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ESSEX & DISTRICT HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY
JUNE 2006 NEWSLETTER
We are proud to announce that on
Monday June 19th, 2006, our President, Kathy Hudak, was presented with a Heritage Community Recognition
Program CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENT for 2005 and achievement pin at a regularly scheduled meeting of the Essex Council at the Essex Council Chambers. The Heritage Community
Recognition Program is an agency of the Government of Ontario. This award was presented to a very surprised Kathy, by Mayor Ron McDermott, for her non stop work at beautifying
Essex over the past many years; namely spearheading the development of the Heritage Gardens next to the Railway Station, continued maintenance of the beds around the Station and
uptown; development of a plan to “Adopt a Bed” in the uptown area; encouraging a union between ERCA, our society and several town schools to plant more trees and being one of the
driving forces of the Communities in Bloom project in 2005.
Kathy had been lured to the meeting by Doug Sweet on
the pretext of polishing up our budget. A few directors, Evelyn Kogel, Pat Newhouse, Sandy Ellenor and Lynn Imeson came along to offer their support, knowing full well that the
budget would not even enter into the discussion. Kathy was extremely surprised and touched by the gesture by the town. We feel that it is an honour well deserved..........
Lynn
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
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Happy summer. It's finally here! We have built up to the
longer days; it is down hill from here on in.
Our busy frenzy of planting to beautify our community and
for planting our veggie gardens is done; this is now the time to nurse these beds along with the weeding, watering and talking to them nicely. That includes fighting with the
bugs and the bouts of hail. I hope you all have time to enjoy your labor of love. I have lots of sitting areas in my gardens and I hope, by the end of the summer to have spent at
least a few minutes viewing my gardens from these different vantage points. The last of the beds in the Adopt-a-Bed program is the new Library bed. This was adopted by Debbie
Ramsay and her children [she does a wonderful job of taking care of the Youth Garden Club; sorry I missed the last meeting with them as I was feeling under the weather]. They
had their picture in the Essex Voice constructing the bed. Thank you to all of the volunteers who have taken on the jobs of adopting these beds. The Essex In Blooms Competition
entry deadline is July 24th. The ESSEX BIA sponsors this. I'm looking for impartial judges to help with judging, if we are called upon to assist with judging. Most likely it will
be judged on the 25th. The Community In Blooms judges are coming July 26th & 27th. Communities In Bloom is an Ontario wide judging that measures communities of the same size in a
variety of categories, those being: tidiness, environmental awareness, community involvement, natural and cultural conservation, urban forest management, landscaped areas,
floral displays and turf and ground covers. I see it as a way for our community to be aware of the positive attributes we already have. Last year’s judges have made improvements
on the above categories. August 11, 12 &13 is the Ontario Horticultural Association's 100th Anniversary Convention in Ottawa. So far Sandy and Doris are going. I would like to
see at least a couple other members join us. The deadline for signing up for this convention will be July 13. It should be a good celebration. Please let me know soon.
Live life and enjoy. Kathy
Bus Trip 2006
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The 2006 Bus Trip was a huge success as always. Sandy Ellenor always
arranges a whiz bang trip and this year’s was no exception. We think she would have made a wonderful travel agent! Thank you
Sandy for your continued devotion to this job that you perform every year with no complaints,
but with a smile. We know that it is a lot of work. Below is Sandy’s summary of the trip ... Lynn
Bus Trip 2006
June 17 was the much anticipated date for our annual Essex Hort bus trip. The
weather was beautiful but, the predictions for high temps and high humidity were ominous. The brave group we had forged ahead regardless, vowing to make the most of the day,
however hot it would turn out to be.
Our first stop for our morning coffee was at Parks
Blueberries. Diane Parks greeted us on the bus and told us a little history about her business, and we enjoyed muffins and coffee for a toonie. What a deal! Then we were on our
way to St. Thomas. There we made a half hour stop at Diane Vaughan’s beautiful garden. Diane is a Master Gardener and has been President of the St Thomas Hort club for many
years, although she has taken this year off. She does not have a huge lot and is right on the highway but she loves to garden and boy you can tell. Someone called out - “Oh
look, there’s an empty spot!”...just about impossible to find in this yard. Diane was touring Irish gardens while we were touring hers but her dedicated hubby and daughter showed
us around.....lots of unique areas in their garden; one of the favorites was the patio stones, set out in a diamond shape and set up with a sod space in between each stone. Very
attractive. A great set up was found to sift compost right into a cart mechanically. Diane shares her garden with lots of wildlife and she loves it. A bag of nesting materials
hung on a wire beside one of many feeders for the birds. Sweet cherry trees, and a vegetable garden as well as a lovely pond with fish were in the back yard. Under renovation,
which she needlessly apologized for, was a beautiful rose garden done in a classic circle style with a beautiful bird bath in the centre. This was a focal point on the front
lawn. Many thanks to Diane for sharing this treasure with us.
Just down the street is Canadale Nurseries where Diane gets
many of her prize plants. Canadale is a beautiful nursery and their plants are plentiful and healthy looking, no matter what the season. The bottom of the bus was fast becoming
fuller and fuller. There were some good buys to be had. I saw lots of people with some absolutely gorgeous shrubs for only $9.99. It was very hot there though and some took a
seat and visited while others loaded their shopping carts.
>From there we made a quick stop at Pickard Peanuts. There
was a good variety of bulk baking products , and any kind of nut you could ever have wanted.....lots of chocolates too. With Father’s Day being the next day, I think a lot of
Dads had Pickards products amongst their gifts. A good choice. Across the street was the Wayside Inn and we all enjoyed a delicious buffet there. There was a wonderful variety
to be had, especially on the salad bar and it was topped off with cherry cheesecake for desert. We moved slower back to the bus this time, believe me.
Winter Wheat, just outside of
Sparta was our next destination and I really enjoyed it . Throughout the woods and along the
driveway huge chainsaw carvings with mystical figures , showed us the way. “Winter Wheat” is owned by artist Lucy Ogletree and her husband, both very talented people. The shop
is a gallery for Lucy’s individualistic art work and she designs gift ware as well. She is famous for her cats and sure enough I couldn’t resist and went home with one of her
wooden cat treasures. There were lots of garden pieces to choose from and it was just a peaceful, beautiful place to visit. The tall pines swayed in the lovely breeze and
thankfully kept us cool on a very hot afternoon in June. A harpist and a drummer entertained near a little glass house where the staff served coffee and cookies. I think I have
to go back to Winter Wheat in other seasons too. I can only imagine the beautiful pine forest bathed in snow.
Our last adventure of the day was at Heritage Herbs in
nearby Aylmer. It is owned by Deb Brenner and originally was a tobacco farm. Now they grow many herbs commercially and they have a small gift shop where they sell lots of
interesting items. They are a supporter of Fair Trade and sell products only from countries where they know the workers have been paid fairly for their work.. Their herbs were
very reasonably priced at only $2. I purchased a lovely herb container of various herbs to be won later on the bus by Pat Newhouse, in the “name the flower” game. We were given a
few samples of herbal drinks and goodies and we could stroll thru the herb gardens - all except the one- because mama killdeer was valiantly protecting her nest there. On the
sign entering the herb farm was a giant ““Welcome Essex and District Horticulture Society””. We will remember that, as Kathy had to have the bus stop so she could run back and
get a picture of it for us. Way to go , Kath!
Speaking of pictures, Kathy just did the best job of
capturing our trip on film and I really appreciated the pics she sent me via e-mail. I hope all of you who went enjoyed the day as much as I did, and I hope we get to do it again
in the future. We were all tired when we got home but we had great company and shared a beautiful day exploring some new places for many of us. Thanks for the memories and the
great company....Sandy
CLICK HERE TO SEE BUS
TRIP PHOTOS
ANT CONTROL BAIT
(1 % boric acid and 20% sugar solution) ^ TOP ^
Dissolve 1 t of boric acid and 6 T of sugar in 2 cups of water. Stir until
dissolved. Use 2 cup cottage cheese plastic container and punch or cut ant access holes in the side near the bottom of container. Soak cotton balls in the bait solution. Put 3
soaked cotton balls into the container; cover with lid so bait will not dry up. Place Container where ever you see ants. Clean containers and freshen up the bait solution at
least once a week. Be patient. Let the worker ants continually carry boric acid to feed the ants in their nests. ...submitted by Evelyn
AN ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN: A REMINDER:
Every month at our meetings we contribute Styrofoam cups to the garbage. We want to change. When you come to a meeting...don't come alone...LUG A MUG ... with thanks
from the executive.
WHAT'S BLOOMING IN YOUR GARDEN?
What I have noticed most this spring:
All the spring rains produced the tallest and most prolific
tulips, iris, peonies, larkspur and coral bells that I have ever seen...Lynn
COMING EVENTS
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JULY 8 ESSEX HORT ASSOC. FLOWER SHOW - ESSEX UNITED CHURCH
PREPARE TO PARTICIPATE; IT IS LOTS OF FUN
JULY/AUGUST ESSEX HORT PICNIC TO BE
ANNOUNCED
AUGUST 11, 12, 13 ONTARIO HORTICULTURAL ASSOCIATION CONVENTION
100TH ANNIVERSARY, OTTAWA, AT THE CROWN PLAZA HOTEL
SEPTEMBER 12 ESSEX HORT CLUB EXECUTIVE MEETING 7:30 PM KINSMEN FIELD HOUSE
SEPTEMBER 27 ESSEX HORT CLUB MEETING KINSMEN FIELDHOUSE 7:30 PM
Lisa Suzor from Fig Tree Garden & Floral, Harrow, demonstrating
Fall Flower Arranging
Plant and Seed Exchange
OCTOBER 10 ESSEX HORT CLUB EXECUTIVE MEETING 7:30 PM KINSMEN FIELD HOUSE
OCTOBER 25 ESSEX HORT CLUB MEETING KINSMEN FIELD HOUSE 7:30 PM
Representative from ERCA speaking on Planting Trees in Essex
County
Silent Auction
OCTOBER 28 District 11 meeting hosted by
Ambassador Horticultural Society,
Windsor: Location and speakers TBA
NOVEMBER 14 ESSEX HORT CLUB EXECUTIVE MEETING 7:30 PM KINSMEN FIELD HOUSE
NOVEMBER 22 Annual Dinner Banquet with
Election of Officers 6 PM
KINSMENFIELD HOUSE
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