restrictions on public gatherings are eased, Creemore Horticultural Society (CHS) is reviving our in-person events in the coming months. We’d love to have you join us at our meetings at St. Luke’s Anglican Church to hear informative and inspiring talks about many aspects of gardening; watch the Events Calendar in The Creemore Echo for dates and topics. We are happy to again offer a plant sale on June 4, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Station on the Green. You will find great plants suited to our area for great prices at the sale; Society members will be available to advise you on your purchases and answer your gardening questions. For inspirational and informative displays, please join us at the “Summer Flower & Vegetable Show” on July 16 at the Station on the Green where our members will be displaying their best specimens of flowers, fruits, and vegetables grown in their private gardens.

The Creemore Horticultural Society, since its formation in 1921, has devoted over 100 years to celebrating gardens. We invite you to join us in this national celebration and “Live the Garden Life” in 2022.

Ready for Spring

Your green thumb essentials

CREEMORE HOME HARDWARE

OPEN Mon. to Sat. 9 am to 5 pm • Sunday 10 am to 3 pm 705-466-6511 • 153 Mill St. Creemore

by Trina Berlo

On a sunny mid-May Tuesday morning laughter can be heard from the Creemore Horticultural Society’s temporary garden beds. There, a group of gardeners in their tell tale garb are working away while chatting and cracking jokes.

This is where the Society’s plants have been lying in wait for the move to their new home, either at the new Village Green gardens, or in some lucky person’s home garden.

Volunteers with the Creemore Horticultural Society are beginning to transition plants out of their temporary beds behind the library. After two years of planning and design work the move is nigh.

The plants were moved from the Hort Park before construction of the new Village Green began. In that time the plants have matured and some are not needed in the new beds, so volunteers are busy potting them up for the June 4 plant sale.

The Hort Society is responsible for eight of the new gardens at the Village Green. They have been designed by a five-person team including three master gardeners – Gail Cocker, Christine March and Connie Hunter, with Melissa Doherty and Kathy Meeser.

Some of the plants will be transplanted back to the new gardens but the design team is also bringing in a lot of new material. Cocker said it will be a process, as plantings need to be done at various times, continuing until next spring.

“The gardens are large. They are going to be very impactful,” said Cocker. “It will be a real attraction and something to be proud of. We are very honoured to be part of it.”

Cocker, head of the Simcoe County Master Gardeners said the Hort Society’s gardens include two entrance gardens off Mill Street which will be eye catching to draw people in; two large gardens at the back bordering Station on the Green will be ornamental with soft, gentle colours

Tuesday morning Hort Park worker bees, from left: Linda Fieldsend Dermott, Vida Stripinis, Melissa Doherty, Alice Spyrc, Gail Cocker, Joanne Mclachlan (in front), Judi Parker, Janet Monahan, Amanda Evans.

that will provide an elegant backdrop for wedding photos; a shade garden will have some seating where people can relax; a sensory garden will encourage people to smell and touch the foliage to experience plants in a more tactile way; a lily garden will border the stage; and a large pollinator garden will be established at the north end will act as an education space.

It supports the Hort Society’s mission to educate and beautify the community, and practice sustainable planting in their own backyard, said president John Sabiston.

The Hort Society is looking forward to a return to normal this summer. Members will be back at the Creemore Farmers’ Market with the return of their Ask-aGardener stand, and they have signed up to man the charity coffee booth.

The Society is also looking for volunteers who are willing to do weekly garden work. Members meet every Tuesday morning at the temporary gardens for some work and camaraderie.