The Joy A Garden Brings

This is my last post as editor of the blog. I've lost count of how many posts I have written, the number of garden visits I attended, notebook and camera at the ready, or the hours and hours of research required for this basic gardener to feel comfortable with the information I was sharing. It has all benefited me enormously. 

A huge thanks to all the people who have supported me with advice, photographs, beautifully written articles and validating comments. My garden club media partners Chris and Joyce were my rocks and rock stars.

I'm bowing out on a note of indulgence. The following is a slice of my own gardening history. 

Happy Gardening, Sue

June 2021 Tea Party

We are having a tea party! Wear your tea party hat (there is a prize) and drink out of a pretty cup. June 22nd via Zoom at 7pm. Note: there are five Tuesdays this month and our meetings are on the fourth Tuesday-it can creep up on you. The link is in the members' newsletter. I have gathered some resources for party hats. 

Plant Sale Teaser

GARDEN CLUB MEMBERS you will have received an email with the list of plants for sale and you can start ordering as soon as you receive it. For the public the list will be available on May 8th. More info:

Plant Sale Volunteers Needed-A Fun and As Safe as We Can Make It Opportunity

Those of you who have volunteered in the past for the plant sale will know what a rewarding job it is. Understandably, this year, there will be concerns about volunteer safety. I am posting the Covid safety plan for the Plant Sale and the volunteer descriptions so you can make an informed decision. The  Covid safety plan follows the guidelines from BC Health & WorkSafeBC and it has been reviewed by the Environmental Health Officer.  

Garden Club Plant Sale 2021

 Have you heard the rumour?  The Powell River Garden Club is having an ONLINE Plant Sale!  

It's Spring Or Is It?

Astronomical Spring arrived on March 20 at 02:37 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. It is the time when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator, making night and day of approximately equal length all over the earth. 

Here is the other spring which is of more importance to growers.

Are you a Galanthophile?

A galanthophile is an enthusiastic collector and identifier of snowdrop (Galanthus) species and cultivars.

"The Galanthus, or Snowdrop, is one of our chastest and most beautiful flowers, and its pure blossoms are universally appreciated. It is more varied in character and in its time of blooming than many are aware of." Samuel Arnott in The Book of Bulbs

In Europe Snowdrop-mania has escalated over the years into an almost frenzied obsession with rare and unusual cultivars. Snowdrop bulbs can easily sell for over a $100,000. Is it becoming a version of 17th- century Holland's tulipmania?

More Shakespeare

If you were at our meeting last week you would have been entertained by our President reading from Shakespeare. Interestingly it was written when Europe was in a period of time known as the Little Ice Age. I wrote to Lesley saying how much I had enjoyed the reading and she came back with this gem.

Is This a Danged Weed Which I See Before Me:

A Parody of the Dagger Soliloquy from Macbeth

written by Lesley Moseley

(with apologies to William Shakespeare)

Winter Reading

 "What a pleasure it is to read books without the weeds calling, to bake cakes and slow cook stews, to daydream about flowers. I have time to scheme about gardens, to change my mind multiple times on how to improve their design, to plot what plants to add next spring, what seeds to order." Page Dickey

Here are some reading recommendations from some of our club members. Add your own favourites in the comments.