Pine Ridge Garden Club News: August 2025

by Helen Nicolaou

On a beautiful Saturday, several Pine Ridge Garden Club (PRGC) members went on a self-drive tour of two gardens. The first garden was Anna’s Perennials, in the Kawarthas. Anna has been growing her garden and business for 30 years and has many native and unique hardy plants available for purchase.

Upon arrival, we were met by Anna and were treated to a detailed tour of her property. We began at the rock garden, featuring many hardy cacti, grasses and succulents. From there, we continued along a path towards the forest, with mature hostas, persicaria, false indigo and European foxglove (to name a few). Many echinacea, hydrangea and hollyhocks bloomed in the sunnier gardens. We took a much-needed break for lunch, to cool off before making our way towards the perennial nursery.

Several of the members purchased some great plants which they will enjoy adding to their own gardens.

From there, we drove a short distance to our second garden. Another large garden occupying the width of the property, on one half, filled with blooming perennials and annuals. On the other half, there was an assortment of vegetables and raspberry bushes. It amazed us, as this garden took only a few short years to look as though it had always been there.

We were treated to refreshments and lovely conversation with our hosts, before we headed to Garry’s Garden Centre, in Lindsay. We browsed the large selection of garden accessories, fashion and, yes, more plants. Who can resist buying a plant on sale. We thoroughly enjoyed an exceptional and relaxing day, visiting two beautiful gardens.

At our Tuesday, July 8th meeting, Avery Linford, from Vandermeers Nursery, spoke, on “Gardening in Small Spaces.” She gave us great tips on how to maximize our space, by growing vertically, looking into new varieties of shrubs which are perfect for small spaces and require less maintenance, as well as filling planters and containers on decks/porches and growing vegetables, herbs or flowers.

The July Flower and Vegetable Show had many lovely specimens, with 54 entries. Members were challenged in June with a cold start to the gardening season, followed by drought. Lynda B. won a first for her astilbe, Libbi H. won first for her salmon hybrid tea rose and Sue N. won in the special class with her dish garden. Shelley B. won Best in Show Horticulture with her yellow Asiatic Lily and Norma H. won Best in Show Design with her parallel “Three in a Row.” Congratulations to all the participants and thank you for your entries. On Tuesday, August 5th, we will have refreshments and be entertained as we observe our own, Norma Haney, PRGC and Barb Twiner, Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA) Judge, create fresh floral designs, during the “Design Demonstration.” They will be offering great tips during the demo. We hope to encourage members to try their hand and enter in the design class in future shows. All designs will be available, as door prizes, and tickets are available at the ticket table, prior to the demo. See you there.

To become a member see Carolyn at the membership table

Pine Ridge Garden Club - where gardeners come to bloom.