Winter is traditionally the time for gardeners to place their seed orders and make plans to start seedlings indoors. But green thumbs in Madawaska Valley use their January meeting for fun as well as planning. On Thursday, Jan.18 at the Opeongo Seniors Centre, 19 Stafford Street in Barry’s Bay, MV gardeners will enjoy a pre-meeting social time starting at 7pm, followed by a speedy Annual General Meeting at 7:30pm, and then they will round off the evening with friendly competition in the annual Gardening Trivia Quiz. Photo above: Pixabay on Pexels.com
New Quiz Master
MV Gardening Club is pleased to welcome a new Quiz Master, Liz Woosey, owner of the Balmoral Hotel. Club 2nd Vice-President Ritsuko Honda said, “Liz is well-suited to be our trivia master: she has gardened since childhood and she runs a weekly trivia night at the Balmoral (Thursdays at 7 pm, all welcome). Many thanks to our long-time quiz master, Baxter Topham-Pitt, co-owner of the Temperate Garden in Eganville, who ‘retired’ as host in 2020.”
Club members also have the opportunity to participate in the Monthly Exhibits program at each meeting. This month’s classes are:
- Class 1 Potted herb – one pot, any species, one/more species, named
- Class 2 Begonia – one pot, any cultivar grown for flowers/foliage
- Class 3 Geranium/Pelargonium in bloom – one pot, overwintered or rooted, any cultivar
- Class 4 “Indoor Garden” – a Dish Garden (Defined as a number of horticultural compatible plants growing in a shallow, open, portable container and usually included as a class in the Special Exhibits Division.)
- Class 5 Photo: “Cold Snap” – depicting winter
- JUNIOR Snow Man – made and decorated with any material
Club Memberships can be renewed or purchased at the January meeting. The MV Gardening Club Annual Membership fee is $15 which covers all the presentations, Garden BBQ, a beautiful yearbook and access to all knowledgeable gardeners for advice this year. And as if that isn’t enough, the Club aims to notify members of Ontario Horticultural Association (District 2) opportunities of interest. For example, the deadline for the OHA District 2 Photography Competition is March 15, so it’s time to look through your photos and select a winning picture.
Editor’s Note: This article was amended on Jan.11 to correct the date of the Club’s AGM which will be held on Jan.18 not Jan.19 as previously reported. On Jan.13 we also corrected the name of the Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA).