Ontario Horticultural Association, Annual Report, 1969

Reports of District Directors

DISTRICT NO.2

James Geddes - Arnprior

The societies of District 2 have all commenced or have in the formative stage programs for juniors. Some have garden competitions and bird house competi­tions. Almonte, in particular, has a very encouraging junior society with an approximate membership of one hundred and thirty. Overall, it is very encourag­ing to the District Director to find the societies staffed with a very competent group of dedicated people. If I may select one particular group for special mention, it would have to be the secretaries who so capably carry on their duties when most of the members are enjoying themselves elsewhere. It is only through them that I, as Director for District 2, can carry on efficiently.

I wish, at this time, to extend the best for next year and trust that our convention in Timmins will be a huge success. I know that District 2 is going to be well represented. In closing, I can assure you that horticultural activities in this District are thriving and will continue to do so in the future. I have also visited a number of societies personally and hope to complete my visitations early in 1970.

ALMONTE

Junior activities far exceeded those of previous years with the largest junior membership on record. The judges were kept very busy inspecting 125 junior gardens, many of which were in the rural area. Pot luck suppers were the order of the day and at both functions prizes and trophies were pre­sented. Slides were also very capably shown by Mr. May. Public plantings were done at the Cenotaph, in the park and containers were placed at the Town Hall. The society also assisted in the planting of more flowers along the river bank with the Almonte Committee. Thus, Almonte Society ends another year of progress.

ARNPRIOR

Amprior still continues to report progress with an increasing membership. They report much activity in their junior work. They have continued with their public plantings in and around the Town Hall and at the Public Library. Plantings have also been done at the eastern approach to the town of Arnprior. A new sign was erected at the Canadian Pacific Railway Station which has been the topic of discussion and interest both by local people and travellers. The sign was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Rosar and the artist who did the work was Mr. Stan Tourangeau. The society owes them a lot for their interest and dedication. Mrs. Rosar is also our secretary and does a very capable job. The society still continues to supply information to the general public and Mr. Geddes edits a garden column in both local newspapers.

BEACHBURG

Beachburg continues to show a great deal of promise despite its smallness in numbers. They placed a wreath on the Cenotaph on November 11.

They sent a tool kit along with vegetable seeds to Ecuador. They also did public plantings in the village. Films and slides of foreign and local inte­rest were shown and a group of their members attended meetings of the Pembroke Society. Contests of horticultural interest were sponsored. Six flower beds in the village and several window boxes at the library were planted and cared for during the year by members of the society. All in all, a very commendable performance was shown by the Beachburg Society. Other activities included a pot luck supper, flower and plant show at the local fair and the formation of a garden club for juniors.

CITY VIEW

City View Society has had a very interesting year with a diversity of speakers and topics. The meetings were very well attended in spite of adverse weather conditions. One evening was devoted to the showing of films and all speakers came well prepared with illustrated lectures which were exceptionally good. The ever-popular Sandy Cavaye gave all the latest news from the Central Experimental Farm at Ottawa. The society has a very energetic group of juniors, 175 of whom participated in a poster competition. A joint meeting was also held with the Stittsville Society which was highlighted by a beautiful, illustrated lecture by Mr. A. R. Buckley on four seasons in the garden. Other activities of the society were a plant auction, pot luck supper, planting of a centennial garden, house plants given to senior citizens and garden competitions for juniors. They are an looking forward to more progress being made during 1970.

EGANVILLE

Eganville Society continues to provide leadership in the town. Flower beds have been planted in various parts of the town and have been maintained by the members. The information booth was decorated by the planting of a flower bed for the first time. During the year, we had a variety of speakers and enjoyed films on reforestation. Also we took a trip to Opeongo School Greenhouse where they were given a talk by Mr. Barron. Various lectures were also given on flower arrangements. One of our members who had contributed greatly to horticulture over the years was Mrs. Roland Reinke who was presented with a service diploma.

GLOUCESTER

Gloucester Society has a membership of 42 which is down a little from past years but, nevertheless, the society has had a very active year. Some of their activities included a very successful strawberry social, supplying bedding plants for the Carleton Lodge, entries in the flower show of the Central Canada Exhibition, vegetable garden competition, best display of annuals around the home and a very successful flower show. They spon­sored a seed mosaic competition for juniors and 52 juniors exhibited in the flower show. The officers and directors were well satisfied with their accomplishments in 1969.

KEMPTVILLE

Kemptville's activities included a tulip show in May, summer competitions and a fan flower and vegetable show. Films were shown on various subjects including landscaping the small home, farm home beautification and Christ­mas decorations. Public planting was carried out at the main entrances to the town and public library and a house plant show was held. A yearbook was published with the assistance of local businesses. The children's gardens were the highlight of the year with a total of 53 gardens all of high calibre.

Special classes for the instruction of children were held at the fall flower show. There were special classes for juniors at the chrysanthemum and house plant show in September.

DEEP RIVER

Deep River Society again conducted its spring drive for membership and gained 720 members. The fertilizer distribution and tool lending services were appreciated more than ever. Two flower shows were held with the town gardener giving demonstrations on the correct method of pruning shrubs. Other activities carried out were a home beautification competition, flower shows, and the improvement of the newly developed west side of the town. Junior activities included demonstrations of planting seeds and transplanting, tours of local greenhouses and the Petawawa Forestry Station nurseries and flower arrangements in driftwood.

DEEP RIVER JUNIOR CLUB

These young people went on a tour of the local greenhouses. They did an excellent job in caring for their gardens. There were 226 entries in the fall flower show. The junior leaders are to be congratulated on their endeavors in the leadership they are providing to our young people. A great deal of pleasure was derived by those who have been associated with such en­thusiastic gardeners and exhibitions.

OTTAWA

Ottawa's September flower show was a great success as were the other numerous shows held by the society. Various subjects including insecticides, landscaping, fungicides, herbicides and lawns were discussed at general meetings by experts. Their autumn show was held in conjunction with a tea and plant sale. Annual plantings were done by members at various clubs including the Good Companions Club. Bus loads of members travelled to the Parkwood Estate of Co!. McLaughlin in Oshawa and the hospitality of the Oshawa Society was outstanding. Classes are offered for juniors in most shows. The society is indebted to judges and speakers who have pro­vided their services. The African and houseplant groups meet monthly. The garden photographic group attracted 170 entries. The president and officers acknowledge, recognize and are grateful for the interest and efforts of retired Director, Mrs. C. A. Herriot of Deep River and offer support and best wishes to the new Director in assuming a task which has some frustra­tions but is an opportunity for service.

PAKENHAM

Pakenham Horticultural Society presented lilies to the three churches in Pakenham and Cedar Hill. Each member was given a house plant. A picnic was held at the Haydon Farm where Mrs. J. Scheel demonstrated how to make corsages. During the year the society was favored by addresses from Mr. J. Cowan, Mr. Wm. Cavaye and Mr. S. McGiffin. Topics covered were fragrant plants, new annuals and spring flowering plants. The fall flower show was cancelled due to inclement weather. The highlight of the year was the number of junior gardens planted and judged. There were 32 gardens judged from 33 children who were supplied with seeds to plant. A great deal of credit is deserved by the officers and directors who worked so hard to make the year such a success.

PEMBROKE

Pembroke members did a considerable amount of work in Pansy Patch Park. An awards night was held and trophies were given to the winning exhibitors. Trillium Awards were also presented to ten members of the community for the most improvement to their gardens. At a dinner meeting exhibitors entered Christmas arrangements which were sold by auction later in the evening. Members of Beachburg and Eganville societies met with us to see slides and hear about Mrs. Wallis' trip to the Yukon, Alaska and the Pribolof Islands in Bering Sea. Flower shows were held in May, June and August. Other activities included a tea, bake sale, five hundred plants planted in Pansy Patch Park which proved they had a very busy year. The junior society, under the leadership of Mrs. Stan Suter and Mr. Harvey Fraser has just completed a highly successful year. They learned how to slip plants, how to root them in various materials, how to plant seeds and they took hikes and collected leaves, mounted and named them. The leaves and flowers were entered in the fall flower show. They have also planted bulbs, held a bird house competition and made Christmas decora­tions using local materials.

PRESCOTT AND DISTRICT

Prescott and District Society hold their meetings on the second Monday of each month. In January, one of the members spoke on Japanese flower arrangements. The February meeting featured a discussion period on what members would like to see and hear in the coming months. Several mem­bers told of their visit to the O'Keefe Flower Show in Toronto. A flower show in April was judged by their own members. Flowers were planted around the senior citizens housing project in June. A demonstration was given on flowers going back to the days of the ancient Greeks and some very interesting head pieces were made.

RENFREW

Renfrew Society has a membership of 188. Three general meetings and one executive meeting were held. Two flower shows were held and, instead of the usual iris show, a tour of gardens where iris were growing in a natural setting was made which proved very interesting. A bus trip to Ottawa during the chrysantemum show at the Experimental Farm was planned. The Renfrew Society had a good year in 1969 and hope to be even more active in 1970.

MANOTICK

The Manotick Horticultural Society has at present twenty-five paid-up members. They had a fairly active year in spite of some adverse conditions. I am glad to inform you that Manotick has just completed a most successful school program. The students made collections of leaves from native trees which proved very educational as well as interesting. They held a general meeting in May at which time the officers were elected. At the June meet­ing there was a demonstration on shrub pruning by Mr. Slight of the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa. A family picnic was held in July at the rose gardens of the Experimental Farm, Ottawa. September meeting judging took place for the W. P. Morling Trophy for bouquets of wild flowers and the Royal Bank Trophy for dinner table arrangements and miniatures. The October meeting was in the form of an annual pot luck supper at which time Mrs. Perrin later demonstrated how to make a corsage and Christmas decorations.