NEWLETTER 2016 NEWSLETTER 2016

A WORD FROM THE PRESIDENT

2015 was a very successful year for the Hudson Garden Club. We had a

superb day for the Garden Party which was held on the lovely property of

Louis and Mary Leprohon. The Flower Show was well attended and the

day trips to the Gatineau and the Botanical Gardens were enjoyed by all.

Our Local Garden Tour was a little soggy . . . alright, a lot soggy; but the

goodies offered at the Tea Garden buoyed everyone's spirits. A warm

thank you to all the Executive and the Members - all this would not have

been possible without you and all your hard work!

2016 sees Christine Gibb busy organizing a fabulous slate of Speakers

for our monthly meetings. For one, we shall be listening to the always

personable Alexander Reford from Reford Metis Gardens! We will be having Fun with Fungi at

another. Unfortunately, due to the lack of response to our request for gardens and volunteers,

we will not be holding our usual local garden tour this year. As a result, your Executive is busy

planning wonderful Day Trips to see private gardens in quaint Knowlton in the Eastern Townships

and in charming Chelsea in the Gatineau region. There will be superb lunches; for example, we

shall dine at the renowned L’Orée du Bois in Chelsea. Those who subscribe to both events will

receive a discounted rate.

Again, because of lack of volunteer response, there will be no Garden Party this summer; howev-

er, in November, we are organizing a lovely luncheon and a demonstration on the creation of

Holiday decorations (centerpieces, wreath making etc.) More on this to come.

Personally, I plan to do a garden makeover this season . . . anything from a simple plant de-

cluttering to a major redo of main garden areas. Perhaps we all could have a similar resolution

and then attend monthly meetings to learn how to accomplish this and go on the Day Trips to see

how others do it!

Plan to help grow our membership by bringing new gardeners into the Club to share ideas and

our Garden Bounty (a new happening at our Summer and Fall meetings.) Plant everything you

buy; if not, give them to a neighbour or a new gardener who will appreciate them. So, in March,

come to the first of our monthly meetings - the third Tuesday of every month - and bring a friend!

This year's Flower Show theme is “Tchin Tchin” so let's raise our glasses to another successful

gardening season!

Lorrie Phelan

President

To create a little flower is the

labour of ages.

William Blake (1757—1827

“To create a little flower is the

labour of ages.”

William Blake (1757—1827)

English poet and mystic

Please Note:

Meetings are held on the Third

Tuesday of each month from

March to November at St.

James’ Church, 642 Main

Road, Hudson.

Guest fee for regular meet-

ings is $5.

Meetings now commence at

7:30 pm; invited speakers

begin promptly at 7:45 pm.

Tous les membres sont les

bienvenus. Veuillez toutefois

prendre note que nos

conférenciers feront leurs

discours en anglais.

Remember: Instead of waiting

until the holidays, non-

perishable food items will now

be collected at each meeting

and donated to Le Pont

Bridging throughout the

year.

Mission Statement

The goals of the Hudson Garden Club are to:

1. Share horticultural knowledge

2. Promote enjoyment of gardening and its related

activities

3. Encourage awareness of our environment

Board Members

President Lorrie Phelan 450-458-4032

Vice President Margaret Waller

450-458-7615

Past President Deborah Barclay

450-458-2476

Treasurer & Membership Bill Osler

450-458-3548

Secretary Caroline O’Connor

450-202-1013

Directors

Kathy Conway 450-458-7604

Michael Hickman 450-458-1298

John Hill 450-458-4431

Kathy Leech 450-458-4491

William McCann 450-458-1819

Important!! Please advise us promptly if

either your mailing or e-mail

address has changed; we

will correct your address for

the next mailing.

FLOWER SHOW - 2016 Cheers, and Happy New Year to

everyone! Toasting everyone at special events with sayings

such as cheers, Santé, and Tchin Tchin is what inspired the

Hudson Garden Club’s 2016 Flower Show Tchin Tchin!

All arrangements will be in an assortment of glassware and

depict various drinks. We hope that the information sheet

that is on our web site now will inspire you to enter one or

more of the categories (the show’s booklet will be ready in a

few weeks).

The flower show will be held at the Stephen F. Shaar

Community Centre (394 Main, Hudson). Registration will be

on Friday, July 15 from 5:00 to 8:30 pm and the show will

open to the public at noon on Saturday, July 16.

We encourage everyone to take part – enter one or more

sections (floral arrangements, cut flowers, roses, vegetable,

potted plants and veggie critters) – and you might win a rib-

bon and/or trophy. For further details please consult our web

site or contact Kathy Conway at 450-458-7604

kathy.conway@live.com

Hudson Garden Club

Schedule of Events

March 15 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Note: please come early to re-

new your membership and re-

serve a place on the bus for our

day trips.

Tereska Gesing

Topic - Garden pests and

disease control

Tereska Gesing is the owner of

Urban Seeding, a company that

helps Montrealers grow food in

the city by planting vegetable

gardens and doing edible land-

scaping in yards, schools and

work sites. Tereska’s talk will

help you defend your vegetable

garden against unwanted

pests, critters and diseases.

March 19

St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Please come and join us in this

community event and proudly

display your “green thumbs”!

For details contact Lorrie

Phelan - 450 - 458 -4032

April 19 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Annual general meeting, in-

cluding election of officers.

Doug and Judy Harvey

Topic - Ponds, pools,

and other water features

in the garden

For over 20 years, Doug and

Judy Harvey (Pond World Inc.)

have been the Canadian

leaders in creating stunning,

one of a kind water

environments that allow home-

owners to reconnect with na-

ture, create their own peaceful

oasis, while adding beauty

and splendor to their proper-

ties. Their talk will inspire you

to introduce a pond, pool or

small water feature into your

garden.

May 17 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Alexander Reford

Topic - Les Jardins de

Métis/Reford Gardens

Les Jardins de

Métis/Reford

Gardens are the

extraordinary

achievement of a

passionate gar-

dener - Elsie Reford. In the

summer of 1926 at the age of

54, she began transforming her

fishing camp on the Métis River

in northeastern Quebec into a

garden. Come and listen to

historian and Reford Gardens

director Alexander Reford’s

fascinating tales of the gardens

over their 90 year history.

June 21 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Orysia Krywiak-Valenti

Topic - Flower Arranging

A demonstration of how to

make award winning arrange-

ments.

This meeting is open to the

public at no charge.

July 15/16

Flower and Vegetable

Show

The theme of this year’s show

is Tchin Tchin. Please refer to

the Floral Arrangement sheet

for a description of the Arrange-

ments and start planning your

entries.

The show will be held Saturday

July 16, at the Stephen F.

Shaar Community Centre, with

registration the evening of July

15 (5:00pm to 8:30 pm).

The complete schedule book-

let will be available on our

website soon. Please contact

Kathy Conway at 450-458-

7804 or at

kathy.conway@live.com if

you have any questions. The

show is open to the public

noon to 4:0 pm.

July 19 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Pierre Noël and Judith

Noël Gagnon

Topic - We put the

“fun” in Fungi

Pierre and Judith run, a fam-

ily business specializing in

everything related to

mushrooms. Come and

discover the frontiers of the

“fun”gi world, from the forest

to the kitchen, from the

garden to the workshop!

July 23

Trip #1- Chelsea, QC

(near Ottawa) Garden

Tour

No local garden tour in

Hudson? So come and enjoy

the charming village of

Chelsea and four local

gardens. La Chasse – Gardée

du Marais and three other

private gardens. Lunch will be

at L’Orée du Bois Restaurant.

This is truly a day not to be

missed.

Come on both trips this year

and take advantage of a dis-

count.

Reservations with payment by

cheque, to Hudson Village

Travel 450-458-7041. Price

including lunch or excluding

lunch TBA. There will be only

one bus, seats are limited, so

it will be first come, first

served. If there is still availa-

bility on June 23, seats will be

offered to non-members.

August 13

Trip #2 - Knowlton, QC

Garden Tour

Our second garden tour will be

in the area of Knowlton/Brome

Lake. Three privately owned

gardens will be opened for us

to visit. Lunch will be at Le Re-

lais Knowlton. On our return

we will stop off at a vineyard

for a wine tasting!! Another trip

not to be missed.

Come on both trips and take

advantage of a discount.

Reservations with payment by

cheque, to Hudson Village

Travel 450-458-7041. Price

including lunch or excluding

lunch TBA. There will be only

one bus, seats are limited, so it

will be first come, first served. If

there is still availability on July

13, seats will be offered to non-

members.

August 16 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Edith Smeesters

Topic - Backyard Composting

Edith Smeesters is an author,

environmental activist and re-

spected lecturer on ecological

approaches to landscaping. Her

talk will unveil the fascinating

world of backyard composting.

Her practical tips will cover what

to compost (or not!), how to

avoid unwanted smells and ani-

mal visitors, how to handle sum-

mer grass clippings, autumn

leaves, winter branches and

much more.

September 20 - Meeting

7:30 pm

Céline Arsenault

Topic- Botanical Prints

Céline Arsenault is a botanist

and worked as chief archivist

and historian at the Montreal

Botanical Garden for 30 years

before retiring. Her talk will

cover the history of botanical

illustration and how botanical

prints contributed to the

development of botany

throughout history.

October 18 - Meeting

7:30 pm

André Poliquin

Topic– Orchids for Everyone

André is Président, Société

des Orchidophiles de Montréal

and Directeur, Orchidexpo In-

ternational de Montréal, He is

an avid gardener and a spe-

cialist of orchids and roses.

He will share his extensive

knowledge of and passion for

orchids.

November 19 DIY

Holiday Décor Demo

On Saturday, November 19th.

the HGC will host a lively

luncheon, which will include

Michael's famous homemade

soup. Lunch will be followed

by a workshop on how to

create Christmas decorations/

arrangements. More

information and tickets will be

available at Garden Club

meetings. This promises to be

a super event. So mark your

calendars!

“In the garden, more grows

than the gardener sees.”

A Spanish Proverb

Hudson Garden Club Gives Back

HGC is a non-profit organization, but sound management means

that we occasionally accumulate a budget surplus beyond our

operating needs.

HGC is a vibrant part of the community in which we live and in

the spirit of giving to our community the HGC gave donations to

the following in 2015:

• Nova Hudson, in memory of our deceased members

• Le Nichoir

• Ecomuseum

• The Lambert de Wit Education Grant

The Lambert de Wit Education Grant

The Hudson Garden Club (HGC) is pleased to announce it

will again offer an education grant in 2016 to a student in the

field of horticulture or environmental studies. The $500 grant

will be awarded in May by the HGC Selection Committee, to

a student chosen who meets the following criteria.

The student’s home is located in Hudson or Saint-

Lazare or Rigaud, and is a high school student who

has been accepted in a CEGEP, college or university

programme related to horticulture or environmental

sciences.

OR

A student who is currently registered in a CEGEP,

college or university programme related to horticulture

or environmental sciences.

Past applicants and winners may apply again.

The application form may be requested by sending an

e-mail to hudsongardenclub@gmail.com

Deadline for receipt of the submission is April 23, 2016.

Discounts for Members

As a member of HGC and

through HGC’s membership in

the FSHEQ, 2016 membership

card holders may be privileged

to receive varying discounts

from participating suppliers.

Present your card to the cash-

ier BEFORE your order is rung

up.

Please check with suppliers as

to which items the discounts

apply, as not all items are sub-

ject to their discounts.

We thank the following compa-

nies for their generosity:

Champs de Rêves, Hollandia

Fleuriste, Les Serres

Vaudreuil (Daoust), Pepiniere

Chantal (Rigaud), Cité des

Jeunes (Saint-Lazare) and

Fleuriste Rita(Saint-Lazare).

Merci beaucoup !

Tell Us!!

We welcome your ideas and

input. Here is how to get in

touch with us:-

Web site: http://hgc.fsheq.net

E-mail:

hudsongardenclub@mail.com

Snail-mail: PO Box 573, Hud-

son, QC, J0P 1H0

HGC now on Facebook

- hgcquebec “There ‘s something soothing about firming seeds in the

soil and tending plants under the glass of your green-

house while raindrops and snowflakes fall against the

panes.” George Abraham-born 1928, American Gardener

MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION

$25 Annually – Per Household

($20 if paid before March 31, 2016)

Complete both parts of this form and

mail it to us at:

Hudson Garden Club

PO Box 573 – Hudson – QC J0P 1H0

If you wish to receive your card by mail,

please INCLUDE A SELF-ADDRESSED,

STAMPED ENVELOPE. Otherwise, you may

pick up your membership card at any

meeting.

*OR*

Bring the completed form to the March 15

2016 meeting

Name__________________________________

Name of additional household member who re-

quires a membership card

_______________________________________

Address

_______________________________________

_______________________________________

Postal Code_____________________________

Telephone______________________________

E-mail (please print clearly)

_______________________________________

Please note that by providing your email

address you are choosing to receive club

communications by email only.

To ensure a speedy registration process for every-

one, please come early and bring your completed

form and cheque to the March 15, 2016, at

7:00 pm, St James’ Church, 642 Main Road,

Hudson.

You can pick up your 2016 membership card at

the March 15 meeting.

Membership Inquiries

Bill Osler – 450-450-3548 - or -

Kathy Conway - 450-458-7604 - or -

hudsongardenclub@gmail.com

Help with one of our many Hudson Garden

Club activities by volunteering for a work

group. Generally, this requires very little of

your time and it will be greatly appreciated.

Please indicate how you want to help:

__Administrative work __Computer help

__Flower Show helper __Flower Show Tea

Room hostess/server __Local Garden Tours

helper __Plant sales (Spring _____ Fall _____ )

__Telephone Committee __Wine & Cheese Par-

ty helper __Programme coordination

__Help organize bus tours __Other (please

specify)_______________________________ Helping Hands

We thank all the enthusiastic

volunteers who work tirelessly with

HGC directors to bring you our many

activities throughout the season.

Thank you

“I don’t know whether nice people tend to

grow roses or growing roses makes

people nice.” Richard A. Browne,

American Professor

Reading a Fertilizer Label

The three numbers on a fertilizer bag (called N-P-K numbers) give the percentage makeup by weight of the three components in the fertilizer:

N (for nitrogen) - promotes leaf development;

P (for phosphorus) - promotes root, flower, seed and fruit growth;

K (for potassium, sometimes called potash) - promotes root development, movement of water through the plant and resistance to diseases.

A bag of fertilizer marked "10-8-10" contains 10% nitrogen, 8% phosphorus and 10% potassium . . . the other 72 percent of the bag’s content is usually composed of inert filler materials like limestone or clay.

Animal manures as fertilizers are classified as either HOT manures or COLD manures. Hot manures such as horse, pig and chicken are high in nitrogen and need composting to pre-vent burning plants. Cold manures like cow, sheep or rabbit can be added directly to the soil.

Despite providing nutrition to plants, fertilizer in excess amounts can be detrimental to the same plants causing loss of leaves or even death.

Titbits

Tips with Bulbs

Some of the easiest bulbs to grow include Allium,

Chionodixa, Crocus, Lilium, Narcissus, Galanthus

Pushkinia, and Tulipa.

Buy the largest bulbs

available. The bigger the

bulb, the more years they

will flower without you

having to fuss over them.

Plant daffodils at least 15

cm deep and if the soil is heavy, place a layer of

sand at the bottom of the hole to provide good

drainage, which will prevent the bulbs from rotting.

Plant lily bulbs on a mound of grit to prevent water

logging, which they hate and work more grit into

the soil around them.

Most ornamental alliums have unattractive leaves,

so hide them with a planting of annuals.

Deadhead your bulbs

after flowering to pre-

vent them putting

energy into producing

seeds when they

should be putting it

back into the bulbs

for the following

years’ flowering.

If established clumps of bulbs fail to flower, feed

them with a liquid fertilizer, wait for the leaves to

die down, then lift the clumps before replanting

them. “Love of flowers and vegetables is not

enough to make a good gardener. He

must also hate weeds.”

Eugene P. Bertin, American horticul-

turist