The Spring Plant Sale is Coming!

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April 21 - 10am-12- Workshop "Feed Yourself, Feed the Earth", Kathryn McCourt. Learn to grow your own vegetables organically for maximum nutrition.

April 21 - 1-4 pm -"Fill Your Boots", Kathy Smith. Children will learn how to plant succulents in donated boots and shoes to take home. At Summerland Library.

May 5 and 6 - Spring Plant Sale! Find an abundance of annuals and perennials, artisans, coffee, tea, juice and food.

May 5 and 6 - 1 - 3pm - Workshop "Okanagan Gardening for Newcomers", Kathryn McCourt. Are your plants not responding the way they did in Vancouver or Edmonton? Get the answers here. At the plant sale.

May 12 - 10am-12 Workshop "Watering 101", Kathryn McCourt. Learn how to have a healthy lawn, vegetable and flower garden with up to 50% less water.

May 26 - 10am-12 Workshop "Keeping You in the Garden: a physiotherapy approach", Chris Stokes. Come listen to physio Chris discuss the physical challenges you meet as gardeners and how you can over come them.

June 2 - 10am - 12 Workshop "Gardening for our Native Pollinators" - Eva Antonijevic will share her knowledge of creating a pollinator friendly garden habitats by focusing on the diverse types of native bees that pollinate our region’s wildflowers and cultivated plants. A garden tour will follow the presentation..

June 16 - 10am-12 - Rose Tour - Rick Sauder. Explore the roses of the Gardens with an expert. Rick will share his story about how he came to find the Gardens hidden historical Canadian roses.

June 23 - 9am-3pm - Quest/FOG Garden Tour: Ten gardens to explore, including the Summerland Ornamental Gardens.

July 7 - 10am - 12 - Workshop Rose Propagation - Rick Sauder. Learn how to propagate roses from cuttings and take some home.

All workshops are at the Gardens unless otherwise stated. The workshops are free for members and $10.00 for non members, the fee is waived if you purchase a membership.

For more information on upcoming events, please

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Volunteer Spring Opportunities

GENERAL GARDEN MAINTENANCE Weekly

Volunteers and gardening staff meet every Wednesday and Thursday between 8am and 2:30pm. You are welcome to join us at this time and stay for as little or as much time as you can spare.

Working crew take coffee at 9:30 and lunch break at 12:30 at the Big House. Meet there or look for a large white sandwich board at driveway entrance directing you to the work area of the day. Bring along your favorite tool, gloves and water bottle.

PLANT SALE Saturday May 5 and Sunday May 6th

We are also seeking volunteers for our Plant Sale and will be contacting you soon. There will be lots of fun jobs for volunteers for the plant sale including: transplanting seedlings, potting garden plants, plant labeling, preparation for the day, set up and tear down, plus specific roles for the two days of sale.

SPRING PLANTING-OUT WORK PARTY

Mark your calendars Wednesday May 16th 8am-2:30pm

Meet at the Big House for instructions. Muffins supplied for work party coffee break. If you would like to work an extended day bring along a bag lunch. Lunch at 12:30pm at the Big House. Beverages supplied.

For more information about volunteering opportunities contact Connie at [email protected]

Greetings from the Board

The calendar tells us it's April, but those of us who have tried working in our gardens are wondering if spring really is here. The Friends of the gardens held their first event of the season on March 24--Summerland Seedy Saturday--and it snowed! Visitors' spirits weren't dampened though and over 600 came out that day.We were yet again surprised by how many people had not been to the Gardens before.

Our gardeners, Trina and Tamora, are working hard in the greenhouse seeding and growing plants for the spring sale and garden plant out. We have a wonderful compliment of volunteers this year and volunteer garden help has increased to three days a week from our Weedy Wednesday tradition. They have braved some very chilly weather to clean up and prepare the pathways and beds for spring.

We said farewell to two of our board members at our AGM. Both Aaron Anderson and Bev Krieger have been very active over the past three years as leaders on our board. They will be missed but have promised to remain engaged with the gardens. We welcome Kathryn McCourt as our new director responsible for the Gardens and grounds, Kathy Smith who is working very hard at bringing the gardens into the community--watch for her Gardens cart at many of Summerland's events--and Laurel Burnham whose expertise at events planning and passion for community building will help increase our profile and energize the board. We are excited to explore new ways of working in and promoting the Gardens this season. watch for information on some of our new adventures.

Since an important part of our mission is to provide information on sustainable gardening practices to the community, we are offering a number of workshops this spring. Check the events calendar for topics, dates and times.

We look forward to seeing you in the gardens and at the Plant Sale May 5th and 6th . Remember to pick up a copy or our self-guided tour brochure and follow along as you walk through the Gardens. If you are not yet a member please consider a donation each time you visit us. Your support helps pay for our staff and maintenance of the Gardens.

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The Gardens are currently open 8am-6pm Sunday through Saturday