Kanata-March Horticultural Socie

Many of the flowers already in your garden are probably appropriate to attract adult butterflies. Some of the more common flowering plants in gardens, such as phlox, asters, coneflowers, and lilacs are popular choices for wandering butterflies to visit. Some other plants are a magnet for butterflies. These include Buddleia (Buddleia davidii), also called Butterfly Bush, and Butterfly-weed (Asclepias tuberosa), an orange-flowered member of the milkweed family. There are also a number of Canadian wild flowering plants that, if they can be accommodated in your garden, will certainly be an asset to attracting butterflies. Highly recommended are Joe-Pye-Weed (Eupatorium maculatum), Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), and species of thistles (Cirsium spp.). The important point is that these flowers are all high in nectar content. If you want to attract butterflies, hybrid garden plants with almost no nectar, such as roses, lilies, and geraniums, are of little use.

President’s Message

If April showers bring May flowers, what does crazy April weather bring? A reason to get out of town! And that's just what our family did over the Easter weekend.

So, off to see one of the natural wonders of the world we went. The action started bright and early Saturday morning, when we loaded all the gear into the car (clothes, food, toys, tons of excited energy and a nice bottle or two of wine) and started our seven-hour trek to Niagara Falls. We arrived safely at the Oaks Hotel and checked into our room, overlooking the spectacular Niagara Falls waterfall. The kids absolutely loved the ride to Niagara Falls, but my eldest, Deklan, summed up the view from our hotel as he approached the floor to ceiling windows in one word. "Sweet". I'm not exactly familiar with this new lingo, but I got the impression he really, really liked it. His brother was right in there with him, pointing out all that could be seen with his own eyes. Haydon was amazed how small the people were right at the falls’ edge. He thought they looked like ants, lots and lots of ants with little cars!

We ate, walked and finished that day with an evening ride on the SkyWheel, one of the tallest Ferris wheels (or, perhaps more accurately, observation wheels) in North America. Its 53-meter (175-foot) height is impressive, but because it's located halfway up the steep Clifton Hill, it offers an even more spectacular view of the Horseshoe and American Falls, which are absolutely beautiful when lit up at night. We rode in an enclosed cabin that was equipped with air conditioning and heating units—lovely. We enjoyed the view as we went around and around nibbling on fresh fudge purchased earlier in the day.

On day two, after a delicious breakfast, we headed to the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory. Micheline and I have been to this attraction a few times in the past, but this was our first time with the boys. This time the place seemed different. It was magical to see it filled with thousands of colourful tropical butterflies, floating freely among lush, exotic blossoms and greenery. For those of you who have never been, I would highly recommend at least one visit, to walk along paths that wind through the rainforest setting, past a pond and waterfall and the Emergence window, where butterflies leave their pupae and prepare to take their first flight. There were no line ups and I've never seen so many butterflies in the air at one time. The air and greenery looked like Christmas with colourful ornaments gently flashing their wings in the bright sun. I'm told the facility houses approximately 2,000 live, free-flying butterflies of about 45 different species and that the atmosphere is maintained around 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit), at approximately 75% humidity. My favourite butterfly was the Blue Morpho, native to South and Central America, which is a bright steel blue colour. Morpho butterflies like to fly in groups and, as I was once told by a guide on a trip to Costa Rica, they travel along a particular path that I could clearly see, while resting on a bench in the conservatory. This year I plan to add more butterfly friendly plants to my garden.

In the afternoon we went on a few more walks around the area and enjoyed a tour under the falls. Did you know that about six million cubic ft of water go over the crest line of the falls every minute during peak daytime tourist hours? That's about a million bathtubs per minute! In the evening we headed back to Clifton Hill to enjoy the excitement and magic of this area and to stop by the Fudge Factory to load up on some more sweets. I think those butterflies rubbed off on all of us—fudge certainly classifies as nectar to us. The trip to Niagara Falls exceeded our expectations and I'm sure in the next few months, as the tulips and other spring plants burst from the ground, the area will only become even more awe inspiring.

In answer to my original question above, some unpleasant occurrences, like crazy April weather, bring about better things: just give yourself the opportunity to reach out and seize them.

Robert Barta. KMHS President

Our Meetings

Regular meetings are held the first Tuesday of each month at the Old Town Hall, March Road, Kanata.

Guests are most welcome The $5.00 charge can be applied to membership of $15.00 single, $25.00 family.

Next Meeting: May 5th

Garden Accents from Natural Materials: Ankaret Dean
Tuesday, May 5th, 7.30 pm
Old Town Hall, March Road, Kanata

Learn how to make Garden Accents from Natural Materials with Ankaret Dean. Ankaret has been involved in basketry and weaving since graduating from the School of Design, Sheridan College in 1975. After moving, in 1994, from Oakville to a farm in the Lanark Highlands, she became a Master Gardner and started to raise sheep. She recently gave up her large vegetable garden and has been growing cut flowers for the farmers’ market in McDonalds Corners.

During the May meeting, she will be demonstrating the use of willow and grapevines in the construction of fences, trellises and other garden accents. Members are encouraged to bring their personal garden pruners/secateurs to assist with making a fence and support.

Elizabeth Stokely, KMHS Program Director

Editor’s note: don’t forget to bring your mug with you for coffee

Key Links

KMHS

KMHS Announcements

Molly Wilson Garden plant data collection: many of you are busy collecting plant data for our ambitious 2009 special project. This is to put on our website a plan of the new Molly Wilson garden, complete with a catalogue all the plants, listing their characteristics. This is intended as information for local gardeners, who want to find out about plants that grow well in this area. We now have a soft copy template for your information up on the website: the link is on the main page. Please download the simple template, complete in soft copy and return by email to kanatamhs@yahoo.ca

Get involved: we need your help in four areas this month. Please take the time to review these and see if one of them appeals to you. We’d love to hear from you!

1. Garden maintenance. KMHS looks after three gardens in Kanata. We need volunteers to carry on the good work. In years past we had set times for working in each garden, but this year we have decided to try something different. The gardens will be divided into sections, with two or three people taking a section each. They would be responsible for the weeding and upkeep of that area and decide when they would work on it. This could be a family or one person with some students (this would help them gain their volunteer hours) or a couple of friends. Please note: the city is responsible for all lawn mowing. We look after the flower beds.

The gardens are:-

a. Molly Wilson, the garden at the Old Town Hall. Contact: Norma Davidson at 613 832 4615 or davidnorma@rogers.com

b. Tom Thomson, on Teron Road next to the Fire Hall. Contact: Mary Stuart at 613 592 8704

c. Hazeldean Library, Castlefrank Road near Hazeldean Road. Contact: Brian Haddon at Brian.Haddon@sympatico.ca or 613 592 8142.

In addition to our regular maintenance, we do a spring clean-up at the gardens in mid-May to get things started (see note on Plant Sale below) The more volunteers we have the easier it is on everyone, so please consider how you could fit this into your schedule.

Norma Davidson, Parks Co-ordinator

2. KMHS website: Karen Haddon, who has been our webmaster since we first set up our splendid website, has decided to move on to different activities. She would like to hand over this position by May 31, 2009. Thank you very much Karen for all your hard work on this. You have done a splendid job and will be a very hard act to follow. Is there anyone out there who has interest in and knowledge about website management? Would you like to take on this challenge? Our website is a key element of our society, the cornerstone of our communications. If you are interested, please contact Robert Barta at 613 599-6911 or robert_barta@sympatico.ca

3. Members’ Open Gardens: I am hoping to hear from some of you about when you would be willing to open your gardens to other members, any weekend in June, July or August. I will bring a sign up sheet the next meeting: please think about taking part. If you would like more information on this, please email me at Margaret Turner

4. Annual plant sale: Saturday, May 30^th. 8:00 am to noon

The snow has gone at last and the garden is coming alive again. Now is the time to think about dividing and moving some plants. While you are doing this, why not pot up some of your extras for our plant sale. Plants need to be potted at least a week before the sale to allow them to recover from being moved. Before bringing your plants to the sale, please label them with name, colour, height etc. This saves so much time on the day.

We will also have our annual clean up days at Tom Thomson and Molly Wilson gardens in mid-May, when we will divide plants and pot them up for the sale—dates to be advised later.

Preparation for the Plant Sale is on Friday May 29 from 5.00pm to 8.00pm. Plants can be dropped off then for sorting and pricing, ready for the early start next morning.

This is the major annual fund raiser for the KMHS that needs all members’ support to be successful. We need lots of help on the Friday evening and Saturday morning. A couple of hours or more from lots of people makes things easier for all.

There will be a sign up sheet at the May meeting for the Plant Sale but you can contact me direct for more information or to volunteer at davidnorma@rogers.com or 613 832 4615.

P.S. I have pots of all sizes, if you need some extras. Let me know.

Norma Davidson, Parks Coordinator

KMHS photo competition:

Every year the society holds a photo competition in November/December. While submission dates are not yet finalized, I thought it would be good to let you know that categories for photos remain the same as last year. These can be found on the website under the photo gallery button. As I know you’ll all be getting out those digital cameras to capture the long-awaited spring blooms, spare a few minutes to take that special shot. Please keep the competition in mind. We’ll update you about it during the year.

Karl Seimens, KMHS Director

Down the Garden Path

(Notes from the KMHS history files.)

Warm Weather Returns: “A teasing weather front gave us hints of things to come. Good time to start thinking about all the things you are going to dig up and donate to the KMHS May garage sale. We need your help, even if it’s just another trowel full of lily of the valley. Have you priced them lately at commercial growers? No wonder people wait all year for our sales! Let’s give them a super choice this year.” Although this is an excerpt from the Society’s March 1990 Newsletter, it certainly also relates to us for our May 30^th, 20009 Plant Sale. Let’s start digging!

A Different Garden Party: The place was Molly Wilson Memorial Garden on June 5, 1990. You may have heard about garden parties with ladies wearing long white gowns, gentlemen with straw boaters lounging on the grass and servants quietly offering goodies on silver tray. Well, this was not that kind of event. The dress was to be very casual, suitable for pulling a few weeds or doing a bit of grooming of the garden. Gests were asked to bring a few tools, repellent and a lawn chair if the weather was nice. The idea of this event was to get acquainted and to learn more about plants and to build a buddy framework of gardening people with whom to share ideas. Then there was THE GREAT PLANT GAME! There were prizes, etc, etc, etc. and everybody had a wonderful time.

Note: If you are interested in learning more about THE GREAT PLANT GAME, let me know and I will write about it next month.

Magazine Swap: In 1990, Cheryl Ford, a KMHS member started a magazine swap. Rather than throw away old issues of horticultural/gardening magazines, members brought them to the meetings. Other members could borrow them, bring them back and swap for others, what a great way to share gardening knowledge.

Another One: Once again OHA awarded a first prize to the Society’s 1991 Newsletter.

Gisèle Robertson, KMHS Historian

Key links

KMHS

Pesticide ban

Lawn Care

Topics of the Month:

Local nurseries: as you start to think about buying a few plants to fill in those gaps in your flower beds, don’t forget about our wonderful selection of local specialist nurseries. A list of these can be found on the website on the links page.

Pesticides in Ontario: many of you will already know that, as of April 22nd, 2009, pesticides can no longer be used for cosmetic purposes on lawns and gardens. The government of Ontario has a website that aims to assist you navigate the somewhat tangled web they have woven. This can be found on the left.

Healthy Lawns: to assist you in dealing with any lawn issues you may have, without resorting to banned pesticides, the website listed on the left has more than you ever wanted to know about lawns, weeds and bugs and suggests a number of ways to deal with any problems in a manner which is friendly to the environment.

Margaret Turner, KMHS Newsletter Editor

Margaret Turner, Newsletter Editor

Key links

Butchart Gardens

Members’ Corner

This time last week, my husband and I were in Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island, glorying in the most amazing display of spring bulbs and cherry blossom that we had ever seen. We had visited the gardens some years ago in September, when the main display had been of dahlias, blazing forth in all their varied colours and shapes. So, it was a real surprise to see the garden in early spring, when the colours were muted and the displays of flowers close to the ground, with a heavenly canopy above to lighten the dull skies.

Since it was a cool, dull day, there were few visitors (by Butchart Gardens’ standards), so we were able to peruse the displays and take photographs at our leisure, without waiting for others to move away.

For those of you who have not had the chance to visit there, the 55-acre property encompasses several distinct gardens: the formal Italian garden, near the old house, the grass and flower-bed gardens in the main area, a wonderful Japanese garden in a sheltered valley leading to a small cove and finally (the most glorious I think) the Sunken Garden, made in an old quarry. The approach taken in the gardens is to mix a variety of beautifully pruned trees and shrubs with immaculately-kept beds of seasonal flowers, whether from bulbs, annual or perennial plants. The formal gardens and the quarry gardens, plus the beds lining the main pathways are changed out regularly throughout the year, following the Victorian tradition of seasonally replacing the outstanding floral displays. To do this, the gardens employ 50 (yes, I said 50) full-time gardeners, with additional part-timers in the summer. They also have 2 acres of greenhouses, to allow them to keep the gardens in tip-top shape all year.

Throughout the gardens, cherry trees were covered in blossom, as were several different types of magnolias, flowering currants, pieris, plus some azaleas. The rhododendrons were in full bud, but few were open. Narcissus, many of them the more muted whites, were planted in huge swathes, as were the largest collection of hyacinths I have ever seen. These were mostly in shades of blue, match the ubiquitous forget-me-nots, springing up around the narcissus and tulips, most of which had yet to flower. Huge mounds of heather, in full bloom, complemented the cherry trees, while bright yellow forsythia lit up the dark corners magnificently. Dotted around the bulbs were English daisies, in reds, white and pink, while hellebores and pasque flowers graced more shaded sites.

I have included a couple of photos for you and, if I have time, I will put together a slide show to show before our next meeting. What the slide show won’t show is our looks of amazement as one marvellous vista after another unfolded, nor can it capture the wonderful perfumes of hyacinths and narcissus. I can highly recommend a spring visit if you are in that area.

Margaret Turner, KMHS newsletter editor

Things to do and see:

· May 1^st -3^rd: Ottawa is Blooming. The Kanata Garden & Landscape Show returns to its roots to celebrate its 10th Anniversary. Over 10 years the Show has grown from a small community event to become one of the biggest of its kind in all of Canada. This year's edition will be the biggest ever, with over 100 vendors ranging from nurseries, landscapers, pond experts, garden groups, backyard specialists and artisans.

Kanata Recreational Complex, 100 Walter Baker Drive, Kanata. Admission $10.00, with a $2.00 discount for OHA members, on showing your horticultural association membership card.

· May 2^nd, 8:00am to 2:00pm. The Herb Garden will hold its Giant Spring Yard Sale. There is no restriction on the kind of things that can be sold.

· May 2^nd, 9:00am. St. John’s Church, South March, Kanata presents Gardening challenges in Canada by Mark Burleton, Manager of Grounds and Greenhouses, Official Residences Division, National Capital Commission (Rideau Hall, 24 Sussex etc). Refreshments and Labyrinth Tour. Tickets $10. Limited Seating. Tickets available at Church Office.

325 Sandhill Road, Kanata.

· May 5th, 7:30 pm. Ottawa Horticultural Society presents Insects and Spiders in Backyards. An entomological safari to which members will bring their own specimens for exhibition. Speaker: Henri Goulet.

Tom Brown arena, 141 Bayview avenue (at Scott).

· May 10th, 9:00am – 1:00 pm. The Friends of the Farm present their annual Rare and Unusual Plant Sale. Master gardeners will be on hand to answer questions. Entrance fee is $5.00 or a donation to the Food Bank.

Parking lot, K.W. Neatby Building, Carling Ave., C.E.F.

· May 20th, 7:00 pm. The Greater Ottawa Water Garden Society offers a presentation called Fish Tales with Susan Trott

Greenboro Community Centre, 363 Lorry Greenberg Drive (situated between Hunt Club Road and Conroy Road), Ottawa

· May 30^th, 8:00 am – noon. Kanata March Horticultural Society holds its Annual Plant Sale. Lots of good sized perennials with a great variety. Heirloom tomato plants of many sorts. Come early for the best selection.

The Old Town Hall, March Road, Kanata.

· May 30^th, 2:30 pm. The Friends of the Farm sponsor the International Lilac Society’s annual Lilac Auction. Admission free. List of lilacs to be auctioned at the link on the left.

Building 72, Arboretum, C.E.F.

Looking ahead

The Greater Ottawa Water Garden Society presents its First Annual Water Garden Tour Saturday, June 20, 2009. Tickets will be available May 1, 2009 at http://www.ottawaponds.ca. and at Ottawa Is Blooming.

Email the Executive at KMHS with your ideas and comments about how we can make our society better.

Newsletter Input

General newsletter input is due to me, Margaret Turner, by the third Friday of the month.