Garden Show
Speaker Schedule
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Greener Kids Gardening Workshop
Milner Gardens , Shoots with Roots
Join Charlene Forrest, Shoots with Roots Coordinator at Milner Gardens & Woodlands, for a fun, interactive family activity making & planting newspaper pots with organic vegetable seeds & sometimes native plant seeds.
Kids, parents and grandparents alike can make and plant a newspaper pot, then take it home to watch it grow and later plant outside. This program travels to schools, garden shows in Seattle and Nanaimo , and to Qualicum Beach family day.
Charlene Forrest, Shoots with Roots at Milner Gardens & Woodlands
education.milnergardens@shaw.ca
11:00 am
Invasive Plants of Vancouver Island
Wendy Tyrrell, Coordinator, Coastal Invasive Plant Committee (CIPC)
Wendy will speak about invasive plants in Coastal BC , looking at the status and impacts of invasive plants, best methods for removal of invasive plants, and some gardening alternatives to the commonly available invasive plants.
The Coastal Invasive Plant Committee (CIPC) is a non-profit society serving the regions of Vancouver Island , the Gulf Islands , and the surrounding coastal communities, and the Regional Districts of Comox-Strathcona, Mt. Waddington and Powell River on the mainland coast. The purpose of the CIPC is to facilitate the effectiveness and efficiency of invasive plant management in the region by promoting collaboration and coordination amongst stakeholders and providing education and outreach to the community.
Wendy Tyrrell is the Coordinator for the CIPC. Originally from California , Wendy holds a BSc in Ecology and has been working in the field of restoration and invasive plant management for more than five years. Prior to moving to Canada , Wendy worked as an ecologist for a local land trust, developing and implementing restoration projects and monitoring the efficacy of their invasive plant program. She and her husband reside in Victoria .
Wendy Schebel, Coastal Invasive Plant Council
info@coastalinvasiveplants.com
5785 Duncan Street , Duncan V9L 5G2
1:00 pm The Spirit of Gardening
Don MacWatt, Island Specialty Nursery
The spirit of gardening is about finding and encouraging a relationship with our property that goes beyond the individual components of a garden. It is the ancient link to land that sustains the complete person.
Don MacWatt came to Chemainus with his family 20 years ago from the NWT to start a rural enterprise. Within a year the foundation for an ornamental nursery was started and grew to include many tree and shrub species and cultivars from far and wide, to broaden the availability of desirable garden plants for the region. Later, many perennial collections were added along with native species and other specialty plants.
About 7 years ago, Don started paying particular attention to ecological restoration and design and with his daughter, Mary Dawn, embarked on a number of studies to prepare the nursery and themselves for a deeper understanding of how ecological systems affect our lives and how we affect them in our work and daily lives. The family is currently working on establishing a centre on their property to further the objective of Sustainability, Health and Education (SHE), through a balance of working space and habitat space and a balance of food/health plants and ornamental or habitat plants. The nursery will become know as Harmony Farm.
Don MacWatt, Island Specialty Nurseries
250-246-1357
isn@island.net
8797 Chemainus Road , Chemainus V0R 1K5
11:00 am
How to Grow More Food with Less Space, Less Soil and Less Water.
Dirk Becker
Dirk Becker is, amongst other things, a farmer, agricultural activist, co-publisher of Synergy Magazine, and co-host of a weekly radio talk show, “Heart & Mind: Tools for Change.” In the last few years he has focused a lot of attention on how our methods of food production affects our water, soil and the earth in general. He bought 2.5 acres of land in Lantzville and began working with the land. Barrels washed up on the beach became part of a 12-barrel system he uses to water his garden. Dirk now grows enough food for three weekly farmers' markets, friends and neighbours on less than an acre using biointensive principles the Chinese have used for 5000 years. He inspires others through his personal experience of using gardening and farming to reconnect with the earth and one another.
Dirk Becker, Compassion Farm, Lantzville
compassion@telus.net
1:00 pm
Healthy Soil – the First Step Towards a Really Great Garden
Leslie Cox, The Duchess of Dirt
As with most things, you can only reap from your garden what you put into it. And everything in the garden begins with the soil. If your soil is poor, your plants and vegetables will struggle to give you a floral display or produce for the table. There are a few lucky gardeners who “fall into” good soil but the vast majority of us find ourselves struggling with the less than perfect variety. But all is not lost! There are ways of fixing our soil problems with a little bit of knowledge, some perseverance and a desire to make things right.
Find out what soil really is and what it is made of. Learn about the types of soil and all about soil composition. Get an introduction into inorganic and trace elements; find out how the pH can affect your soil. And last but not least, learn all about compost and how to make it.
Leslie Cox is known in the Comox Valley as The Duchess of Dirt. Faced with being too young to retire and too old to recycle after suffering corporate downsizing, Leslie naturally gravitated back to her roots. A garden overhaul made room for vegetables for the dinner table with a few left over to sell at the local Farmers' Market. A chance stop at a plant sale turned into a membership in the Comox Valley Horticultural Society.
Very passionate about gardening, Leslie strives to divide her time these days between writing a bi-monthly column for the Comox Valley Record newspaper and articles for magazines such as Canadian Living and Gardens West, teaching the grandkids about gardening, and leading workshops. Luckily, there is time left over to enjoy the show garden she shares with her photographer/husband, John, and their special dog, Molly.
Leslie Cox, Growing Concern Cottage Garden
250-337-8051
growingconcern@telus.net
7896 Fairview Road , Black Creek V9J 1G5
| Garden Show Home | Coombs Fair | Facility Rentals | Contact Us |
Hosted by the Arrowsmith Agricultural Association - Celebrating Agriculture in Oceanside since 1913