Club News
Your Club Needs a Speaker Co-ordinator
17/05/12 09:07 PM
The Oshawa Garden Club is looking for a volunteer to contact and coordinate event speakers for the 2013 calendar year. We do have a list of speakers that members have heard and thought were interesting and Nadia, the out-going coordinator, would be happy to explain the general process so that you would have full support from the team.
If taking on this role would be of interest to you, please contact .
If taking on this role would be of interest to you, please contact .
OGC Annual Plant Sale
07/05/12 10:24 PM
from Garry Lucas
Open to all on Saturday, June 2 from 9 AM to 3 PM. The sale will be held at the Northview Seniors Centre on Beatrice St. in Oshawa (see map). The sale will be in the upper parking lot, just follow the signs if you have never been there. In addition to member supplied plants there will be a wide selection of clematis available from a local expert. Many of these are not commonly available at nurseries.
The sale is later this year as some of you did not have time last year to divide large perennials due to the weather. There should be no problem with late cold weather this year. If you need a hand dividing or potting plants to donate or just for plant pickup, then contact us. We will come with a trailer of potting soil, pots, and willing workers to assist you. Of course, any plants you pot can be picked up or delivered the day of the sale.
This is the major fundraiser for your club and helps minimize dues increases. Donating plants or time are essential for a healthy club. Volunteers are needed to help with many tasks other than potting such as: labelling, phoning, selling, cashier, organizing, transporting, storing. Every little bit helps so, if you can assist on sale day or any day prior to that, let us know as above. I am potting and dividing most any afternoon the weather is clear. If you have an unused driveway or part of a backyard we need a place to store plants until the sale day.
Please note that we especially need plants that are not commonly grown or that are expensive at the nursery. Consider taking a small division or two off that special plant or rooting a piece of your shrubs so others can enjoy them, too. Excess seedlings are also welcomed and are popular when available.
The sale is later this year as some of you did not have time last year to divide large perennials due to the weather. There should be no problem with late cold weather this year. If you need a hand dividing or potting plants to donate or just for plant pickup, then contact us. We will come with a trailer of potting soil, pots, and willing workers to assist you. Of course, any plants you pot can be picked up or delivered the day of the sale.
This is the major fundraiser for your club and helps minimize dues increases. Donating plants or time are essential for a healthy club. Volunteers are needed to help with many tasks other than potting such as: labelling, phoning, selling, cashier, organizing, transporting, storing. Every little bit helps so, if you can assist on sale day or any day prior to that, let us know as above. I am potting and dividing most any afternoon the weather is clear. If you have an unused driveway or part of a backyard we need a place to store plants until the sale day.
Please note that we especially need plants that are not commonly grown or that are expensive at the nursery. Consider taking a small division or two off that special plant or rooting a piece of your shrubs so others can enjoy them, too. Excess seedlings are also welcomed and are popular when available.
Tree Plantings: OGC 80th Anniversary and Queen's Diamond Jubilee
05/05/12 08:42 AM
The second piece of news is that each district of the Ontario Horticultural Association is to be provided with a Bur Oak as an anniversary planting for the Queen's Jubilee. The announcement was made at the last District President's Meeting, and it was decided that any club interested in being eligible for the tree was to submit their club's name. The draw took place at the District AGM on April 28th and I am pleased to announce that the Oshawa Garden Club was chosen. The tree is to be planted on September 26th (Tree Planting Day) with a plaque installation at a location to be chosen by the City of Oshawa, somewhere along the Oshawa Creek Trail system.
From Ontario's Tree Atlas:
Tulip Tree
The tulip is tall, second in North American only to the Giant Sequoia. Tulips often reach 150 feet with diameters up to 8 feet; they can live 300 years. (Compare the sequoia: 300', 30' diameter, and 3,000 years). What distinguishes the tulip is good posture. It's a very straight tree. The up-reaching branches have elbow-like bends and the bottom branches may be as high as 80' from the ground. The gray-brown bark has deep, vertical furrows like an elm. These features could also describe some lindens and nut trees, so crane your neck and check the branch tips. The tulip holds on to its seed cones all winter. Tulip have lovely flowers in spring, water lily-shaped and greenish with orange stripes. However, they're 'way, 'way up there, so look for a fallen one or bring the binoculars. Over the summer, the flowers mature into light brown cones that split open in the fall, shedding winged seeds (samaras) until spring. The leaves have four points, two on each side, like a webbed duck foot that's missing the forward pointing toe. The leaves turn a lovely yellow in the fall. In the wild, tulips have a wide natural range, from Northern Florida and Louisiana, to Michigan, Southern Ontario, and Southern New England. The best ones, they say, are in the Ohio Valley. Tulips like deep rich soil with adequate moisture and good drainage. It's said that they languish in soil that's too wet or too dry. Tulips are good urban trees for large, open spaces. They're resistant to pests and they "play well with others"; the trees are tall enough that they don't shade out the competition. Tulip trees are know as "honey trees" -- a single teenage tree (e.g. 25 years old) is said to produce something like 8 pounds of nectar, which must be a lot the way the experts talk about it. The seeds are also food for the songbirds, squirrels, mice and rabbits. Curiously, tulips are one of the fastest growing hardwoods. (Note, that "fast" is a relative term when talking about trees.) This makes tulips commercially attractive for lumber. Tulips have fine-grained wood that's soft enough to be easily worked but hard enough to take a high polish. The Native American once made the giant, straight trunks into canoes; today tulip lumber is used for toys, furniture, paneling, veneer, crates and pulp.
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Bur Oak
The bur oak can survive forest fires because it has very thick bark. It can also tolerate drought because its roots grow deep into the ground. The bur oak is a medium to large tree, growing up to 30 metres in height. It is the most common oak in Ontario. The bur oak’s large leaves are 15 to 25 centimetres long, and are shiny green on top, and pale and hairy underneath. Its acorns, which are 1.5 to 3 centimetres long, have a deep cup covering 2/3 of the acorn. This cup has a bristle fringe around the upper edge. Depending on where it grows, the bur oak can be different shapes. It’s usually tall with a straight trunk but if grown in shallow soil, it can be smaller with a twisted trunk and gnarled branches.
Size: 15 to 30 metres tall, trunk 60 to 120 centimetres in diameter
Moisture: Tolerates a wide variety of moisture conditions
Shade: Prefers full sun, but can tolerate moderate shade
Soil: Can grow in a variety of soils
Planting tip: The bur oak’s roots grow deep into the soil, so plant it where there aren’t underground pipes. The bur oak can survive being transplanted and it grows well in cities.
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Volunteers Needed: Jane's Walks
14/04/12 04:17 PM
Jane’s Walks Come to Oshawa - May 5 & 6, 2012
If you’re interested in helping with a guided walk (1 to 2 hours in length) of the OVBG, please contact .
If you’re interested in helping with a guided walk (1 to 2 hours in length) of the OVBG, please contact .
We Want You to be a Showoff!
14/04/12 10:13 AM
Part of the OHA District 17 Annual General Meetings is devoted to judged exhibitions of horticultural specimens, photography, art work and floral designs.
The Oshawa Garden Club does not have regular flower shows as do most clubs. The planning committee for the 2013 District 17 AGM would like to encourage members to show flowers, bulbs, branches etc. from their gardens and learn what is expected so that there will be entries from OGC members submitted at our “home” show on April 20, 2013.
Each month, beginning in May, we will provide the criteria for showing different seasonal cuttings so that members can develop the confidence to enter the various competitions.
For the May 14, 2012 meeting we are asking members to submit the following:
Note:
Containers for display must be clear glass only so that the stem is visible.
Definition of terms:
Stem or Stalk: A main plant structure which supports flower, buds, leaves or fruit.
Scape: A leafless flower stem arising from the ground, each scape carries a number of flower buds depending on the cultivar, e.g. Hemerocallis (Daylily), Narcissus.
Source: Ontario Judging and Exhibiting Standards for Horticulture and Floral Design, 2003
The Oshawa Garden Club does not have regular flower shows as do most clubs. The planning committee for the 2013 District 17 AGM would like to encourage members to show flowers, bulbs, branches etc. from their gardens and learn what is expected so that there will be entries from OGC members submitted at our “home” show on April 20, 2013.
Each month, beginning in May, we will provide the criteria for showing different seasonal cuttings so that members can develop the confidence to enter the various competitions.
For the May 14, 2012 meeting we are asking members to submit the following:
- Iris: any cultivar, any colour: 1 stalk
- Narcissus: any type, any colour: 1 scape
- Cutting from any bulb, any colour: 3 blooms or stems
Note:
Containers for display must be clear glass only so that the stem is visible.
Definition of terms:
Stem or Stalk: A main plant structure which supports flower, buds, leaves or fruit.
Scape: A leafless flower stem arising from the ground, each scape carries a number of flower buds depending on the cultivar, e.g. Hemerocallis (Daylily), Narcissus.
Source: Ontario Judging and Exhibiting Standards for Horticulture and Floral Design, 2003
April Greenleaf Online
10/04/12 08:13 PM
June Bus Trip
31/03/12 10:35 AM
from member Bonnie
Bus Trip (for club members)
When: Sat. June 23
Where:
1. Brantford: the 1.5 acre private garden of Mary and Bruce members of the Brantford Garden Club. Mary has over 350 different peonies, a small pond , more like a water feature, hidden gardens, small Japanese garden, and a small Victorian garden. The yard is on a bit of a slope, so they have compensated with pathways to take you thru the gardens. The front of the house has a large wraparound porch, with gardens and formal boxwood square in the front yard.
2. Waterwise Demonstration Garden developed by the city in partnership with the Brantford Garden Club and Brant-Lyn Optimists. BGC members will give us a personal tour of the 5 different styles of gardens.
3. Wilsonville: Private tour of Whistling Gardens the newest Botanic Garden to officially open on May 26, 2012. Darren Heimbecker has cultivated & sculpted nearly 18 acres into 6 major gardens & collections with nearly 4 km of walking paths and a Garden Centre for our gardening needs.
We will stop for a morning break and lunch. Cost Not Included.
Cost: $58.00 will include cost of bus and all entrance fees & tour fees.
No Refunds
more information
Bus Trip (for club members)
When: Sat. June 23
Where:
1. Brantford: the 1.5 acre private garden of Mary and Bruce members of the Brantford Garden Club. Mary has over 350 different peonies, a small pond , more like a water feature, hidden gardens, small Japanese garden, and a small Victorian garden. The yard is on a bit of a slope, so they have compensated with pathways to take you thru the gardens. The front of the house has a large wraparound porch, with gardens and formal boxwood square in the front yard.
2. Waterwise Demonstration Garden developed by the city in partnership with the Brantford Garden Club and Brant-Lyn Optimists. BGC members will give us a personal tour of the 5 different styles of gardens.
3. Wilsonville: Private tour of Whistling Gardens the newest Botanic Garden to officially open on May 26, 2012. Darren Heimbecker has cultivated & sculpted nearly 18 acres into 6 major gardens & collections with nearly 4 km of walking paths and a Garden Centre for our gardening needs.
We will stop for a morning break and lunch. Cost Not Included.
Cost: $58.00 will include cost of bus and all entrance fees & tour fees.
No Refunds
more information
Sharing Gardens Tours 2012
31/03/12 10:34 AM
from Garry Lucas, Chair Sharing Gardens Tour
Tours are for club members and guests. To join the club and get in on the fun, go here.
Is there anyone in the club who can predict the weather? If you can, we need you, since this winter's crazy up-and-down weather makes it impossible to guess how our spring and summer gardens will grow.
Accordingly we are now planning an Early Summer Tour on Sunday, June 24, 2012 (see Club Calendar). This year we will gather in the Peony Gardens on Arena Street, north of Ontario Motor Sales, at 12:30 p.m. We will leave as a group at 1:00 p. m. As a bonus the roses should be at their peak.
The Late Summer Tour will be on Sunday August 19, 2012 and we will meet at the Peony Gardens at 12:30 p.m. Gardens are usually at their most colourful at this time of year.
I should emphasize that the tours are a terrific opportunity to enjoy a diversity of gardens, while sharing knowledge and experience with like-minded gardeners.Those who are interested in sharing their gardens, can contact us to volunteer. Happy digging!
Tours are for club members and guests. To join the club and get in on the fun, go here.
Is there anyone in the club who can predict the weather? If you can, we need you, since this winter's crazy up-and-down weather makes it impossible to guess how our spring and summer gardens will grow.
Accordingly we are now planning an Early Summer Tour on Sunday, June 24, 2012 (see Club Calendar). This year we will gather in the Peony Gardens on Arena Street, north of Ontario Motor Sales, at 12:30 p.m. We will leave as a group at 1:00 p. m. As a bonus the roses should be at their peak.
The Late Summer Tour will be on Sunday August 19, 2012 and we will meet at the Peony Gardens at 12:30 p.m. Gardens are usually at their most colourful at this time of year.
I should emphasize that the tours are a terrific opportunity to enjoy a diversity of gardens, while sharing knowledge and experience with like-minded gardeners.Those who are interested in sharing their gardens, can contact us to volunteer. Happy digging!
Volunteers Needed
14/03/12 12:28 AM
from Ann Couch
Healing Hands Project
Our project at Lakeridge Health Oshawa has ended. For the past two years we provided therapy for patients on the Integrated Stroke Rehab Unit using plants and plant material. This was a very rewarding project for the OGC volunteers and for the patients involved.
I have recently been contacted by two other facilities, Ontario Shores in Whitby, and Hillsdale Estates in Oshawa, to provide this service to their residents. We are in need of more OGC volunteers to meet this very worthwhile initiative.
If you can commit a couple of hours once or twice a month or even less often, please contact us.
Healing Hands Project
Our project at Lakeridge Health Oshawa has ended. For the past two years we provided therapy for patients on the Integrated Stroke Rehab Unit using plants and plant material. This was a very rewarding project for the OGC volunteers and for the patients involved.
I have recently been contacted by two other facilities, Ontario Shores in Whitby, and Hillsdale Estates in Oshawa, to provide this service to their residents. We are in need of more OGC volunteers to meet this very worthwhile initiative.
If you can commit a couple of hours once or twice a month or even less often, please contact us.
March Club Meeting: Seed Exchange Month
12/03/12 08:58 PM
Free Garden Stuff for You!
from Faye Gosling & Maria Thompson, Co-Chairs, OGC Plant Table
Our March 12th meeting (see Events) will be the seed exchange month. Get your seeds together and bring them in.
There will be a table for gently used garden magazines and anything pertaining to the garden that you no longer need and can donate. Please bring them in. Other gardeners would love to give them to a good home.
Everything will be free!!!
Start going through your old magazines, your book collections, your garden knick-knacks, etc. Remember: We want anything a gardener can use and you are willing to donate. Please come early and bring your own bags.

from Faye Gosling & Maria Thompson, Co-Chairs, OGC Plant Table
Our March 12th meeting (see Events) will be the seed exchange month. Get your seeds together and bring them in.
There will be a table for gently used garden magazines and anything pertaining to the garden that you no longer need and can donate. Please bring them in. Other gardeners would love to give them to a good home.
Everything will be free!!!
Start going through your old magazines, your book collections, your garden knick-knacks, etc. Remember: We want anything a gardener can use and you are willing to donate. Please come early and bring your own bags.

Potluck Dinner - Monday, February 13, 2012
12/02/12 08:15 PM
Hello Garden Club Members:
Here is the information for the February 13 Pot Luck Dinner:
• Doors open at 5:00pm - Dinner starts at 6:00pm
• Please bring your own plate, cutlery and mug and remember to put your name on your pot luck dish and serving utensil.
• Only Tea, Coffee and Water will be supplied.
NOTE: If you are planning to attend and have not let us know, could you please contact us.
We need to know the number of people coming in order to set up the proper amount of tables. Also, if you did sign up but forgot to mention that your partner or friend is coming as well let us know. All are welcome.
Here is the information for the February 13 Pot Luck Dinner:
• Doors open at 5:00pm - Dinner starts at 6:00pm
• Please bring your own plate, cutlery and mug and remember to put your name on your pot luck dish and serving utensil.
• Only Tea, Coffee and Water will be supplied.
NOTE: If you are planning to attend and have not let us know, could you please contact us.
We need to know the number of people coming in order to set up the proper amount of tables. Also, if you did sign up but forgot to mention that your partner or friend is coming as well let us know. All are welcome.
- Speaker is Cathy Kozma at 7:30 Topic is "The Importance of BEE-ing”. Cathy will have honey and soap for sale.
- Imagination Table - This month's theme for your floral arrangement entry is "Masks of Mardi Gras". The design must contain a mask with the floral components complementing the colours. No artificial plants allowed.
"Healing Hands", Therapeutic Gardening Project
01/12/11 09:09 AM
Plant Donations
01/12/11 09:03 AM
The club would like to thank Loblaw Superstore, Gibb St., Oshawa for their generous donation of plant material for the Hosta Garden at the Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens (OVBG) and for our plant sale next year. We also acknowledge members Maria and Bonnie for their plant donations to OVBG.
New Board and Committee Members Elected
14/11/11 10:00 PM
Please welcome the new Board and Committee members elected to the OGC at the November AGM.
more information
more information
Hearth Place October 2011
01/10/11 09:05 AM
Putting the Hearth Place Garden to bed for the season
OGC volunteers (left to right) Sharon H., Bonnie G., Maggie N., Bonnie W., Linda C., Malcolm B., Debi F. Missing is Pat A. and Ann C. (Photo courtesy of George M.)
Healing Garden at Hearth Place overview
Oshawa Garden Club/Durham College Horticulture Technician Scholarship
01/09/11 09:04 AM
Durham College recently received Ministry approval for the new Horticulture Technician program scheduled to commence September, 2012 as part of the “Field to Fork” experience. A $500 Durham College scholarship was recently initiated by Marion N., OGC board secretary. Approval by the OGC board was provided at the last board meeting to continue the scholarship for the next four years. Marion deferred her two-year term honorarium to initiate the scholarship which was subsequently supplemented by the honorarium normally provided to the Treasurer, Marlene M. In light of Marlene’s passing, the board approved inclusion of the Treasurer’s honorarium.
The $500 Horticulture Technician Scholarship will be provided to the student in the program with the second top mark at the annual scholarship ceremony in November, 2013. A representative of the board will be invited to attend the ceremony to meet and personally congratulate the successful student.
Through the commitment of the OGC board with the support of the club, this initiative will provide assistance for future students in this new and exciting program as well as potential synergistic opportunities.
The $500 Horticulture Technician Scholarship will be provided to the student in the program with the second top mark at the annual scholarship ceremony in November, 2013. A representative of the board will be invited to attend the ceremony to meet and personally congratulate the successful student.
Through the commitment of the OGC board with the support of the club, this initiative will provide assistance for future students in this new and exciting program as well as potential synergistic opportunities.