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The Columbine

Newsletter of Gardening Kingston

September 2021

 

President's Message

By Suzanne Maranda

Another hot day at the time of this writing. The climate is changing, not just over the years, but within the same season. I don’t recall a summer with such temperature extremes in this part of our country. Blooms came early in many cases, but it looks like they are leaving early as well. As you consider your overheated garden, maybe you can see plants that could be removed, split, or thinned out. Take a look at the information below for the Fall Plant Sale which will be restricted to members only, just like last year. Maybe you can make some room for a new plant?
I hope you were able get out and explore the community gardens included in the Community Garden Scavenger Hunt. The deadline to submit your answers is coming up (September 7th). Another way to enjoy new gardens would be to take a Virtual Garden Tour. Two of our members kindly allowed us to take photos and these were converted to a video with the InShot app. The videos are posted below.
And have you considered sharing your garden photo? Maybe you made a beautiful flower basket or urn using some of the Summer Bulbs purchased this spring? We’ve extended the deadline for the Best Planter Contest. See below for details. Submit a photo and maybe you can win the prize!
Currently, we are still having to continue with virtual meetings for the fall. The dates and times will remain the same as last year: the 2nd Thursday of the month at 7 pm. Do remember that you will need to register ahead of time to get on the mailing list to receive the link for the meeting. To make that happen, open the Columbine as soon as it is sent out, usually during the weekend before the meeting, and click on the Register Now button. Starting in October, you will have to be a member in good standing to be able to receive the newsletter and join the meetings. All memberships are due for renewal in September. If you responded to the Membership Renewal message sent out August 24th and we received your payment by Sept 1st then you were eligible for the Early Bird Draw. The winners will be announced at the Zoom Meeting on September 9th. If you haven’t renewed yet, start the process now, by clicking on the Membership Renewal button below.
Hope to “see you” virtually at the Zoom Meeting and in person at the plant sale!
Membership Renewal

Even if you won't be renewing, take a moment and let us know why.

Members-only Fall Plant Sale


When:
  • September 19, 2021.
  • Rain or shine but watch for announcements in case we need to cancel due to Covid 4th wave.
Where:
  • 592-596 Heritage Court, Kingston
  • The front yards and driveways of 2 members who live side by side. Lots of room for distancing.
  • Thank you Nalini and Cherrilyn.
Timing and COVID considerations:
  1. To bring plants: from 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.
    • Helpers will be there to unload cars and bring pots to be priced. You will then be asked to drive off to let others approach and return only at the start of the sale. We need time to price and organize the plants. Perennials and house plants welcome.
  2. To purchase: from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
    • Please wear a mask and use the provided hand sanitizer. We reserve the right to limit the number of people on site at the same time. We will need everyone to register for contact tracing purposes.
  3. To clean up: return at 1:00 p.m.
    • Anyone who brought plants needs to return and take home anything that did not sell. Thank you for helping us return the front yards to their owners!
  • We obviously must follow the Ontario restrictions – make sure to watch news on our website and Facebook in case we have to change our plans. Hopefully our potted plants can wait a bit until we are able to make this happen.
Membership Renewal:
  • For those who haven't already renewed their membership, there will be a Membership Table to drop off a cheque payable to the Kingston Horticultural Society.
We are also looking for a bit of garage or basement space for the plant sale supplies. Please contact Suzanne (marandasmj@gmail.com) if you can help.

Happy gardening and stay cool!
We also share garden related information on Facebook. So, if you aren't following us already, consider connecting with us there.
We also share garden related information on Facebook. So, if you aren't following us already, consider connecting with us there.

  Zoom Meeting

The Fungi Connection

 

Thursday, September 9th at 7:00 p.m.

 
You may have seen Deb and Darin at the Memorial Centre Sunday Farmers Market, purchased mushrooms at a local grocer, or sampled their produce at one of many Kingston restaurants.
The Fungi Connection (formerly Kelly’s Gourmet Mushrooms) is a vision of more than 15 years of labour, love, and determination. They will share with us how they progressed from an Indiana market garden in 2006 to present day mushroom cultivation in Harrowsmith.
In addition to growing gourmet mushrooms, the business has “mushroomed” to include consultation and training to other commercial growers, growing supplies, and Grow Kits for gardeners.


Registration required by
Wednesday, September 8th


Learn, Grow, Share

Register Now


Never Zoom'd before and don't know where to start?
Check out these resources:
  1. Zoom FAQ's
  2. Step-by-step Guide (PDF)
  3. Video and Tutorial
  4. Or send us an email kingstonhortsoc@gmail.com and we'll try to help you out

OHA's Trillium Newsletter

 
Interested in seeing what other societies in the province are doing? Stay updated with the latest OHA news. Follow the link to the latest issue of the OHA’s Trillium newsletter.
 

114th OHA Convention

Hosted by District 10, Thames Valley
July 16 – 18, 2021

By Rebecca Kelly, KHS Secretary & Treasurer

We have all had to adapt to a different way of doing things because of the Covid 19 pandemic. Organizations like the OHA are no exception. Their 2020 convention was cancelled because of pandemic restrictions, so in order to hold a convention in 2021, they opted to make it a virtual event instead. This involved much “reinventing the wheel” as a lot of business is conducted at the convention. There are 278 societies that are members of the OHA. Depending on the size of the society, between 1 and 10 delegates can attend the convention and vote. KHS had 2 delegates. As you can imagine, that’s a lot of voting to get through. And the voting only represents the tip of the iceberg, as all motions must be available for members to see, and if they are changed, new motions must be written and distributed. You get the picture. My hat goes off to Kelly Taylor, the OHA secretary, who went above and beyond the call of duty.
 
In the space of 10 hours, there were 18 resolutions put forward (a 7-page document), and most of them will not be of any interest to you (since the vast majority had to do with changing the wording of existing by-laws), but there was one important motion that directly affects all the member societies. Since the start of the pandemic, membership to the OHA societies has decreased by over 6,000. This has a direct impact on the OHA’s bottom line, as they collect a $3 membership fee for every member of each affiliate society. In other words, they have lost $18,000 in revenue.
 
In order to cover this loss, the OHA introduced a motion to increase their fees to OHA member societies by $1, to $4 per member. After a brief discussion, this motion was passed. This increase may not seem like a lot, but don’t forget that KHS must pay that amount to the OHA for every membership, regardless of how much that membership costs. So, for KHS, $4 of a $20 Single Membership and $8 of a $25 Family Membership is earmarked for the OHA. In addition to that, KHS also pays an insurance fee of $0.87 per member to the OHA, and an annual fee of $1.50 per member, to District 3, which KHS is part of. For a total of about $6.50 per member.
 
The KHS membership fee has not been increased for decades. Considering that each single member costs us about $6.50, each family membership costs us $13.00, and each lifetime member costs $26.50 (lost revenue from the membership fee not received of $20 and $6.50 actual cost) per year, we hope that our members will appreciate the value that they get from the fee, since a significant portion of the membership fee goes to paying the OHA and District 3.

Convention Highlights can be viewed on the OHA website
https://gardenontario.org/convention/
 

Best Planter Contest

$25 Cash Prize
Deadline extended to September 30
If you purchased items from our Summer Bulb Campaign and used them in a planter, submit a photo to: columbine.editor@gmail.com
The summer bulbs must be visible and make sure that you identify them by name in the email. Photos will be published in the October issue and members will vote for the winner in an on-line survey.

Robinson Community Garden


As you know, it is harvest season and we are looking for some extra hands to come help harvest some vegetables!
We are 'open' for business on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 7-10 am and 5-8 pm where our volunteer supervisors will be at the farm to assist and orient volunteers to ensure that their time at the community garden is structured and well spent.

Contact Julie Anderson, Community Coordinator
(343) 333-4133
3747 Princess Street, Kingston

Open Farms in Frontenac

Real Food. Real Farms. Real People

September 11-12, 2021
A wonderful celebration of local food and agriculture. Reunite with your family and friends while you reconnect with local food and the people who grow, produce, and prepare it during Open Farms.
For details click here          For Event Map click here

Gardening Kingston



Volunteer Opportunity: KHS Board Member

Qualifications: Enthusiasm and a desire to get things done!


Truth be known, attracting new board members feels like pulling teeth. Many of our long-term members have taken a turn in the past and some of our current Board members have already served multiple terms and feel it’s time to “retire”. Any board needs new blood to bring new ideas and keep the organization moving forward.  Now is the time to seriously consider adding your voice to the KHS Board and help shape the future of our society. We are looking for 2-3 new board members.
New members may feel hesitant to commit to the Board, feeling they don’t have the expertise required, but keep in mind that you have the support of other board members and you work together with separate committee members to get things done. It’s only through the commitment of our members that we can continue to deliver the program and events that you value most as well as develop new ways of doing things in these challenging times.
Election of officers is scheduled for our AGM November 11, 2021.  Interested members may apply by sending an email to kingstonhortsoc@gmail.com before October 15th. You may volunteer yourself or nominate someone else (provided the nominee agrees). Someone from the nominating committee will contact you to answer any questions you may have about the commitment involved.
Satisfaction guaranteed…as in, you reap what you sow!

Volunteer Hours

 
Just a quick reminder about the importance of tracking your volunteer hours, even while the pandemic restrictions are still in effect.

The total hours are submitted to the Ontario Horticultural Association, our umbrella group. This is what the OHA says about the hours:
  • Your volunteer hours’ statistics are an important piece of the information about your society. They are an easy reference that illustrates how valuable your society is to the community.
  • Your volunteer hours are added to those from all the societies across Ontario, and the resulting total is used by your OHA Board to negotiate with fundraising or governmental agencies. The cumulative number of volunteer hours certainly displays to others the value of Horticultural Societies in Ontario.
From www.gardenontario.org, retrieved March 1, 2021

We hope you will contribute to our grand total – every hour counts!

The form to be completed is on our website under the Membership tab or, click a button below to download your copy now.
Volunteer Hours Form - Word version
Volunteer Hours Form - PDF version

Virtual Garden Tours

By Suzanne Maranda

Ann Levison and Veronica Butler kindly agreed to have me take photos of their gardens this summer. Of course, the videos I made are nothing like the real experience of visiting their beautiful gardens, but it’s the best substitute we could come up with during this on-going pandemic. I think you will all agree that technology has helped us stay connected with friends and family, and here’s another small way that, as gardeners, we can share online. Enjoy!
And if you would like to have a video of your garden, please reach out. The link can also be sent to family and friends. The videos are posted on YouTube privately: only people with the link can view them. Fall gardens are also beautiful…


Ann Levison's Garden

Veronica Butler's Garden

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