Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 11:00 AM

 

This meeting of the Members of the HCP has been called in accordance with the Bylaws of the Society to consider only the business and motions as contained in the Agenda.

 

Members wishing to submit a motion for consideration by the Members at the Annual General Meeting are to submit their motion, signed by the Mover and the Seconder, together with all supporting documentation to the Secretary (secretary@hcp.ca) not later than end of business on Monday, April 16, 2018.

Earth Day is a time to get outdoors and see your community. Find out what amazing things are happening to inspire us to be good stewards of our planet!! The Gardens at HCP is hosting a day filled with demonstrations, activities and walks showcasing the importance of biodiversity to ensure natural sustainability for all life forms. We hope you can join us, be inspired and make a difference! Admission by donation. This event is suitable for schools and the public. 

Thursday, April 19th 

9:30 - 2:30 

Have you heard the buzz?

Mason bees are back in stock at the HCP gift shop! The dormant cocoons are kept chilled in our fridge until you take them home. We also carry a selection of books and bee hotels to help you get started. For those with established bee hotels at home, make sure you pick up some replacement cardboard tubes to welcome new guests this spring.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to compliment our gift shop's Easter display table! I hope it helped inspire your spring tables and gardens at home. The display has now been updated to help build excitement for Earth Week and our Biodiversity Fair on April 19th. In addition to bees, we've got items to help you support birds, bats and beneficial insects in your own backyard.

We were delighted to double the size of our West Coast Seeds display last fall and are now offering even more seeds. For biodiversity, consider the bee or beneficial insect wildflower blends!

It's a constant thrill to see how many unique items we can fit in our tiny stop. Please stop in on your next visit to see what's new and check out our restocked selection of perennial favourites like The Original Garden Broom and Kama Soap Co.

The Gardens at HCP and de Vine Vineyards have entered into an exciting new partnership! de Vine Vineyards is Victoria's iconic family Winery and Distillery, producing award-winning wines and spirits from local grapes, grain, fruit and honey. They are located just off Old West Saanich, with the most incredible views from their tasting room of the Gulf Islands and Mt. Baker.

They specialize in organically processed wine and avoid the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. To follow what's happening at de Vine, their

social media handle for Instagram, Facebook and Twitter is @devinevineyards.  

 

The Gardens at HCP is so lucky to have Linda as our Head Gardener. She has brought wonderful changes to the gardens during her tenure while is constantly sharing and teaching visitors, students, volunteers and staff. Here is a new segment of the Enews where she will share some of that invaluable information.

Question: What is one of your favourite tools and why?

 

Answer: The Hori Hori, also known as a Japanese digging knife.

Hori is the Japanese word for 'dig', traditionally used in Japan to collect Bonsai specimens.

It has a sharpened edge on one side with a serrated edge on the other. It's long narrow shape makes it perfect for both loosening soil for transplants, digging out weeds and small plants, and the point can be dragged across the soil to make seed troughs. Its serrated edge is good for tougher jobs like cutting through plant roots. The humble trowel has been replaced in recent years with this sharper competitor!

Have you noticed the double wooden gates at the lower field entrance?

Thanks to Wednesday Volunteers, Lonnie Paton and Ian Duncan, for building them, a much-needed improvement!

Spring is much more advanced here in Victoria than back in England. When I flew out of Manchester last week, it was still snowing. And stopping over in Toronto I was surprised to find the weather quite warm and no snow at all.

However, we are still at the early, principally yellow, stage of spring. The daffodils ( Narcissus spp.) below the Gathering Place are in full flower and the rather paler, almost white, ones in the Lower Field are well advanced.
Everywhere there is Forsythia in flower, in the Winter garden and in the Birds, Bees and Butterflies Garden. And there are leaves on some trees and shrubs that currently also have a very seasonal yellow tint. In the Hardy Plant Garden there are bushes of privet ( Ligustrum), I think, whose leaves are genuinely yellow-coloured, and down in the Lower Field there is a young Weeping Willow ( Salix babylonica) whose new emerging leaves are a wonderful half-way colour between yellow and lime-green.

In the Farm Garden and in the Doris Page Garden there are Primulas and Violas, mostly in a range between white and yellow, and then I realised that there are several plantings of Oregon Grape ( Mahonia spp.) around the gardens that have very vivid flowers just beginning to show their acid yellow coloration. There is a strikingly yellow heather at the bottom of the Winter Garden  Erica cinerea 'Lime Soda') but I should not pretend there are not other colours waking up around the HCP. There are some lovely violet Aubrieta in that same area at the bottom of the Winter garden and there are, of course, pink and white blossoms on various early-flowering trees. But for just this couple of weeks, spring yellow is in the ascendant.

Hypertufa Planters Part 1  

Come ready to get dirty and design a planter made from concrete and other natural materials. Hypertufa creates a very light weight and strong medium that is weather proof. We will discuss features needed in a planter and how to achieve them. These planters will need time to dry and part 2 will be held on Saturday, April 28 to complete this project. Bring along work gloves if you like. All materials are provided. Parent participation is required.

Hypertufa Planters Part 2 

The planters will now be dry and ready for us to add texture, prepare and plant into them. We will be using seasonal annuals and herbs for this project. It will be suited for your own garden or gift giving (for Mother's Day �� ). Parent participation is required.

Dates:

 

Tea Cup Fairy Gardens

We will begin with an enchanted walk through the Gardens for inspiration to create your own take home Tea Cup Fairy Garden. This is a chance to work with a variety of materials including clay, moss and twigs. Please plan to bring along your own cup (cup and saucer) to use. There are so many styles, colours and materials of cup (cups and saucers) that bringing your own will allow you to create a very individualized garden. Parents/guardians are welcome to stay and participate (and required to stay with children under 6 years). This activity appeals to many adults and they enjoy participating too! If you want to create a garden as you attend with a child, please bring along your own cup. There is an additional fee of $5 to cover the cost of your plant material.

Date: Saturday, May 5, 2018                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Time: 1:00pm - 2:30pm
Ages: 3+
Cost: $15/child (additional adult to register and make a garden is $5)

Junior Master Gardeners KID'S GARDEN CLUB

 

Once a month we meet for seasonal gardening activities in our very own JMG Garden Plot! Our growing season starts early, and there is always lots to do!! When the weather is not quite ideal, we can work indoors to start seeds, learn to propagate plants, plan our home gardens, build trellising, and lots more. When the weather cooperates, we spend every minute creating garden beds, amending soil, mulching, planting, weeding, staking, and watering! These are great skills to get your garden enthusiast growing their own food at home. There are lots of take homes, from seeds to plants and harvests whenever available. Please pre-register at 250-479-6162 

 

Club Dates: 

9:45 am - 11:45 am (Saturday's 2018 - Feb 3, Mar 3, Apr 7, May 5, Jun 2, Sept 8, Oct 6, Nov 3, Dec 1)
Cost: $10/2 hr session 
Ages: All ages welcome! Children under 5 need to be with a supervising/participating adult