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Gardeners' Corner at the

Calgary Horticultural Society
Wishing You a Festive Holiday Season
Thank you for supporting the Calgary Horticultural Society. We wish you and your family good health and opportunities to share joy this coming year.
The Society's Office is Closed for a Holiday Break

The office will reopen for telephone assistance, contactless pick-up, and appointments on January 5, 2021 at 9:00 am.
Roasted Garlic & Dark Chocolate Truffles
Looking for something a little different to do during the holiday break? Perhaps try making roasted garlic and dark chocolate truffles. This recipe has been featured at the Society's Garlic Fair and was created by the ATCO Blue Flame Kitchen team. Chef Grant Parry prepared this home-friendly recipe for us to share.

This recipe calls for roasted garlic, but you can also prepare the garlic in a pan on the stove top. Watch the 25-minute YouTube video from this fall's Day of Learning—Garlic Fair to see Chef Grant demonstrate making these truffles. In the video he explains how to prepare the garlic on the stove top.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole garlic cloves, peeled
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups whipping cream
¼ cup white corn syrup
½ tsp kosher salt
3 cups dark chocolate, chopped
½ cocoa powder, sifted

Yield: about 50 truffles

Heat oven to 350° F.



 
Method:
  1. In a shallow roasting pan, melt butter in oven and add garlic cloves. Mix well to coat garlic and roast garlic until softened and caramelized, about 45 minutes. Stir occasionally.
  2. Remove garlic from oven and pour butter and garlic into a food processor and purée until smooth, about two minutes. Set aside and let cool.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine cream, corn syrup, and salt. Scald the cream mixture over medium heat.
  4. Place the chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and immediately pour the hot cream mixture over the chopped chocolate. Stir well to combine.
  5. Stir in roasted garlic purée and transfer to a large casserole dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
  6. Scoop truffles to desired size. Place on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.
  7. Carefully roll truffles by hand into balls. Roll in sifted cocoa powder.
  8. Place the rolled truffles in the refrigerator until needed.
Calgary Gardening—Article Index
Looking forward to catching up on garden reading? See the Calgary Gardening magazine Article Index to quickly find authors and topics covered in the Society's member magazine. To open the index, visit and log in to the Members Only section of the website and select Article Index.

To access the 2020 December/2021 January issue of the magazine, log in to the Members Only section of the website and select "Calgary Gardening." 
Society 2021 Calendar is Available!
We are excited to announce that we have received the Society's 2021 calendar ... and it's gorgeous! Thank you to everyone who contributed their photos and stories to the project. A contribution that is new to the calendar this year is seed starting and germination tips prepared by Kath Smyth.

Do you have a garden angel? Two are featured on the February spread of the Society's 2021 calendar. The main photo was taken by Elaine Haggith and features a lovely angel statue nestle among creeping phlox. The calendar's cover photo was taken by Lynn Nieman.

Calendars are only $10 each. In January, call the office at 403.287.3469 to purchase your copy—buy calendars for family and friends, too! You may arrange to pick it up or have it mailed for an additional $5.
Planning the Food Garden
This holiday break provides an opportunity to plan the garden. A raised bed provides limited and precious growing space. With seed catalogues in hand, or when standing in front of a seed rack, it's easy to get carried away and select more seeds varieties than can be accommodated in the bed.

Following the square foot method, a 4 ft x 8 ft raised bed has 32 squares for growing. A square can accommodate 9 wax bean plants, 16 carrots, 16 radishes, one carefully-tended tomato, or one tidy cabbage. You can overplant a square, then thin to the appropriate number of plants. Thinning is important, as crowded plants will not reach their maximum size and may result in a disappointing harvest.

When making your seed selections, consider the amount of time required for the plants to reach maturity. You may be able to sow successive crops in a square. Also, keep in mind the number of seeds in a package. For example, many carrot packages contain 1000 seeds. 

If you're dreaming of trying different varieties of your favourite crops this coming growing season, consider sharing your seeds with a friend—there should be plenty!
New Program Style
In addition to our current styles of program delivery, the Society is launching a new course format in January. The first part is a demonstration video (on YouTube) that can be watched on demand. The second part, a week after the video release, is a scheduled Zoom Cloud Meeting with the instructor. 

Our expectation is that course participants will be able to review their supplies, try the methods explained in the video, and prepare questions before the session with the instructor, so they can have a thorough learning experience. 

The first series of these two-part courses will be about seed starting. We are planning to offer one course in January and two in February. The timing of these courses will help you get your seeds started and give you the knowledge to successfully grow them indoors, until it's time to plant outside. Watch the classes section of this e-news for registration details.
Classes and Events for 2021!
Visit the What's Happening Calendar for Program Details
To see the calendar, visit calhort.org | What's Happening.
Need help registering? Call the office at 403.287.3469 ext.0 and leave a message for Gail.
Houseplants 101
Tuesday, January 19, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $20 for Society members, $30 for non-members
Register

Grow your indoor jungle with confidence as you learn the basics of indoor plant care during this entry-level plant care course. We will cover important topics such as proper watering, lighting requirements, pruning, and pest control, among others. You will walk away from this course equipped with the skills and know how you need to grow a wide variety of big, beautiful plants.  

During this course, you will learn:  

  • how and when to water plants based on their genus and size 
  • how to encourage fuller and healthier growth through fertilizing and pruning 
  • identifying and treating common houseplant pests, but more importantly, how to prevent them 
  • why proper lighting plays an important role in optimal plant health and growth 
  • how and when to repot your plants and how to pick the right size pot for your growing plants 

Instructor: Anela Bigornia
(The Sunroom Plant Shop)
Online registration closes on Tuesday, January 12.
Seed Starting—January Plantings
Sunday January 24, 10:30 to 11:30 am
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting and YouTube Video
On-demand YouTube video access is available from January 20 until January 31.
Cost: $25 for Society members, $35 for non-members
Register

The course focuses on what you need to do to grow plants that require a long season when started from seed. Sowing of wax begonias, heliotropes, and strawberries will be covered, but the practices apply to many plants that need to be started indoors in order to provide the length of growing season that they need. Also covered is winter sowing of perennials such as hollyhocks and Rudbeckia. 

The first part of the course is a Youtube video. A link to the video and access code will be emailed to you on January 20. In the video, the instructor will demonstrate sowing these long-season plants and cover all the materials required to make planting a success. This will give you an opportunity to try the methods, evaluate your materials, and prepare questions to ask the instructor during the second part of the course.  

The second part of the course is a Zoom Cloud Meeting with the instructor and the other participants.  The instructor will answer your questions and highlight some details covered in the video. The Youtube video is available for a week after the Zoom meeting (until January 31).

Instructor: Joanne Ogilvie
Online registration closes on Sunday, January 17.
Kickstart Your Garden
Tuesday, January 26, 6:30 to 9:00 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $30 for Society members, $40 for non-members
Register

Get your garden ready with this comprehensive talk and demonstrations covering everything you need to know to launch into spring. Learn about spring soil amendments, indoor and outdoor winter sowing, the best ways to clean up your garden after winter, growing microgreens, and early direct sowing and planting.  

Instructor: Janet Melrose, Calgary's Cottage Gardener
Online registration closes on Thursday, January 21.
Winter Photography Walk
Saturday, January 23, 1:00 to 3:00 pm
In-person: Dale Hodges Park
2123 52 Street NW
Cost: $30 for Society members, $40 for non-members
Register

Join local photographer Jillian Logee on a photo walk through Dale Hodges Park. She'll teach you how to look for interesting angles, compose shots, and find great botanical details even in winter. Jillian recommends downloading the editing app Snapseed prior to the workshop, as she will also teach some tips and tricks for finishing off your new art pieces. All cameras (including phones) are welcome. 

Note: this is a weather-dependent workshop—the class will be rescheduled if the weather is below -10° C (-12° C with windchill).   

Instructor: Jillian Logee (Logee Photography)
Online registration closes on Monday, January 18.
Sustainable Garden Design
Mondays and Wednesdays (10 weeknights)
January 25 and 27, February 1, 3, 8, 10, 17, 22 and 24, and March 1 from 6:30 to 9:00 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $300 for Society members, $350 for non-members
Register

Students will create a finished home garden design based on ecological principles such as water-saving, closed loops, and habitat creation.  

Participants will learn: 

  • technical design skills, such as drafting and site analysis  
  • differences and similarities between sustainable design systems such as permaculture, xeriscaping, and food forestry
  • water movement through soil and around properties; hardscaping to redirect and/or store water  
  • best practices for building a greenhouse  
  • how to build and amend soil while considering the soil biology  
  • plant selection based on water needs, habitats, niches, wildlife value, and personal goals  

Participants will have the opportunity to present their design to fellow students and instructors at several points in the class, for comments and suggestions. 

Students will need either a Real Property Report (RPR) of their property or a suitable property image (with measurements from programs such as Google Maps or Google Earth) to work from.  

Instructors: Michelle Edworthy (Calgary Horticultural Society), Jeremy Zoller (Sunshine Earthworks), Mike Dorion (Living Soil Solutions), Marcia MacLellan (Bow Point Nursery)
Online registration closes on Monday, January 18.

Help us Spread the Word! 
We are working on growing our gardening community. If you enjoy receiving this weekly e-news note, filled with workshop highlights, tips, and upcoming events, please invite your friends to subscribe. It's for everyone!  

Forward this email and ask your friends to select this Join NOW link. They will receive their own copy of Gardeners' Corner in their inbox.

Thanks for helping us grow. We appreciate your support!
Did you know?..
According to the National Christmas Tree Association, it takes 7 years, on average, to grow a harvestable Christmas tree. For every farm tree harvested, 1 to 3 seedlings are planted in the spring.
Can’t Get Enough of Our Classes?
When you volunteer as a workshop monitor, not only do you get to meet new people, but you get the opportunity to attend the workshop for FREE!
If you’ve had your eye on one of our workshops, we would love to have you as a volunteer! Check our “What’s Happening” page for our current in-person and virtual workshop opportunities.

To learn more about volunteering with the Society, visit Get Involved/Volunteer on calhort.org. To learn more about a specific program or to sign up, please contact volunteer@calhort.org.
Volunteers are a valued resource of the Society. The safety and well-being of our volunteers is important to us. We are mindful of all the Society's future events and how the changing situation may affect them. Decisions about these event plans will be made closer to these event dates.
Support the Society

Membership—a Gift that Blooms Year-round
It's a gift that gives throughout the year—free Member Talks, workshop discounts, merchant discounts (including garden centres), online resources, e-news, e-magazines, and Open Gardens tours. Gift memberships may be purchased online—visit Membership/Join the Society—or over the phone by calling 403.287.3469. Membership cards are mailed, unless you call the office to make arrangements to pick them up. Please note that an increase in membership fees went into effect on October 1, 2020. The individual membership fee is $55 and the senior (65+) membership fee is $35.

Start a Plan with a Garden Journal
The Society's journal is a terrific tool to help keep track of your plans and activities in the garden. The pages are not dated, so you can journal at your own pace without the stress of finishing an annual diary. It's a great gift for a gardener for any occasion. Purchase this gardening resource and support the Society. Call the office at 403.287.3469 to purchase your copy ($20) of The Growing Journal and arrange for contactless pick-up.

Help Us Grow!
The Calgary Horticultural Society is a registered charity dedicated to cultivating Calgary’s gardening community. Your support helps us continue our mission to enrich the lives of Calgarians by supporting gardening and enhancing the environment through our programs of talks, workshops, and courses. Donations enable the Society to engage Calgarians in Gardening for Life—every donation is appreciated. Thank you for supporting the Calgary Horticultural Society. Donate online.

You are welcome to drop by the office (208 50 Avenue SW) when it reopens to make a donation or, in the meantime, call us at 403.287.3469 and we will be happy to assist you.
Do you have a gardening question? Did you find a great source for unique seeds you'd like to share? Log in to the Members' Forum, choose a topic, and let other members know. We look forward to hearing from you!
Copyright Calgary Horticultural Society | 2020 | All rights reserved.

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208 50 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta T2S 2S1
Phone: 403.287.3469

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