Cuttings
Barrie’s Garden Club
http://www.barriegardenclub.com
As per usual, our October Open Meeting
is scheduled for the 2nd Tuesday of the
month versus our normal 1st Tuesday
because of an existing City Hall event.
Tonight our speaker is the very popular Sonia Day.
Most folks are familiar with her weekly Toronto Star
column. Her no nonsense, un-snobby approach to all
things horticultural makes her a very entertaining
speaker. Come out & learn about ‘The Untamed
Garden: A Revealing Look at our Love Affair with
Plants.
Snap, Snapping Away
Get ‘em in, folks. The latest, absolute ‘drop dead’
date by which your photos must reach Mike Dunk
or John Clarke is Sunday, 23 October 2012.
October 2012
It’s Not Over Till It’s Over
Last year was the first time an additional fall flower
show was added to the schedule. It proved very
popular with all the talented designers of the Club,
so it’s happening again. As previously, there are two
separate design categories:
‘Shades of Autumn’ where you can let your
imagination roam free. Utilizing fall colours,
arrange in a container of your choice, a mass
design not exceeding 28 inches in width or depth.
There is no height restriction.
‘Thanksgiving Table Centre’ create a design suitable
for a table centrepiece using fall colours. Height
must not exceed 5 inches, with no restrictions on
width or depth.
E-mail Mike at Mike@mgdunk.com
E-mail John at jjclarke@rogers.com
Photos must be in landscape format. For more
information go to http://www.barriegardenclub.com.
Book Review
Coming Events
Saturday October 20 District 16 Fall Seminar
hosted by Elmvale Horticultural Society will be
held at the Springwater Golf course located in
Minesing.
Coffee at 8:30 am, program starts at 9:30 am
Registration & lunch is $30.00 per person.
Deadline for registration is Friday, 12 Oct 12.
Speakers are Steven Biggs on ‘Crops that WOW’.
Malcolm Geast presents ‘Wonders of Garden Insects’
in the afternoon. Contact Catherine Waffle, as each
Club only submits one cheque for all participants.
For those of you who enjoy a ‘who dunit’ with a
gardening theme, I recommend Ann Ripley’s
‘Death at the Spring Plant Sale’. From a host of
suspects, each with their own nefarious motives,
novice detective Louise gets to the heart of the
matter, albeit with the assistance of several other
Miss Marple- like amateur sleuths. This light, lively
paced read is entertaining, yet has an unexpected
twist in its conclusion.
Other books by the same author include ‘Harvest of
Murder’ & ‘The Christmas Garden Affair’.
Another author of mysteries set in a gardening genre
is Anthony Eglin.
All books are available from the Barrie Library,
downtown branch.
Book Review #2
With the recent interest in the 100 mile diet, buying
local & reducing personal carbon footprint, more
people are growing their own vegetables. Along with
this initiative goes the preserving of the means to
plant another crop ie saving seeds, together with
proper storage & preserving of the harvest’s bounty.
This practical wisdom used to be handed down
between the generations, but has been lost with
increasing urbanization & greater physical distance
from the means of production.
With a view to better food security, knowing where
food comes from & what’s in or on it their food,
people are again seeking this knowledge.
An excellent resource to help answer those burning
questions is ‘Year Round Vegetable Gardening’ by
Niki Jabbour.
To learn more about this prolific author & to follow
her blog, go to the link provided below:
http://www.nikijabbour.com/
Wish I’d Said That
Anarchy is better than no government at all.
Murphy’s Law: if it’s good, they will stop
making it.
Nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently
talented fool.
Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
Time is what keeps everything from
happening at once.
Pride is what we have, vanity is what others
have.
Three kinds of people: those that can count
& those who can’t.
All those who believe in psychogenesis, raise
my hand.
Why be difficult, when with a bit of effort,
you can be impossible.
Who is General Failure & why is he reading my
hard disk?
Recipe to Create a Garden
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Select a patch of dirt
Rough it up
Broadcast some seeds
Plant some flowers
Add some sunshine
Sprinkle with rain
Add a dash of hope & a little bit of love
Pull a few weeds
Wait & watch
Enjoy the beauty
Wither the Weather
During a recent plane trip, I had a conversation with
a seatmate who haled from Chile – he was on a
diplomatic mission & worked in Ottawa. One of his
statements stuck me as enlightening – he said
“Canadian sure talk about the weather alot!!”
Reflecting on that, I realized what he said is so true.
But then, we do have much to discuss!! Especially this
summer - too hot & dry in some parts of the country,
too cool & wet in others. No happy medium.
And we have many words to describe weather & all
its related phenomena – here are some examples.
Barometer: an instrument to measure atmospheric
pressure
Ceiling: the lowest layer of overcast clouds
Cloudburst: a brief, but extreme rainstorm
Fujita scale: a rating system for damage caused by
a tornado
Hypothermia: life threatening, dangerously low body
temperature
Trough: a long region of low atmospheric pressure
Weather bomb: instant storm that causes massive
damage.
Wind shear: a sudden change in wind speed &
direction
Daisy Committee Wind-Up Party
Save the date of Wednesday, 24 October 12 for
a small celebration from 7 – 9:00 pm at Clarinda’s
house. Address is 1419 Hendrie in Minesing.
RSVP at 705 728-8823. Bring packages if you are
‘retiring’ from the position.
The Last Word
‘A garden is always a series of losses, set against a
few triumphs, like life itself’.
May Sarton