Pine Garden Club News

by Helen Nicolaou

The month of May has certainly been busy, with garden centres having gardeners choosing annuals to bring colour into their gardens. Sunny dandelions have brightened up our lawns, providing native pollinators with some of the first important food sources. The early spring perennials have bloomed, and now the landscapes are dotted with fruit tree blossoms and the scent of lilacs filling the air. Thanks to those hard-working members who came out on May 4th to tidy up the garden at Nestleton Hall, and on May 20th to tidy up the gardens at the Scugog Museum. The weather was perfect on Saturday, May 16th, as we saw many new and familiar attendees come out to make our Plant, Yard and Bake sale a great success. Congratulations to the Draw Prize Winners: Emma Spicer (Hanging Basket from Foodland), Karen Worden (Hanging Fern from Foodland), Janice Hamilton Dicker (Large Annual Planter from Century Garden), Katherine Shanks (basket of begonias from Vos), Rochelle Tennakoon (hanging basket from Vos) and Wendy Thompson (Gift Certificate from Food Basics). Thank you to all our Retailers for their lovely donations and support. Thank you to all our members for plant donations, delicious baked goods and yard sale items. Your assistance with setup and cleanup helped make the day a successful event.

On Tuesday, May 5th, Ann Craig from the Peterborough Master Gardeners shared knowledge on “Planning a Garden with Native Plants”. By removing existing invasive species from her garden and replacing them with native plants, Ann has noticed fewer disease problems, and the garden is attracting more beneficial pollinators. We thank Ann for her knowledge.

Even with such a cold start to spring, there were many entries for the Spring Flower Show. Shelley B. won Best in Show in the Horticulture Division for her Flowering Almond, Helen N. won Best in Show for the class "Twigs and Petals" in Design, and Anita J won 1st for her Mini design "Wee One". Coming up on June 2nd at 7:30 p.m., Carly McDougall from “Bounty from the Boonies” will be on hand to speak on “Big Food, Small Space”. Carly will show the changes in her own yard on how to make the most of growing vegetables in a small space, and, importantly, the use of upcycled containers. Members, June is our 2nd Flower Show with "Iris" as the star. There are eight iris classes, many spring perennials and blossoming branches to enter this month. Please see the "Note" for classes 1-8 on OJES pages 78-81. Esp. Classes that require Iris specimens must include a stem measurement from the bottom of the container. Also see the maximum height required for classes 17, 18, and 19. Check page 19 of your Yearbook for Hort and Design classes. Please drop off your entries between 6 and 6:45 p.m. There will be assistance available at the Work Station to help with entry tags. Guests are always welcome. Refreshments and sweets are available in the kitchen. Please lug-a-mug. To become a member, see Carolyn, Kim and Margret for door prize tickets.