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September & October Volume 1
“Nothing remains constant except change.“ Unknown
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General Meetings Tea, Coffee, Treats 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
Meeting 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Harris Flower Farm, 42488 Ron McNeil Line, RR # 6, St. Thomas is a multigenerational family operation. It originated with Janis & Mark Harris in 2011. Their young children (Cameron 8, Nathan 6 & Megan 4) have been born into the business of flowers and may be found in the flower fields alongside Mom & Dad.
Janis will demonstrate a garden inspired bridal bouquet, a compote style centerpiece, a bud vase collection, a floral cuff and a flower crown accompanied by a power point presentation on their flower farm and business.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Our members are in for a design treat this month when Ursula Eley of The Garden Club of Toronto will return to our club to demonstrate her considerable design skills. Ursula is an award-winning designer who regularly produces arrangements that are creative, innovative and possess great flair. Her designs regularly win the top prize at Canada Blooms, GCO’s triennial show and at WAFA (World Association of Floral Artists). We know everyone seeing her work will be amazed at what she produces.
In addition, Ursula is an excellent instructor and will be conducting a workshop the day after our meeting, that is, Thursday, Oct. 17. The coupon is enclosed with this issue.
Convener Shirleyan English
Assistant Convener Sandy Wagner
President’s Message
September is upon us, which always signifies to me, change and new beginnings. I love the process of changing over my outside pots to the warm fall colors, bringing out the cozy throw, and fall décor. This September brings another change and a new beginning for me, as President of the club. I am fortunate to be supported by a group of exceptional women on the board.
In September you will see some changes in ways we communicate club news, most items will be posted on our website under Club updates. The website committee has been working through the summer updating the site, making it easier to navigate and more visually appealing. Pam Sabourin our V.P. has designed a new notice board. Written updates and information regarding courses, upcoming flower shows, a monthly calendar events and an area for happy happenings; where we celebrate our member’s successes will all be kept, up to date, on this board. Our Treasurer Frances Ellison has obtained an e reader, which will allow members to pay for their memberships and trips with your debit card. This technology will be helpful for our boutique shopper, who may run short of cash on Boutique day.
Beth Sarazin, our Secretary keeps me organized and has also taken on the Boutique convener position; a big job, but essential to the success of our Boutique. Beth embraces change and has some new ideas for this November.
Welcome back to September, a month of new beginnings and change. I look forward to seeing you all back at the club.
Kindest Regards
President Brenda Symns
Membership
We have welcomed 7 new members since December 2018 and they are enthusiastic members. We have come down in membership numbers slightly but considering we have 12 that are not returning, that number is very good.
Those that have moved on to other pursuits are: Janice Hofmann, Carol Dobbie, Shirley Cave, Brenda Smallman, Janice Coffey, Catherine Wilkinson, Sheila Aston, Marg Fliss, Lynn Rowdon, Elvira Goodenough, Jane McCleary and Lynne Brandon. It is our pleasure to have had them in our Club.
Thank you for getting your membership dues in a timely manner so that certain administrative work can go forward.
Enjoy the new season of Garden Club of London.
Convener Linda Hawker
Crocus Report due dates:
October 1st for November/December Volume 2; November 19th for January/February Volume 3; February 1 for March/April Volume 4; April 1st for May/June Volume 5
Horticulture Meetings
Tea, Coffee, Treats 12:15 – 12:45 p.m.
Meeting 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 25, 2019
Robert Traut is very knowledgeable about both bonsai plants and orchids and has given interesting workshops on these topics. He will speak to us about orchids and how to care for them. He will also give us a demonstration to show us how to repot them and discuss the soils used.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
We all have seen many ants, but how much do we really know about them?
Pete Sheridan who is the President of the Elgin Historical Society will speak to us about the many varieties of ants and tell about their very interesting lifestyle. You may be surprised at what you learn!
New Members: September and
October meetings will each give 1
credit towards the Horticulture
Certificate.
Convener Marguerite Niemanis
Think of you:
CARDS SENT June – July – August 2019 on Behalf of Garden Club Members
| Date Sent | Recipient | Reason | Contact Person |
| 11/06/2019 | Elaine Soyka | Sympathy – loss of father | Jeanne Anne Goldrick |
| 11/06/2019 | Charlotte Linton | Congratulations – 50 year anniversary | Sandy Wilson |
| 11/06/2019 | Gwyneth King | Thinking of you – recovering from a fall | Sandy Wilson |
| 22/07/2019 | Ingrid Waldie | Thinking of you – care giver for ailing husband | Brenda Symns |
Please help to keep me informed of a member who would appreciate our club support by way of a card sent. Thank you to those who contacted me to assist me with this endeavour.
Parkwood Hospital Floral Therapy
This is a recreation program for residents at Parkwood Hospital. A group of 4-5 volunteers from our Club go to Parkwood, the first Tuesday of the month from September to June. We take supplies for the residents to create a small floral arrangement for their bedside table. There are usually 16-18 participants with a variety of skills and abilities. They are so proud of their arrangement at the end of the program and as a bonus they have a chance to meet and converse with some new people and have a social break. We are there to guide them and provide an enjoyable afternoon doing what we love. Check out our club website for more information.
We are looking forward to convening this valuable and popular program beginning again September 10 until June. We have the roster for 2019/2020 filled for most months thanks to so many people who agreed to continue with the program. The Roster will be posted on the Garden Club Website. We do have a few gaps, particularly in the spring 2020 and would like to have a few extras to fill in if members are unable to go at the last minute. Please be in touch with us if you are interested and we will fit you into a month.
We also want to thank Aditi and her co-conveners for their dedication to organizing and promoting the program over the past several years. In addition, thank you to all the previous volunteers. Without your assistance this would not be the successful program it is for both the residents of Parkwood and the members of the Garden Club.
Convener Sherry Shadlock
Assistant Convener Deb Sackville
Studio
Everyone has worked so diligently for the past year. This has resulted in an inventory of 699 items with a value of $3588.00 for an average of $5.13. The turnout each Monday has been exceptional and the results are reflected in the numbers.
We are now gearing up for the final push to Boutique. Although there will not be as many $25.00 apple-rose arrangements, there will be some larger and more creative ones made and we will sell some packaged roses as well. Those of you who want to learn this technique will be notified through “What’s happening in Studio” for the dates.
Beginning September 9th, those who wish to make Iris folded cards will get your opportunity. We will be making 40 cards.
We have entered the Western Fair with a Christmas tree decorated with our own creations and a tree made from carpet tubes and decorated with mainly natural materials. Thank you to all of you who assisted with these ventures.
Mark your calendars! There will be no Studio October 14th for Thanksgiving and October 21st for the federal election.
Studio Convener Jeanne Anne Goldrick
Table Captains Karin King-Carpenter, Lynda Rundle
Table Leaders Judy Ashton, Shirleyan English, Barbara Macaulay,
Joan McLean, Marg Noble, June Watt
Website
Check out your web site under “Club News” in the Members Area for the most up to date information on “What is happening at the Garden Club of London”. The president’s updates will now appear here.
We will be modernizing the look of the web site to make it easier to navigate and visually more appealing to use. Please visit it often to see the exciting changes to come.
- Have a ‘computer bent’ and are interested in working with a “great team” please contact Lorraine Peters listed in your on-line directory.
- Address Changes, or any other pertinent personal information that has changed, please notify Brenda Symns – by email and she will forward it to our website team to incorporate the changes.
- Picture for the Club Directory, please contact Annette Spracklan and she will arrange for it to be taken. Browse our Club Directory to match a ‘face’ to a member’s name. It is a great way to get to recognize one another.
- Forgot your user ID and password, please let Lorraine Peters know and our web team will get you back on line.
- Photos from your gardens, flower show designs, club activities for posting on the website and Facebook. Please attach them and send them to Brenda Symns/Pam Sabourin and copy to Lorraine Peters and Annette Spracklan. All information/pictures uploaded to our website must be approved by either the president or vice president of the club.
- Please continue to “LIKE US” on Facebook.
- Do you need training on how to use your web site? Contact Lorraine Peters at peters@gmail.com and one of web team editors will be glad to help.
The website team has tried to make your website as user friendly as possible for you to enjoy the wealth of information that is available for you from recipes to Woodland flowers. “Please check it out”.
Your Web Team: Laurie Greenhough, Jeanne Anne Goldrick,
Maria Murillo-Furlonger, Lorraine Peters, Lynne Schmidt, Annette Spracklan, Brenda Symns
Crocus Shop
Audrey, Maria and I are looking forward to coordinating the Crocus Shop this year. Here are a few things we would like you to note.
The crocus shop is moving to using only black oasis for our designs. The black oasis is compostable so is environmentally more friendly. The cost is $ 2.50 per block.
What we have left of the green oasis will be for sale until it is gone and will be $2.00 per brick.
Hours of Operation Open Close
| Studio Monday mornings | 11:00 am | 12:00pm |
| Course Mornings | 8:30 am | 9:00 am |
| Monthly General Meetings | 11:00 am | 12:00 pm |
We look forward to a new year and seeing you all in the Shop.
Convener Beverly Varley
Assistant Conveners Maria Baetens, Audrey van Holst
Eldon House
This year we will be gathering at Eldon House to make our Christmas decorations on Tuesday November 26 and Wednesday November 27. Designs will be assigned and work will begin at 9.30 and should be finished by noon.
Eldon House staff have been collecting and drying many floral materials all summer from their own gardens and will provide all the common greenery. Members are welcome to contribute items from their own gardens to use in their designs if they wish. Some Victorian appropriate decorative and greenery material suggestions received from Eldon House, are as follows.
Greenery – Rhododendron, cypress, mistletoe, yew, boxwood
Enhancements – osage oranges, dried poplar leaf, straw flower, Hydrangea, bittersweet, sumac, yarrow, pine cones, money (silver dollar) plant, statice, to name a few.
A signup list will be available before our October Garden Club Meeting. Signup ahead of time gives us the opportunity to assign you a specific design. This speeds up the whole process and ensures that things go as smoothly as possible on the day. Please bring your calendar. We will be asking for a date which would suit you later on for a tour and tea at Eldon House to view the result of our labours.
Thank you for your enthusiastic support and creativity.
Convener Maureen Graham
Assistant Convener Mary Aldworth
LIBRARY
The 3rd Annual Fall Book Sale will be held on Wednesday, October 16th before the General Meeting begins. Bring your loonies and toonies as a large selection of design and horticultural books will be available to purchase.
Inventory was completed in late June.
Unfortunately, listed below are the magazines and books that are missing: Magazines
Flower Arranger Winter 2013, Spring 2014, Summer 2014, Autumn 2014,
Winter 2012, Summer 2003, Summer 2004, Winter 2004
Fusion Flowers April/May 2015
Books
Canadian Garden Perennials A History of Flower Arrangement
New Style Mastery of Japanese Flower Arrangement
Sogetsu Flower Arrangement Favorite Garden Tips
Florida Flower Arrangement 1980 Calendar
Decorating with Wreaths, Garlands, Topiaries and Bouquets Flower Arrangement – The Ikebana Way
Please check your den, library, kitchen cupboards, bedside tables, etc. to see if you forgot to return any of the above mentioned magazines/books
A big THANK YOU to Beverley Varley for assisting me in completing the library inventory and to the many members who donated books to be added to our collection.
Just a reminder the Library is open on Monday mornings (Studio) and Wednesdays prior to the General and Horticulture Meetings.
Librarian Trudy Gorzny
Crocus Report due dates:
October 1st for November/December Volume 2; November 19th for January/February Volume 3;
February 1 for March/April Volume 4; April 1st for May/June Volume 5
COURSES
It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over and we are gearing up for another year at the Garden Club. This year Val Smith and Sandy Wilson will be your course conveners with Paulette Bromilow as our Secretary/Treasurer. We have what we hope will be a year of courses and workshops that you will find appealing and interesting to you as Garden Club members. Here is what we have lined up for the year:
| • | September 10, 17, 24 | Course 1 | Full Day | Brenda Symns & Linda Hawker |
| • | October 17 | Armatures | Full Day | Ursula Eley |
| • | October 23 | Gardening Tips | 1/2 Day | Angelique Ellerton |
| • | November 5 | Christmas Home Designs | Full Day | Shirleyan English & Janice Maciver |
| • | November 27 | Boxwood Christmas Tree | 1/2 Day | Sandy Wilson |
| § | January 29 | Trough | 1/2 Day | Jeanne Anne Goldrick & Lynne |
| Schmidt | ||||
| • | February 20 | Leaf Manipulation & Design | Full Day | Audrey van Holst & Lorraine Peters |
| • | February 26 | Kokedama Balls | 1/2 Day | Val Smith |
| • | March 17 | Mechanics & Techniques | Full Day | Irina Code & Lynne Schmidt |
| • | March 25 | Table Centre Design | Full Day | Betty Lou Simpson & Margaret Miller |
| • | April 7, 14, 21 | Course 11 | Full Day | Irina Code & Jeanne Anne Goldrick |
| • | April 22 | How to enter a Flower | 1/2 Day | Eva Norman-Vestergaard & Sandy |
| Show in Design and Hort | Wilson |
.
Please mark these dates in your calendar. There will be an in-house flower show on May 20 so participating in these courses will give you confidence to enter a design or horticulture specimen.
DESIGN COURSE 1
This is the first course of the year and is a requirement of all members of the Club. We look forward to meeting all probationary members and any other member who would like to refresh their basic skills in Floral Design. This course will run on Tuesday, September 10, 17 and 24 from 9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. and will be taught by Linda Hawker and Brenda Symns. The cost is $20.00 for each day with a total cost of $60.00
ARMATURES –
This full day course will be taught by our guest instructor, Ursula Eley, a Garden Club of Toronto member. Ursula has been a guest instructor several times at the Garden Club of London and her designs and technique are always outstanding. An armature is a creative design featuring a skeleton or a grid-like structure. The course will be on Thursday, October 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and will cost $25.00
GARDENING TIPS –
This 1/2 day course will be taught by Angelique Ellerton on Wednesday, October 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and will cost $15.00. Angelique will give us tips on how to plant various plants; how to divide those plants which have become too large; and how to prune various plants correctly. A wonderful course for the avid gardener.
Course Convener Val Smith, Sandy Wilson
Course Treasurer Paulette Bromilow
Woodland Restoration Project Woodland Improvements
Eureka! A new concrete pad and bench installed in July. An extra spigot expected ‘in service’ by mid-August. Wow! The Manager of City Parks Operations and her assistant came through for us big time and we’re grateful. Spring and early summer were wet enough to divide masses of mature plants. Transplants helped enhance the diversity of newer plots. The new spigot will come in handy when drought forces us to water the farthermost reaches of the Woodland.
Western Serves September 7, 2019, 1- 4 p.m.
Again this year, Western sends us 15 vigorous Frosh to spend an afternoon working by our side. A rare chance to ‘get down and dirty’ and ‘experience’ first-hand what ‘restoration’ is all about! No modern gadgets to help them plant and water, just shovels and pails. They’ll saw logs the old-fashioned way, walk and climb to place labels and temporary shims. That’s a real Orientation! We took the time to plan and prepare for their outing. Cannot disappoint young people looking to make a difference!
Woodland Committee Meeting July 31, 2019
Board granted us a healthy budget for 2019-2020. It was time to hammer out budget priorities. Time to fulfill our constitutional mandate i.e. Conservation, Education and Promotion. How should that money be spent? Are there ways to facilitate learning about native species? Extra plant labels? Is it time to label our newest trees? Can we improve the website’s woodland link to make it a useful learning tool for our Woodlanders and for the public at large? Have we maximized the stewardship potential of ‘convening’ single day or weekend events (‘Go Wild Expo or the Student Clean-Up)? Can we involve Woodlanders in a ‘minor’ but crucial ‘operational’ role like section inventories, ordering plants, or ordering labels? Are we ‘training’ the leaders of tomorrow?
Woodland Project Administrator Roseann McKay
Archives:
For this Crocus I chose the years 1984-1985. I read through the annual reports of each year which is quite exciting. This is the way the Club has evolved and gotten more and more involved in the community.
Mary Kernohan was the President (1983-1985). One of the projects the Club was involved in was the support of the Wheelchair Garden at Parkwood Hospital. To this day we are supporting and working with Parkwood Hospital. The active membership was 150 with 14 new members joining in the fall. There was a Telephone Committee to contact the Garden Club members.
My how times have changed. It you have a particular year you would like to know about I would love to look it up and write some information in the next Crocus.
Horticulture Boutique
We hope that you have had both a fun and restful summer and are now full of energy for material gathering and preparation. Boutique will be one week later this year on Saturday November 23rd, giving us a little more time to prepare. To date we conducted four workshops in July to help get new members started on various techniques to create urn material. Also, in preparation for Boutique, we are looking for interesting items for the urns and welcome any donations. To help us get started please consider donating the following:
- galls
- mullein
- thistles
- lotus pods
- any interesting pods
- curled birch bark
- interesting pieces of bark
- birch branches 3-5 feet in length and between 3-5 inches in diameter (smaller ones are helpful too
Also appreciated would be:
- small and medium pieces of driftwood
- Chinese lanterns
- bittersweet
- rose hips
- dried hydrangea
- dried sedum
- Silver dollars
These are just some suggestions and if you find some plant material that dries well and would look interesting as a Christmas pick, please don’t hesitate to bring it in. As well, we will be looking for donations of succulents since we are hoping to prepare succulent containers again this year.
We are also looking for old skates, cross country skis, snowshoes, toboggans and sleds that we can decorate. These will be used to create designs to be raffled.
With regard to greens to be used for Boutique, please consider cutting down any conifer trees in November so that we can gather the greens for our urns. As well, if you have shrubs to be pruned, please consider doing this in mid-November. We are looking for yew, juniper, boxwood, grape vine, curly willow, woody tree roots, red dogwood and any other interesting material that could be used in both urns and centerpieces. If you have a landscaper who tends to your property, please consider asking if the landscaper can give us some conifer materials that are the result of pruning your property or those of others.
The high-water levels in the Great Lakes this year have made finding driftwood very difficult. If you have some at home which you have gathered in previous years and would like to move them along to a new home, please consider us. Birch logs and branches have also been difficult to find, so if you have any that are dried that you no longer need, we would love to have them.
We look forward to seeing you at Studio on Mondays starting September 9th and hope that you will stop by our tables to share your ideas and skills. Thank you.
Conveners Martha Andrews, Sharon Bannerman and Linda Cottell
Registration Coupon Design Course 1
Tuesday, September 10, 17, 24, 2019 at the Civic Garden Complex – 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Instructors: Linda Hawker and Brenda Symns
Fee: $60.00 Cheque made payable to “The Garden Club of London” Please bring your lunch. Tea and Coffee will be provided.
Name: …………………………………………………. Phone: ………………………….
Email: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Send coupon to: Paulette Bromilow, 473 Blake Street, London, ON N6K 2N9
| Registration Coupon ‘Armatures’
Thursday, October 17, 2019 at the Civic Garden Complex….9:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Instructor: Ursula Eley Fee: $25.00 Cheque made payable to “The Garden Club of London” Please bring your lunch. Tea and Coffee will be provided. Name: ……………………………………………………. Phone: ………………………… Email: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… |
| Registration Coupon Gardening Tips
Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at the Civic Garden Complex 9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Instructor: Angelique Ellerton Fee: $15.00 Cheque made payable to “The Garden Club of London” Tea and Coffee will be provided. Name: ……………………………………………………. Phone: ………………………… Email: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… |