The Society Needs Your Help Finding a New Home
The Society has been at its current location since August 1, 1994, thanks to support from the City of Calgary. However, the City has sold the property and the Society needs to find a new home by July. The new building committee has looked at several options but has been unable to find something that is suitable and affordable.
Ideally, the location would have a reception area, office space, a studio room, programming space, free parking, and a garden area. The site would be centrally located in Calgary. If we cannot find this ideal location, the Society could temporarily work from a space with a couple of offices, a studio room (to be able to offer our online classes and Member Talks), with parking, while continuing the search for better accommodations.
If you are aware of a building that would make great new home for the Society, please contact Natasha Guillot, the Society's Executive Director, at executivedirector@calhort.org.
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Board Director
The Society is seeking a director for its Board. This volunteer role requires a minimum two-year term commitment as well as availability for approximately ten hours per month to attend Board and Committee meetings and attend Society events. Of particular preference are applicants with executive or professional experience in finance, accounting, or marketing. Though gardening expertise is not a must, support for our mission and organizational goals are key. Please email governancecommittee@calhortboard.onmicrosoft.com.
To learn more about the Society's board and the volunteer director role, visit Get Involved, Volunteer on our website.
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Calgary Gardening—What Soil Do You Use?
Some gardeners purchase a commercial potting mix for seed starting, while others like to craft their own. To learn more about why you may want to mix your own potting medium, discover the pros and cons of the components, and try some mix recipes, read Lisa Range's article Homemade Potting Soil in the May issue of Calgary Gardening.
Seed starting season is not over. If you start warm season crops indoors this weekend, they'll be ready to plant out mid-June.
To access the magazine, log in to the Members Only section of the website and visit Calgary Gardening. Open the 2021 May issue.
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It's Been a Busy Week for Society Appearances in the Media
On Tuesday, Joanna Tschudy filled in for Kath Smyth on a gardening panel on the CBC. The host was Nancy Carlson and Jim Hole was the other panel guest. Visit CBC for a recap of the show.
On Wednesday evening, Natasha Guillot, the Society's Executive Director, was on Radio-Canada News (CBC) discussing the sudden cold, stormy weather and how it affects our garden plants.
This morning (Friday, May 21), at 8:10 am, Joanna will be on Global News Morning Calgary chatting with the Show host about hardening off, tips for planting this weekend, and community gardening—"why it’s so dang awesome!" If you can't catch the program live, visit the Global News Local Videos website page to view the interview recording.
And ...
Radio-Canada
“Veuillez joindres Natasha Guillot, directrice générale de la Société d'horticulture de Calgary, chaque mardi matin à 8h45 sur “Le café show” de Radio Canada. Natasha offre des trucs et astuces simples pour jardiner en Alberta.”
The Society's Executive Director, Natasha Guillot, is appearing at 8:45 am on Tuesday mornings on the "Le cafe show" (a French language program), on Radio-Canada, to provide tips and tricks for gardening in Alberta.
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Gardening Tips for this Long Weekend
The worst of the cold weather may have come earlier this week, but if the temperatures dip again, keep tender plants such as cucumbers, squash, and beans inside. Have frost covers handy for plants that are in the ground. Provide a supporting structure for the cloth so that if it snows, the plants aren't crushed. The end of May is a challenging time for gardeners as the temperature swings can be extreme.
A tip from Jim Hole from the CBC panel: If your potatoes plants are up, they can recover from a bit of a freeze. If some leaves turn black, trim them off. The plants will send out new growth.
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Community Gardens—What's Growing at Your Community Garden?
Perennial food plants are a smart investment: Plant them once, tend with love, and enjoy the harvest year after year! What a treat to see some of these generous plants thriving in the Inglewood Community Garden. Rhubarb, horseradish, and chives, to name a few, are planted in common areas—available for all members to enjoy. Some folks are growing asparagus, another perennial food plant that offers an early spring harvest. What a nourishing treat after our long, cold winters!
To help protect plants from the cold, Inglewood gardeners share some creative mulching strategies. ‘Chop and drop’ is an easy way to clean gardens in the fall, and leaves dead, disease-free plant material in place. Burlap sacks are laid directly on the soil after planting garlic in the fall. Resourceful measures make for resilient gardens!
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Member Talks Online
If you cannot attend a Member Talk, be sure to visit the Member Talk page to watch a recording of the talk. The recording is posted the week following the live presentation.
If you didn't attend the May Member Talk, or would like to watch the recording, visit the Member Talk page (under the Members Only section of our website calhort.org). The May Member Talk was Growing Lady Slipper Orchids (Cypripedium). The guest speaker was Shawn Hillis of Garden Slippers.
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Have Gardening Questions?
We have options to support gardeners with questions.
- Visit the Resources menu on the website for options to have your gardening questions answered. The Gardening FAQ's have been divided across four pages by topic to help you find an answer for your question more quickly.
- Society members can sign in to the Members only section of the website and submit their questions to Ask an Expert.
- Members can post their questions in the Members' Forum and start a member-to-member conversation. We're sure that there is a topic already defined to post your question.
- Take part in a talk, workshop, or course. Learn more about the insects in the garden by attending Joanna Tschudy's Introduction to Insects in the Garden talk on June 1.
Hopefully, one of these options will help you find answers to your questions. Also, watch this e-news for gardening tips throughout the growing season.
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Membership—A Gift for all Occasions!
New home? Birthday? Wedding? Father's Day? Consider giving a Calgary Horticultural Society membership as a gift. 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. The individual membership fee is $55 and the senior (65+) membership fee is $35.
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Society Membership has Benefits!
Spring has arrived. If you are planning on visiting a garden centre, check out the 'Find a Discount' page on our website to see if they offer a discount to Calgary Horticultural Society members. If they do, be sure to have your valid Society membership card on hand to present at the time of purchase. (Always confirm any promotion with the store prior to making a purchase.) If you need to renew your membership, and you do not have your renewal reminder email, or need to renew quickly, call the office at 403.287.3469 for assistance and speak to Gail.
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Need help registering for a class or activating your membership? Give us a call!
The office is open for telephone assistance (403.287.3469), contactless pick-up, and appointments. Office hours are Tuesday–Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Please leave a message if your call is not picked up right away. Gail will return your call. You can also email the Society using office@calhort.org or by visiting Contact Us on the website and completing the form.
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Residential Compost
Book your time to pick up free Green Bin compost. Note: Bookings will reopen on Tuesday, May 25 for times between June 4-26. Use the booking tool on the right side of the page on calgary.ca. Each household can take up to 100 litres of compost. This is a self-serve service. You must bring your own containers and shovel. If you can't make the time you have booked please cancel your appointment. This will make that time slot available to someone else.
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It's Back! The Yard-Smart Gardening Contest
Are you a water-wise gardener? Have you selected plants that are hardy in the Calgary growing environment? Have you installed a rain garden that captures rainwater and keeps it in your yard? Then tell us about what you're doing to make your garden yard-smart by entering our contest.
The contest runs from May 16 until September 15, 2021. A winner will be selected at random on the 16th of each month for the months of June, July, August, and September, from the entries received in the period between draws. You may enter only once during each draw period. The prize for the June 16 draw is a copy of the Growing Journal (the Society's gardening journal) and a floral tea cup. Please note that you must be willing to pick up the prize from the Society's office.
The Society will use the information gathered from the contest submissions to help with program planning and water-wise gardening awareness. Want to learn more about creating a water-wise garden? Then sign up for a Design Your Yard workshop, a Yard-Smart plant talk, or the Using Succulents in the Garden talk. See the Classes section for dates and more information.
To enter the June 16 draw, visit the What's Happening Yard-Smart Contest page between May 16 and June 15 and complete the entry form.
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Classes and Events for 2021!
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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.
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Design Your Yard
May/June Sundays: May 30, and June 6 and 13 from 9:30 am to noon
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $75 for Society members, $100 for non-members
Register
Online registration closes Wednesday, May 26.
Note: this is the last Design Your Yard workshop until fall.
Not sure what to do with your new yard? Need to reimagine your mature yard? Learn how to create a well-thought-out, functional yard in this multi-day workshop. Homeowners will work on scale layouts of their own properties and complete step-by-step tasks to create a design that meets their needs.
Two people residing at the same address may attend this workshop at no additional charge, with the requirement that they work on ONE yard plan together. Names of both participants must be provided at the time of registration.
Participants will learn how to:
- work through the process to develop a yard design
- apply basic design principles and techniques for creating a beautiful, environmentally responsible, functional yard
- calculate volumes of soil and mulch and access available resources in the community (such as free compost from the City)
- irrigate their yard
- select plants at a garden centre to fulfill their design's requirements
Participants will need:
- property dimensions—Real Property Report (RPR)
- graph paper, ruler, pencil, and eraser
- wish-list requirements
- photos from your wish list
This workshop is sponsored by the
City of Calgary
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Using Succulents in the Garden
Monday, May 31 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $20 for Society members, $30 for non-members
Register
As our summers become more unpredictable, with longer periods of drought and heat, succulents are the perfect addition to a resilient garden. They come in a host of shapes, sizes, and colours, and they add great textural and all-season interest. They are also popular with pollinating insects. Every garden should have more of these tough plants!
This talk will explore the many selections available and how to use them to the best effect in the prairie garden.
Speaker: Elaine Rude
Online registration closes on Tuesday, May 25.
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Introduction to Insects in the Garden
Tuesday, June 1 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $20 for Society members, $30 for non-members
Register
Did you know that when you garden you are never alone?
Find out who your nearest six-legged neighbours are and what they are up to in your garden.
Learn about insect life cycles, how to be a good habitat steward, what to do when you are outnumbered, and obtain some tips to improve your garden practices for a balanced and productive green space.
Instructor: Joanna Tschudy
Online registration closes on Thursday, May 27.
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Did you know ...
Summer time is garden time! The Society changes its programming for the summer. Returning in June (online) from a garden, is Conversations in the Garden and Garden Coaching. We will also be continuing the What's Happening at Your Local Garden Centre YouTube videos and video tours of Calgary gardens. Watch this e-news for schedule announcements or visit the What's Happening calendar on calhort.org.
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Yard-Smart Perennials
Thursday, May 27 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $15 for Society members, $20 for non-members
Register
Plant material plays an essential role in developing of a water-wise landscape. Trees and shrubs create the framework, while perennials provide seasonal interest and colour, wildlife value, and crucial water retention. The key is in choosing hardy, low-maintenance plants that will thrive in your climate and conditions specific to your site. In this talk, we will survey a wide variety of perennials to get you started. We will also take a look at successful planting combinations.
Instructor: Jane Reksten
Online registration closes on Monday, May 24.
This talk is offered in partnership with the
City of Calgary.
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Tea with Kath/Conversations in the Garden
Friday, May 28 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm
Online: Facebook Live and Zoom
Cost: Free, registration is not required
Not a Facebook user? If you are a Society member, you can attend this session of Tea with Kath using a Zoom link from the Members Only section of the website. We are trialling streaming using both Facebook Live and Zoom for this session of Tea with Kath in preparation for the summer's Conversation in the Garden program. To join us for Tea with Kath using Zoom, visit the Conversations in the Garden page for the meeting link.
Gather your questions and have tea with Kath. The gardening season is upon us and there are lots of questions to answer. Topics of conversation for late May:
- planting summer blooming bulbs
- planting some annuals—what are good ones to plant early
- hardening off
- who are the good bugs—besides lady bugs
So, pour some hot tea (maybe it will be warm enough for iced tea) and come join us on Facebook Live!
Joanna Tschudy will co-host this session of Tea with Kath with Kath Smyth
We are happy to be continuing Tea with Kath on Facebook Live until the end of May. In June, we'll start our summer Conversations in the Garden and Garden Coaching programs. Details will be added to the What's Happening calendar soon.
To have the Facebook Live video automatically display on your Facebook page, we recommend that you visit our page, select the three dots (...) on the right side of the banner, select Follow Settings, turn on Favorites, choose Video, and turn on All Notifications.
The Live session link will be posted on the Calgary Horticultural Society Facebook page (facebook/calhort) at the start of the program.
Submit Your Questions
You can submit questions in advance using Messenger (Message Host button) on the Facebook Event post. Be sure to start your question with "Could Kath answer." That way we're sure to know it's a question for this event.
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More Yard-Smart Perennials
Thursday, June 10 from 7:00 to 9:00 pm
Online: Zoom Cloud Meeting
Cost: $15 for Society members, $20 for non-members
Register
Plant material plays an essential role in the development of a water-wise landscape. Trees and shrubs create the framework, while perennials provide seasonal interest and colour, wildlife value, and crucial water retention. The key is in choosing hardy, low maintenance plants that will thrive in your climate and the conditions specific to your site.
In this talk, we will cover a wide variety of perennial grasses, bulbs, and groundcovers to get you started. We will also take a look at successful planting combinations.
Instructor: Jane Reksten
Online registration closes on Monday, June 7.
This talk is offered in partnership with the
City of Calgary.
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Help us Spread the Word!
Share the love of gardening! 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 SUBSCRIBE link. They will receive their own copy of Gardeners' Corner in their inbox.
Thanks for helping us grow.
Use the buttons below to share the
Gardeners' Corner on Facebook
or email it to a friend.
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Spring Plant Share—Now Open!
It's spring and time to divide and share plants. With the restrictions in place for group gatherings, the Society is again unable to host its Plant Share in the usual fashion. Instead, for 2021 we are facilitating member-to-member exchanges using two online options:
- We have created a forum topic dedicated to member-to-member plant exchanges. It will be accessible from the Members Only section. Members can post about the plants they have to share and/or are looking to acquire. Click here to log in.
- We have also created a private (members only) Facebook group. If you are a Facebook user, then you may want to join our group to post information about your plants and plants you want. Plant Share: Calgary Horticultural Society Members
Feel free to participate in both. Once you connect with someone to share plants with, you will need to coordinate how and when the plant exchange will take place.
Please follow COVID-19 guidelines when conducting member-to-member plant exchanges, including following this tip from the City: "Sharing bulbs/cuttings or plants? Create a 'sharing zone' where you can put plants. Leave them there for 24 hours before having your neighbour pick them up."
Let's Share Plants!
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Rain Barrel Sale—Join One in Three Calgarians Capturing Rainwater!
The Calgary Horticultural Society and Green Calgary are working together to encourage Calgarians to capture rainwater. Calgary receives an average rainfall of five centimetres per month (4,000 litres of water). That can fill a typical 45-gallon rain barrel 20 times. Green Calgary rain barrel collected water can be used to water trees, lawns, planters, and gardens. These rain barrels are made locally from recycled materials,
Rain barrels are $75+GST. Pickup and delivery options available.
Visit greencalgary.org for rain barrel purchasing information, find installation instructions and videos, and start saving water today.
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The next pick-up dates and locations:
- May 29 at Beddington Co-op
- June 5 Mission Co-op Gas Bar
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Seeking Assistance Moving Garden Shed Contents
We are looking for a couple of volunteers to help move heavy items from our garden sheds on the afternoon of Friday, May 28 (1:00 to 2:30 pm). The person needs to be able to safely lift at least 22.5 kg (50 lbs). The volunteer will be working with Tom Martin, our head gardener. It would be helpful if the volunteer had truck or SUV that can hold tables typically used for our in-person spring plant shares and are willing to use their personal vehicle to move these and other items. Willingness to follow COVID-19 procedures is required.
Please email volunteer@calhort.org if you can assist on this project.
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For more information about volunteering with the Society, visit Get Involved/Volunteer on 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.
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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.
If you would like to stop by the office (208 50 Avenue SW), please call us at 403.287.3469 to arrange an appointment, and we will be happy to assist you.
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