Wishing everyone a happy holiday season filled with joy and shared with family and friends.

See You in the New Year

The office is closed for the holiday break until Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Regular office hours are Tuesday to Friday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. If you have any questions before the office reopens, email office@calhort.org and Gail will respond when she returns to the office.

Happy Holidays Community Gardeners

The holidays and this dark season (the shortest day of the year was December 21) can be mood challenging for some. So, this week we thought we’d share some nifty ideas to help lift one’s spirits.

If you have saved dried herbs or flowers from your garden, they can be ground up to make a wonderful aromatic in homemade soaps and salves. Find a recipe, get the mortar and pestle out, grind some up, and have your nose take you back to summer.

Taking part in crafts, such as painting, may relieve anxieties and encourage positivity, so grab a clay pot, paints, brushes and be creative.

Giving your time can blossom relationships and lift spirits, too. Call a friend or family member and get together to talk about gardening (or anything you’d like to). You could also be a Snow Angel and help clear someone’s walkway. The deep freeze should be gone, so getting outside could be nice.

Whether you celebrate Christmas, Kwanza, Hanukkah, something else (or nothing at) all we hope you are enjoying a restful break with good company.

If you need help (or know someone who does) the Mental Health Help Line 1.877.303.2642 is toll free in Alberta. You can also dial 811 and follow the prompts to speak to the Addiction and Mental Health team.

Festive Family Activity: Create a Winter Scene

What do you need?

• salt

• warm water

• seed heads and other collected garden treasures

• jar, glass, or clear vase

• paint brush

• tongs or chop sticks

• battery operated candle

Directions to create the winter scene:

Swirl a drop of warm water around the bottom of the jar, washing it up the sides as high as you want your snow scene to go, about 3 cm is recommended.

Pour a tablespoon of salt in the jar and turn the jar to roll the salt over the water-dampened area (large jars may require more water and salt). Let it dry.

Use a damp paint brush to add sweeps, dots, or star shapes higher up the glass. Turn the jar to coat these new areas with salt.

Add 2 cm of salt to the bottom of jar. Use the tongs or chops sticks to place the candle on the salt. (If the candle opens on the bottom, you may want to seal the seam with tape or plastic wrap.) Add seed heads, grass, or other garden treasures to make a winter garden scene in the jar.

Calgary Gardening: Tool Maintenance

The gardening season ended rather abruptly this year leaving some end of season tasks incomplete. If you rushed to put your tools away, you can still take some time now to get them tidied up, sharpened, and stored properly in preparation for spring. To learn more about how to care for your gardening tools, visit the magazine library under the Members Only area of the website to read Anne Katzeberg’s article What Do I Do Now? Garden Tool Maintenance in the December 2022/January 2023 issue of Calgary Gardening.

To read the magazine, log in to the Members Only area of the website and visit the Magazine Library.

Clothing

Did you know that the City landfill locations have Throw and Go bins for recycling scrap fabric such as clothing that has been worn out? It needs to be clean and placed in a plastic bag to keep it dry.

Electronics

There are Throw and Go bins for electronics recycling, too (including charging cables). Electronics recycling includes charging cables. Rechargeable power tool batteries must be attached to the tool to be considered for recycling. All electronics must be returned to an electronics recycling depot and not placed in the blue cart.

Paper Goods

Food-soiled paper products such a paper plates, paper towel, napkins, paper placemats, and paper tablecloths can placed in your green cart.

Wrapping paper (matte or glossy) can be placed in the blue cart. Foil or glittered paper need to be put in the black bin as trash. Consider reusing it for craft projects.

Plastic

The blue cart can be used for stretchy plastics. Bundle them into a bag before placing in the cart. Only shredded paper and stretchy plastics can be bagged before being placed in the blue bin (use a clear plastic bag for shredded paper). All other items need to be placed in the cart loose. Lids smaller than the palm of your hand, even if they have recycle symbols, are garbage as they cannot be sorted properly.

Plastic forks, spoons, and knives are garbage. They are too small to be sorted properly. Use compostable cutlery instead and put them in the green cart after being used.

All Styrofoam® products need to be put in the black cart. Place them in a trash bag to prevent them from being blown away when the cart is emptied into the truck.

Thank You Members

The Calgary Horticultural Society is a membership-based organization. We really appreciate all our members: new, returning, long-standing, affiliate, and corporate members. We do our best to offer programs and services that you value. Your membership also enables us to be able to work with other not-for-profit and charitable groups and help them achieve their gardening goals.

May this holiday season be a happy one.

Member Talks

The next Member Talk will be March 2, 2023.

The December Member Talk video is posted on the Member Talk page in the Members Only area of the website. Watch it for gift ideas for gardeners. These ideas are also great for any gift-giving occasion.

Tea for Two

At the December Tea for Two, Kath Smyth was joined by Janet Melrose. They discussed their plans for 2023 and had reading suggestions for gardeners. Janet is going to “embrace the snag” and Kath is going to take a friendly approach to caterpillars in her garden.

Janet is reading three books: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard, and Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets. Watch the video on the Tea for Two page to learn more.

Season’s Greetings

We are sending a hearty greeting of best wishes for the holiday season to our volunteers. It was so nice to see so many of our volunteers during this past year as we returned to in-person activities. Happy holidays and a merry Christmas to all.

If you have any questions about volunteering, email Lora at volunteer@calhort.org. She will be able to answer your message in the new year.

Think Spring! is February 11

Join us online and launch the gardening season with us in February. Watch the What’s Happening Think Spring! 2023 event page for updates.

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