Strathcona Community Gardens

This Saturday: A Growing Affair – plant sale, demos, garden tours, and more! UBC Botanical Garden Newsletter

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 21:27:47 +0000

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In this issue

A Growing Affair
Shop in the Garden

Extreme Adaptations Tour

Garden Feature: Peonies

Upcoming Courses & Lectures

Horticulture Training Program

UBC Alumni Weekend 2013

Magnolia Day – Thank you

Garden in Google Street View

Become a Member

About the Garden

Master Gardeners

Master gardeners will be at the Shop in the Garden every Sunday afternoon, 12:00 – 4:00 between now and the end of June. Bring your gardening questions and get them answered!

While you are at the Garden, don’t forget to check out our great selection of plants and tools ailable at A Growing Affair and Shop in the Garden!

UBC Alumni Weekend 2013
May 25, 2013

Alumni Weekend 2013 is a chance for the public and UBC Alumni to explore the campus.

At UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden, we will open our doors with free general admission for registered Alumni Weekend participants.

Discover your adventurous spirit as you explore our extensive plant collections from around the globe in 60 minutes on a guided tour through the Alpine, Native and Physic Gardens.

Want to get up close to the west coast forest canopy? Ascend for a guided tour atop the Greenheart Canopy Walkway for natural wonders of this unique landscape as you navigate across tree platforms suspended high above forest floor. Greenheart Canopy Walkway is accessible at discounted rates.

Note: The Garden, parking, and UBC campus will be busy on May 25. Please plan extra time for your visit.

Click here for more information and to RSVP for UBC Alumni Weekend 2013.

Magnolia Day Tours – Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our first Magnolia Day on April 6!

It was a great success with over 100 participants. Everyone enjoyed the tours, and the timing was great as magnolia trees were in full bloom.

We look forward to hosting more Magnolia Day Tours next year.

Garden in Google Street View

Two years ago, UBC Botanical Garden worked with Google Maps to come out and shoot videos as part of a pilot project. Today, we are happy to announce that the Garden is now live in Google Street View!

See images of the Garden in Google Street View images here

It’s so great to see it up! For the story on Google Street View’s visit to the Garden, check out our blog post.

Become a Member

Visit us all year long, and take advantage of discounts on our courses and lectures.

Get 10% off at the Shop in the Garden and Plant Centre when you present your membership card. You can buy or renew your membership in person, or online on our website. Thank you for your support.

Not sure if your membership has expired? Give us a call at 604.822.4208.

About the Garden

Established in 1916, UBC Botanical Garden curates a collection of ca. 12,000 plants, representing approximately 8,000 taxa from temperate regions around the world. The Greenheart Canopy Walkway offers an umparalleled aerial view of the west coast forest canopy ecosystem 15 metres above ground.

Saturday, May 11, 2013, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Free Admission
6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC

Spring is here and so is UBC Botanical Garden’s annual plant sale! A Growing Affair, the evolution of the Garden’s popular and long-running annual Perennial Plant Sale, as the name suggests, includes more than just plants for sale. Designed to inform and empower plant lovers of all ages and to engage the local community with a deeper appreciation for all things growing, the event combines useful information and demonstrations for both new and experienced gardeners with an unparalleled selection of plants available for purchase. There are even garden tours and activities for children to inspire the next generation of gardeners.

What sets this plant sale apart is the quality of both the plants and information offered. Featuring a wide selection of plants propagated by the Friends of UBC Botanical Garden and carefully selected commercial growers, shoppers can be comfortable, knowing that all of the plants for sale are well suited to our wet, coastal climate. And if you aren’t sure what to grow or how to grow it, the UBC Botanical Garden Hortline staff and Master Gardeners will be on-hand to answer your plant questions and help you make selections that will thrive in your unique environment.

Plants available will include garden favourites as well as rare and unusual plants. The event will also feature plants from the Garden’s “From our Garden to your Garden” program.

The Shop in the Garden will also be well stocked with garden accessories, tools, supplies, soil, the widest selection of gardening books in the city and… more plants!

Don’t miss this mainstay Vancouver gardening event, there is a reason it’s been a must for local gardeners for over 20 years.

For those curious to learn more before buying, gardening experts will be on hand to answer your questions. Still need some extra help after the sale? Ask questions online on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums, and receive answers from the same volunteers who propagate and care for the plants!

Visit our website for more information and a list of plants available for purchase at A Growing Affair.

We are looking forward to seeing you at A Growing Affair on Saturday, May 11. The Shop in the Garden has been busy bringing in new stock and potting up all sorts of wonderful plants! Even if you cannot make it to the event, stop by anytime for a great selection of garden favourites, rare and unusual plants, including many plants in the From our Garden to your Garden program.

The Shop also carries a wide variety of garden accessories and gifts. Check out our assortments of planters, vases, and garden decorations such as statuary and garden fairies.

Don’t forget to accessorize yourself! Find that perfect made-in-Vancouver gardening or summer hat at our Shop in various styles: Wide-brimmed and adjustable, cotton and/or linen, packable for travel, and washable.

And just in time for the great weather are colourful garden tools and toys for kids and to inspire the next generation of gardeners. You will also find at the Shop bird calls, bug magnifiers and bug-eye kaleidoscopes that will surely bring hours of outdoor fun for everyone.

Master Gardeners are back to help answer your gardening questions! Check the sidebar for details.

In Search of the Blue Poppy

Ever since the famous plant explorer Frank Kingdon Ward caught his first glimpse of the Himalayan Blue Poppy (Mecanopsis betonicifolia) growing wild in the Tsang Po Gorges of Tibet in 1924, gardeners have dreamt of drifts of blue poppies in their gardens. While somewhat fussy in their growing requirements, we are fortunate that the Pacific Northwest is one of the few places in the world where they can thrive. Bill Terry, our local enthusiast, has grown many rare varieties in his Sechelt garden, and has written two books on his experiences both as a grower and as a plant explorer: Blue Heaven: Encounters with the Blue Poppy and recently, Beyond Beauty: Hunting the Wild Blue Poppy. These are available in the Shop, as well as a collection of the writings of Kingdon Ward: In the Land of the Blue Poppies: the Collected Plant-Hunting Writings of Frank Kingdon Ward.

Look for plants of the blue poppy for purchase at A Growing Affair and discover the blue poppy blooming in the David C. Lam Asian Garden.

As humans, we are drawn to the extreme – the gigantic, exciting, adorable, implausible and incredible. Though peaceful and tranquil on the surface, gardens are a place of mystery, intrigue, exploitation, and tremendous extremes. Discover how plants around the world have adapted to climb, defend themselves, attract animals for pollination, and survive extreme weather conditions.

From extreme climbers to extremely strange flowers, our new drop-in guided tour is a great way to discover the different gardens while learning about the extremely interesting plants growing at UBC Botanical Garden.

Tours will be offered on the following dates:

May 18 – June 30: Weekends at 1:00 p.m.
July and August: Details in our next newsletter

This summer, make sure to drop by UBC Botanical Garden for a thrilling journey through the world of extreme plants!

With their lavish, fragrant, brightly coloured May-borne flowers and lush foliage, peonies are familiar plants in the garden. The cultivated herbaceous types, while beautiful, are also troublingly susceptible to grey-mould (Botrytis), and are thus best grown in the open with plenty of sun and air circulation. However, not all species die down to the ground in the winter like the common herbaceous border peony. A group of East Asian species, the so-called tree peonies, produce woody stems and are better suited to woodland conditions, such as in the David C. Lam Asian Garden. The three most common species here include Delavay’s peony, the Tibetan peony and Rock’s peony.

Paeonia delavayi is a clustering shrub from the dry oak and pine forests of western China. It spreads to form colonies of stems about 1.5 m tall. The beautiful flowers are 6 to 10 cm wide, composed of four to thirteen overlapping, papery petals, in shades of bright yellow, orange or scarlet, often with a red or purple blotch at the base. Paeonia ludlowii (Tibetan peony) is a handsome, yellow flowered tree peony known only from a small area of SE Xizang (Tibet). It grows to more than 3 metres, has large compound leaves with narrow, jagged bright green leaflets and rich yellow, 8-cm-diameter flowers.

The Tibetan peony has a limited natural distribution and is threatened in habitat because plants are often dug up to harvest the root bark, which is used in folk medicine. Perhaps the most beautiful of all tree peonies is Paeonia rockii, the rarely cultivated species introduced in the 1920s from SW Gansu, China, by the Austrian-American plant hunter, Joseph Rock. Its opulent, 25- to 30-cm-diameter white to pink, semi-double blooms have a maroon blotch at the base of each petal. The flowers are borne at the tips of metre-tall stems, and as long as the weather is not particularly stormy or hot, they can last for several weeks.

The fruit of all peony species is an aggregate of short, bean-like pods, arranged like a five-pointed jester’s hat.

Courses

Espalier Course – June 7 (FULL)

Friday, June 7, 2013, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
$45 public, $35 garden members & UBC students

Espalier is a pruning technique of training fruit trees into interesting shapes. Learn the basics with Brendan Fisher, our food garden horticulturist.

Espalier Course – June 14 (Only a few spots left!)

Friday, June 14, 2013, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
$45 public, $35 garden members & UBC students

Espalier is a pruning technique of training fruit trees into interesting shapes. Learn the basics with Brendan Fisher, our food garden horticulturist.

For more information and to register for our courses and lectures, please click here.

We are now accepting applications for the Horticulture Training Program 2013-2014 at UBC Botanical Garden.

Upcoming Information Sessions

Dates: Saturday, June 15, and Saturday, July 20, 2013

Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: UBC Botanical Garden

About the Horticulture Training Program

Running from September to May, the fulltime Horticulture Training Program is designed to give students the skills and experience necessary for entering the field of horticulture. Completion of 1100 hours of classroom and hands-on practical instruction and supervised practical work will lead to Levels I & II Apprenticeship technical training credit.

Students will be introduced to principles and techniques of landscape construction and design, garden ecology, plant biology and plant health, the nature and role of soil in natural and constructed landscapes, aspects of ornamental and food crop management, as well as practical, hands-on landscape and garden management.

Horticulture instruction will be undertaken using the facilities of the Botanical Garden, Botanical Garden Nursery, Nitobe Memorial Garden, Totem Research Fields, and the UBC landscape at large. Instruction will include a variety of off-site fieldtrips to various horticultural organizations and operations.

For more information on the Horticulture Training Program and to register, click here.

6804 SW Marine Drive | Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 CA

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B.C. Council of Garden Clubs – ‘The Bulletin’ -

admin — Thu, 02 May 2013 00:44:34 +0000

The May/June issue of ‘The Bulletin’ beautifully put together by Beth MacLaren, click below, right-click to download:

2013 05 06 Colour

Citizens Forester training program

admin — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 20:40:30 +0000

Click the link to view poster:
tk poster-citizen forester-mid

Park & Tilford Plant Sale

admin — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 03:07:31 +0000

Click for P&T Sale Poster 2013

UBC Botanical Garden May Newsletter

admin — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:30:51 +0000

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In this issue

Magnolia Day Tours

A Growing Affair

Upcoming Courses & Lectures

Shop in the Garden

Brush with Nature Benefit

Horticulture Training Program
Public Open Houses on UBC’s Transportation Plan

Volunteer Opportunities

Become a Member

About the Garden

Horticulture Training Program: Accepting Applications

We are now accepting applications for the Horticulture Training Program 2013-2014 at UBC Botanical Garden.

For more information on the Horticulture Training Program, click here.

A message from our friends at UBC Campus + Community Planning:Public Open Houses on UBC’s Transportation Plan: April 3 & 4, 2013

In the coming year, UBC will be developing a Transportation Plan that focuses on circulation on campus, whether by foot, on wheels, or by public transit. This could affect how you access attractions on campus, including UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden.

Upcoming Open Houses on UBC’s Transportation Plan are as follow:

Date: Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Time and Place:

Morning: 11:00am – 1:00pm in the SUB Ballroom, 6138 Student Union Boulevard, 2nd floor
Afternoon: 5:00pm – 7:00pm at MBA House, 3385 Wesbrook Mall

Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013
Time and Place:

Morning: 11:00am – 1:00pm at Marine Drive Residence, 2205 Lower Mall
Afternoon: 5:00pm – 7:00pm at Acadia Commons Block, 2707 Tennis Crescent

These four public events will encourage public input into the development of UBC’s Transportation Plan. Participants will be invited to give their thoughts and ideas on how to improve on-campus transportation.More information on the transporation plan and open houses can be found on the C+CP website.

Become a Member

Visit us all year long, and take advantage of discounts on our courses and lectures.

Get 10% off at the Shop in the Garden and Plant Centre when you present your membership card. You can buy or renew your membership in person, or online on our website. Thank you for your support.

Not sure if your membership has expired? Give us a call at 604.822.4208.

About the Garden

April is an exceptional month for flowers at the Botanical Garden. Magnolias are in their ascendancy now, and daffodils and cherry blossoms are everywhere bringing cheer to Vancouver’s April showers. This is also definitely the month to see rhododendrons in the Garden. Every day brings another few species into bloom. Some of the most beautiful of these rhododendrons are in the David C. Lam Asian Garden, many from wild collections made in exotic locations in Asia.

Indeed, there are hundreds of different species here, and every one has a story to tell. One of the ways we tell those stories is through our smart phone tours. If you haven’t been in the garden lately, you might not have noticed small signs in a variety of colours that indicate the various self-guided tours we’ve compiled for visitors. One of these, the Rhododendron Study Tour, which will be completed before the end of this month, was made possible by a donation from the Vancouver Rhododendron Society.

Each of the tour stops is clearly numbered and has a graphical QR (quick response) code on the sign. Using a smart phone QR code reader (a number of different ones are available free on the Internet), one merely has to point the smart phone at the QR code, and the smart phone does the rest. For each stop on the tour is a short descriptive write up and a corresponding sound file. Tapping the play button allows you to hear the description read aloud.

Along with the Rhododendron Tour, visitors can listen to (or read) a Garden Introduction Tour (yellow signs), Prehistoric Plants Tour (beige signs), Vine Study Tour (light green signs), Plant Explorers in Asia Tour (black signs) and our newest, the Magnolia Tour (dark blue signs). Ask at the Gatehouse for maps of each of the tours.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

Tours at 11:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m., and 3:00 p.m.
Location: UBC Botanical Garden, Entrance
Cost: Free with paid garden admission or membership (see our website for rates)

RSVP here (Space is limited, RSVP early to avoid disappointment)

UBC Botanical Garden is a magical place in early spring, in large part because of its extensive collection of flowering magnolias. The majority of magnolias in the David C. Lam Asian Garden open their fragrant white or pink flowers early in the spring before their leaves emerge.Join Douglas Justice (Associate Director and Curator of Collections) and Andy Hill (Asian Garden Curator) for a special 1½ hour tour of the magnificent magnolia trees planted throughout the Garden.

The genus Magnolia is named for the 17th Century French botanist, Pierre Magnol. There are some 200 or so species of Magnolia in the world, most of them evergreens that inhabit the mountain forests of Southeast Asia and Central and South America, but some are temperate species found in east Asia and eastern North America.

Magnolias are among the most ancient of flowering plant lineages. There are a number of characteristics that indicate this, including that the flower parts are spirally arranged, rather than in definite whorls, and that the showy, outer flower parts are not differentiated into separate sepals and petals, as they are with the flowers of most recently evolved plants. The name for these undifferentiated petal-like structures is tepals. As well, Magnolia flowers are pollinated exclusively by beetles; they are not adapted to pollination by bees or other modern insects, which partly explains why the flowers are so large and sturdy.

This specialty tour* will be offered three times during the day:

11:00 a.m.
1:30 p.m.
3:00 p.m.

*Space is limited, RSVP early to avoid disappointment

Self-guided Magnolia Tours

Can’t join us for a Magnolia Day Tour? Don’t despair, we have information and maps highlighting the most interesting Magnolias in the Garden, available at the Gatehouse starting on April 6^th, until the end of the month. This is your opportunity to discover our great Magnolias whenever you want throughout April!

Saturday, May 11, 2013, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Free Admission
6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver, BC

Spring is here and so is UBC Botanical Garden’s annual plant sale! A Growing Affair, the evolution of the Garden’s popular and long-running annual Perennial Plant Sale, as the name suggests, includes more than just plants for sale. Designed to inform and empower plant lovers of all ages and to engage the local community with a deeper appreciation for all things growing, the event combines useful information and demonstrations for both new and experienced gardeners with an unparalleled selection of plants available for purchase. There are even activities for children to inspire the next generation of gardeners.

Plants available will include garden favourites as well as rare and unusual plants. The event will also feature plants from the Garden’s “From our Garden to your Garden” program.

The Shop in the Garden will also be well stocked with garden accessories, tools, supplies, soil, the widest selection of gardening books in the city and… more plants!

Don’t miss this mainstay Vancouver gardening event, there is a reason it’s been a must for local gardeners for over 20 years.

Visit our website for more information and updates on A Growing Affair.

Courses

Spaces still available. Sign up early to avoid disappointment!

Container Gardening Course

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Garden Pavilion
$48 public, $43 garden members & UBC students
Learn to grow fresh fruits and veggies the city dweller’s way, with containers!

Urban Organic Gardening Course
Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
$60 public, $50 garden members & UBC students

Are you an urban gardener? Join Linda Gilkeson for a class focussed on intensive food production in small spaces.

Flower Photography Course (NEW!)

Sunday, May 5, 2013, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm

UBC Botanical Garden Reception Center
$60 public, $50 garden members & UBC students
This one day course will combine class time and photography in the garden.

Espalier Course – June 7 (FULL)

Friday, June 7, 2013, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
$45 public, $35 garden members & UBC students

Espalier is a pruning technique of training fruit trees into interesting shapes. Learn the basics with Brendan Fisher, our food garden horticulturist.

Espalier Course – June 14
Friday, June 14, 2013, 12:00 – 3:00 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
$45 public, $35 garden members & UBC students

Espalier is a pruning technique of training fruit trees into interesting shapes. Learn the basics with Brendan Fisher, our food garden horticulturist.

Lecture

Biodiversity in the Garden

Tuesday, April 23, 2013, 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm
UBC Botanical Garden Reception Centre
Free

Join our Curator of Collections for a talk on how complexity and biodiversity make gardens more resilient.

For more information and to register for our courses and lectures, please click here.

It’s official… Spring is here! At Shop in the Garden, we have everything you need for outdoor living and to get your garden started.

Outdoor carpets made of recycled plastic splashed in fresh summer colours are perfect for decks, patios, the beach, camping and picnics. They are also easy to clean – just hose off and you are done.

New arrivals: A selection of summer bulbs, clematis and other vines, as well as unusual Japanese maple and gingko. Also available are blueberries, raspberries and strawberries, and herbs for your culinary adventures.

For more information on the Shop in the Garden, click here. To see more photos from the Shop, visit our Flickr page.

Books at the Shop

Edible Landscaping
Incorporating an aesthetically pleasing vegetable patch into existing landscapes can be quite a challenge, but we carry a good selection of books to inspire and empower. We have recently received a new edition of the classic Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy, the forerunner of this concept back in the eighties. Senga Lindsay, a landscaper who gardens in North Vancouver, provides local information on the subject in her book with the same title, and more specific information can be found in Vertical Gardening: Grow Up Not Out, for More Vegetables and Flowers in Much Less Space and McGee and Stuckey’s the Bountiful Container.

Our friends at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum have partnered with Nature Conservancy of Canada to bring this event to the museum:Brush With Nature

A Nature Conservancy of Canada Benefit
Thursday, April 18, 2013 | 7:00 p.m.
Beaty Biodiversity Museum (2212 Main Mall, Vancouver)
FREE admission to this fundraising eventPlease RSVP as space is limited: bcoffice@natureconservancy.ca or 1-888-404-8428

BC’s Okanagan region is famous as both a hotspot for biodiversity and a producer for world class wines. The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is holding a benefit evening that will bring together both of these in support of their latest conservation project in the South Okanagan.

About the event
Have you ever wondered why burrowing owls had to learn to live underground? Or how a woodpecker became a flycatcher? Or what is the world’s fastest bird?

Join NCC’s president and CEO, John Lounds, and special guests Dr. Sarah Otto and photographer Jared Hobbs for a fundraising event that will not only answer these questions, but will introduce NCC’s newest (and most urgent) campaign to protect BC’s interior grassland habitat.

The evening will feature wine from Quails’ Gate Estate Winery and a special appearance by some feathered ambassadors from BC’s grasslands.

About the project
The Elkink Ranch has been of interest to the conservation community for more than 30 years. The lands encompassed by the ranch are rich in at-risk species and include a mosaic of habitat types. This landscape is a crucial migratory corridor for species moving between the desert areas of the western United States and the dry grasslands of interior British Columbia.

The chance to conserve a portion of the ranch – 1,836 acres known as the Elkink South Block – is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that will make a significant impact on the natural legacy of the South Okanagan Similkameen. This project will also connect two other Nature Conservancy of Canada properties and more than double the size of the Sage and Sparrow Conservation Area.

Find out more about NCC’s campaign to protect Elkink South Block.

6804 SW Marine Drive | Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z4 CA

A Community of Gardeners Documentary update

admin — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:06:36 +0000

A Community of Gardeners is a one-hour documentary that shows how seven community gardens in Washington, D.C. are transforming people’s lives, their communities and their environment. The film also traces the history of community gardens in the U.S., from the potato patch farms of the late 19th century, to the victory gardens of World War II, to community gardening’s current renaissance. A Community of Gardeners has been airing on PBS stations nationwide. Learn how you can purchase the DVD.

Documentary to Screen at Oakland International Film Festival on April 6 and 7

A Community of Gardeners will be shown at the Oakland International Film Festival in Northern California on April 6 and 7. The documentary will be screened on Saturday, April 6 during the 1-4 p.m. time slot at the Black Repertory Theater and on Sunday, April 7 during the 5-8 p.m. time slot at the San Leandro Performing Arts Center. To purchase tickets and to view maps of the screening venues, visit the OIFF Screenings/Tickets page.

Producer Cintia Cabib Presents Film to Audiences

In February and March, filmmaker Cintia Cabib presented A Community of Gardeners at several venues in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Cintia visited American University in February, where she spoke about the production and distribution of the documentary to Professor Chris Palmer’s graduate students. Mr. Palmer is the director of the University’s Center for Environmental Filmmaking. In March, Cintia discussed her film with students and staff from St. Stephen’s Episcopal School in Houston, Texas during their visit to Washington, D.C. (see photo on right). On March 8, A Community of Gardeners was shown to high school students at the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, Maryland as part of the AFI’s Educational Screenings Program. Joining Cintia for a panel discussion were Gouri Mirpuri, board member of The Learning Farm, Edamarie Mattei, owner of Backyard Bounty, and Sophia Maravell, founder of Brickyard Educational Farm. The U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. hosted a screening of the film on March 14, which was followed by a Q & A session with Cintia. Please contact Cintia if you would like to discuss a speaking engagement.

Bring A Community of Gardeners to Your Town!

School gardens, rooftops, and community green spaces are abuzz with activity as children, teenagers and adults prepare their gardens for the spring and summer. If you would like to inspire your gardeners as they begin the planting season, consider hosting a screening of A Community of Gardeners in your town or city! To learn how you can purchase the DVD and host a screening, visit the Buy DVD page.

Like the film on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!

Victoria Conservatory of Music – Mother’s Day Garden Tour 2013

admin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:19:26 +0000

A little history…

TEN BEAUTIFUL GARDENS!
We would like to invite the members of your club to join us for our 31st Annual Victoria Conservatory of Music (VCM) Mother’s Day Garden Tour on May 11 & 12 from 10am – 4pm.

Our fundraiser is organized and run by a group of very dedicated gardeners and volunteers who work closely with VCM staff to ensure each tour is a weekend to remember. Funds raised go towards supporting the VCM’s inspiring music programs that are such an important part of our thriving arts community.

Every year we showcase exciting and innovative private gardens, located in Greater Victoria and up the Saanich Peninsula, many complimented by beautiful live music with a wonderful plant sale. This year we have ten delightful and interesting gardens to visit. A two-day pass is just $30.00 and makes a lovely Mother’s Day treat. Your ticket provides you with the location information and access to each of the gardens and plant sale on our self-guided tour.

Tickets will be available, in the first week in April, online at ticketrocket.org/garden and at locations throughout Victoria, Thrifty Foods (Victoria & Sidney), and at our VCM front desk (900 Johnson St at Quadra). Please reference the ticket outlets listed on our event image.

The VCM is very pleased to have partnered with Victoria’s Oswego Hotel to provide a promotional room rate, for Mother’s Day weekend, to all garden tour attendees. Please ask for the ‘Mother’s Day Garden Tour Rate’ when booking.
Oswego Hotel
Tel: 250-294-7500
Toll-Free 1-877-767-9346
reservations@oswegovictoria.com

Here are brief descriptions of four of the ten gardens you will be enjoying in 2013.

“A stream runs through it”
A gardener who loves to share her ¾ acre paradise and lucky for us, we get to see it. A perfect blend of wild woodland and rare specimen trees and perennials.

“Writer’s Retreat”
Solitude and privacy abound in this Japanese themed garden. Happiness flows through the luxurious Koi pond, over mossy rocks and into the extensive vegetable patch. Relax in the Asian-inspired gazebo and enjoy the tranquility of this peaceful setting.

“Unexpected Pleasure”
Be inspired by this very evocative creation. No lawn! Hard work, creativity and vision have transformed an everyday lot into a corner of paradise. Dramatic use of grasses and large architectural perennials add much interest and a new mini orchard has just been added.

“Copper Beach Cottage”
An artist’s retreat, this is a cottage transplanted from James Island. This garden shows colour and texture co-ordination at its best and is crammed with a wild profusion of Provencal lavenders, roses, vines and perennials.

We hope you and your members will choose to celebrate Mother’s Day in the Garden City and help the Victoria Conservatory of Music continue to enrich lives through music. If you have any questions, please contact Brian at
volunteer@vcm.bc.ca

Terry LeBlanc and Brian Johnston
Co-Chairs
Victoria Conservatory of Music Mother’s Day Gardens Tour

Copyright © 2013 Victoria Conservatory of Music, All rights reserved.
This is a one-time email regarding our Annual Mother’s Day Garden Tour. You have not been subscribed to any VCM list and will receive no further emails. Thank You.

Our mailing address is:
Victoria Conservatory of Music

900 Johnson St

Victoria, BC V8V 3N4

Canada

EYA seed swap 2013: Sat April 6, 1 – 3pm

admin — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 18:09:29 +0000

programs & projects -> seed swap 2013

EYA seed swap 2013

Sat April 6, 1 – 3pm

FREE!

At the garden house (eco-pavilion) in the Strathcona Community Garden, near Hawks and Prior in Vancouver.

Bring your favourite seeds to swap with fellow gardeners. Or if you have no seeds to trade, come anyway! There are lots of seeds for everyone!

Note: If you haven’t been to the Eco-Pavilion (garden house) in the Strathcona Community Garden, check out the map as it can be tricky to find the first time.

Horticulture Training Program at UBC Botanical Garden Now Accepting Applications For September

admin — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 18:43:01 +0000

HTPBrochure121116

The Horticulture Training Program at UBC Botanical Garden is now accepting applications for the session starting in September 2013. This fulltime program is the first provincially accredited entry-level practical horticulture training program to be offered in Vancouver.

An information session is scheduled for interested individuals:

Date: Saturday, March 23, 2013

Time: 3:00 p.m.

Location: UBC Botanical Garden (6804 SW Marine Drive, Vancouver)

Please feel free to share this information and the enclosed brochure with your contacts and members. Thank you!

Karen Leung
Marketing and Communications Coordinator | UBC Biodiversity Collections | Beaty Biodiversity Museum and UBC Botanical Garden including Nitobe Memorial Garden | Faculty of Science
The University of British Columbia | Vancouver

“A Community of Gardeners” Documentary March News

admin — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:20:30 +0000

A Community of Gardeners is a one-hour documentary that shows how seven community gardens in Washington, D.C. are transforming people’s lives, their communities and their environment. The film also traces the history of community gardens, from the potato patch farms of the late 19th century, to the victory gardens of World War II, to community gardening’s current renaissance. A Community of Gardeners has been airing on PBS stations nationwide. Learn how you can purchase the DVD.

Screening at U.S. Botanic Garden on March 14

Join filmmaker Cintia Cabib at the U.S. Botanic Garden on Thursday, March 14 at 6:30 p.m. for a free screening and discussion of A Community of Gardeners. Pre-register here to attend the event. The U.S. Botanic Garden is located at 100 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, D.C., a few blocks from the Federal Center SW Metro station on the Orange and Blue lines. Doors open at 6 p.m. We hope to see you there!

Film to Screen at Sacramento Food Film Festival

A Community of Gardeners will be shown at the Sacramento Food Film Festival on Saturday, March 16 at 1 p.m. at the Guild Theater in Sacramento, California. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Bill Maynard, the community garden program coordinator for the City of Sacramento Department of Parks and Recreation.

Host a Screening on Earth Day!

Host a screening of A Community of Gardeners as part of your Earth Day activities! Earth Day celebrations will be taking place throughout the country on and around April 22. To learn how you can purchase the DVD and host a screening, visit the Buy DVD page.

Producer Cintia Cabib is available to discuss the issues addressed in the documentary and her approach to filmmaking at your screening. Please contact Cintia to inquire about a speaking engagement.