Cowichan Valley Garden Club

Previous guest speakers have included the following: 

• March 10, 2024 Tamara Dinter introduced us to the basics of soil science, and how we can apply the knowledge in our own gardens
• February 14, 2024 Hunter Jarratt  told us about the invasive plants that are jeopardizing Vancouver Island’s native biodiversity, with a focus on those that are common in our yards and gardens:   Wild Weeds: Understanding and Addressing the Invasive Plants on Vancouver Island.  
• January 10, 2024 Karlin Creed shared The Healing Powers of Gardening and her photos of some of the tiny creatures who live in her garden.
• November 8, 2023 Mike Rogers described Glorious Grasses and their beauty, deer resistance, toughness and drought tolerance (once established) .   Members, please click here for the list of plants Mike talked about.  
• October 11, 2023 Barrie Agar talked about Japanese Gardens in North America, including the early Japanese gardens on Vancouver Island, the relationship with Japan and commentary on various Japanese gardens of the world.  
• September 13, 2023 Bryan Emery treated us to a visual feast with his presentation “The Plants I Love“, including telling us how to decides what to collect.  He has a small specialty plant nursery, Bryan’s Plants, in Victoria.  
• June 14, 2023 Margo Moser described several small ferns that will thrive in a variety of environments, including rock and alpine gardens.   The title of her talk was “Dwarf Ferns for Small Gardens” and she brought ferns in pots for “hands on” viewing.  Members, please click here for information Margot kindly provided.  
• May 10, 2023 Lorraine Horn of Barshorn Gardening spoke about Thorny Beauties: Rose Care and More including classes of roses, their characteristics and uses, roses that grow well in the Cowichan Valley, pruning, pests and diseases and when to dig up a rose and say goodbye.    
• April 12, 2023 Iain Haigh. owner of Paradise Plants Garden Centre in the Comox Valley, on Landscaping: What To Know Before You Start.  Iain let us know what to expect when working with a landscaper and with contractors.   His recent book “I Should Write This Down, Exposing The Dirt Of Operating A Garden Centre And Landscape Company” is available on Amazon.
• March 8, 2023 Debbie Hall spoke about Teaming Up With Nature Through Organic Gardening.   Members, click here for the list of resources Debbie sent.   
• February 7, 2023 Abby Hyde of Satinflower Nurseries in Saanich spoke on Native Plant Meadowscaping, the importance of native plants and how individuals can convert their lawns into landscapes that are friendly for pollinators.  
• January 11, 2023 Bob Duncan, owner of the Saanich specialty plant nursery Fruit Trees and More, spoke about  Growing Figs in South Coastal British Columbia.
• November 9, 2022  In person meeting, Joanne Barwise spoke about practices to mitigate the risk of a forest fire burning a house down, and some “fire-smart” plants, in her presentation “Be Fire Smart:  Landscaping Practices to Protect Your Home.”    Joanne distributed brochures on the topic.  
• October 12, 2022  In person meeting, Jeff deJong, a horticulturist who hosts Gardening 101, a weekly gardening program on Victoria radio CFAX, gave an entertaining and informative presentation about creating a four season garden with forty plants.   Members, please click here for Jeff’s plant list.   
• September 14, 2022  In person meeting, Gwen Redliffe, a Master Gardener, spoke about dahlias.  
• June 8, 2022  In person meeting, Bernie Dinter, owner of Dinter Nursery, presented Dwarf Conifers – A Journey into the Miniature.  He reviewed the major confier genera to show what’s available in dwarf form to create beautiful small gardens. 
• May 11, 2022  In person meeting, Colin Tamboline gave an overview of the different types of lilies and advice on how to prepare, plant, grow and propogate them.  He recommends buying bulbs from local nurseries or mail order suppliers, his favourites are Lily Nook in Manitoba and The Lily Garden in Washington.   Colin is the President of the Victoria Lily Society, his email is joycecolin@shaw.ca
• April 13, 2022  In person meeting,   Jane Squier described her journey from growing commercial greenhouse lettuce to growing subtropical citrus and avocados on Salt Spring Island.     Click here for Jane’s The Garden website, here for the project page , and click here for instructions to make a Johnson-Su bioreactor (aerated no-turn compost pile).   And click here for a December 2022 CBC article about growing sub-tropical fruit in BC, including a visit to Jane’s greenhouse.
• In person meetings resumed in April 2022
• March 9, 2022 Zoom meeting, Connie Kuramoto talked about Growing Culinary and Medicinal Herbs.  Connie described annual, biennial and perennial herbs and how to grow, harvest and use them.  Members please click here for Connie’s Pesto recipe.  
• February 9, 2022 Zoom meeting,  Paul Spriggs talked about the history, design, construction and plant choices for rock and crevice gardens in his presentation “Cracks and Crevices:  A Bold Aesthetic for Adventurous Gardeners.”
• January 12, 2022 Zoom meeting,  Loree Bohl talked about Gardening Fearlessly:   Inspiration for Creating a Garden You’ll Love, or Reinventing the One You’ve Got.  Loree is the author of Fearless Gardening and created the blog Danger Garden thedangergarden.com
• November 10, 2021  Zoom meeting, Amy Sanderson, owner of Stellata Plants in Saanichton, presented “Expanding the Mediterranean Plant Pallette.” She introduced new drought tolerant plants and opened a discussion about the possibilities for beautiful dry gardens and the practices needed to help them cope with hotter, drier summers.
• October 13, 2021  Zoom meeting, Lucretia ‘Lu’ Schanfarber, who gardens on Cortes Island and on Quadra Island, spoke about “Gabbing About Gardening” Zoom gatherings and radio shows she has been hosting in 2021 to enable gardeners to be together during COVID-19. Each session includes a speaker and is Free, by Donation. The Zoom gatherings are on Youtube and website https://cortesradio.ca/gabbing-about-gardening/ briefly describes the radio shows.  Lu’s Facebook Group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/QuadraIslandandCortesIslandGardens
• September 8, 2021  Zoom meeting, Brian Russell, former owner of Russell’s Nursery, and Faye Ford, who has worked at the nursery for 14 years, presented Four Seasons in a Greenhouse with tips for making the best use of the greenhouse and caring for it.
• June 9, 2021  Zoom meeting, Helen Stewart, artist, writer, gardener and teacher, showed a short video called “Drawn into the Garden” which is also the title of her most recent book.   Her gardens inspire much of her artwork.   Helen shared her thoughts about creating a garden, its seasons and the importance of life-giving soil and water.   Helen’s email address is hestewart@shaw.ca.
• May 12, 2021  Zoom meeting, Chris Jennings, President of the Vancouver Shade Garden Society, An Introduction to Shady Characters for Your Garden. Click on the link for the list of plants Chris provided  Shade Plant Compendium for May 2021 meeting
• Friday, April 16, 2021  Zoom meeting, Linda Gilkeson, entomologist, Master Gardener and teacher spoke about  Where Have All the Insects Gone?  When will we ever learn…?    Members, please go to the Articles of Interest page for details of Linda’s presentation.  
• March 10, 2021  Zoom meeting, Elke Wehinger and Pamela Dangelmaier, co-owners of Botanus Inc., a plant and garden online business, presented “1 Container, 2 Container, 3 Container, More!”  Members, please go to the Articles of Interest page for details of  their presentation.
• February 10, 2021 Zoom meeting, Brian Minter, horticulturist and co-owner with his wife, Faye, of Minter Country Garden in Chilliwack.   His topic was “The Dramatic Changes in Gardening and Where It’s Trending.”     Members, please go to the Articles of Interest page for details of Brian’s presentation and lists of his Picks for Plants and Vegetables.   
• January 13, 2021 Zoom meeting,  Kayla Siefried, Site Manager of the Compost Education Centre, defined compost as a soil amendment of about ½ greens and ½ browns for carbon.  She spoke of the benefits of moisture, air, diverse materials and balancing greens and browns, different bins available, various composting methods and how to resist rodents.  The Compost Education Centre’s website is https://compost.bc.ca
• December 9, 2020 Zoom meeting, Member Elisabeth Zoffmann talked about creating five gardens over the years.
• November 11, 2020  Zoom meeting, David Tracy took us on a visual tour through the human history of reshaping landscapes with plants.  He explored the roots of our current notions of what a garden can be, drawing on examples from around the world as well as leading (but diminishing) Anglo-European influences we currently see.
• October 14, 2020 Zoom meeting,  Dianne Gaines described the best bulbs for flowering in early, mid and late spring as well as in early summer, including some new varieties.   She emphasized that bulbs need well drained soil and most require sunshine.
• June 29, 2020 Zoom meeting,   Agnes Lynn talked about the many benefits of native plants in her Webinar presentation “Integrating Native Plants into your Garden”.   
  

• The April, May and September 2020 meetings were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• March 11, 2020 Richard Hebda, President of the BC Iris Society, spoke about climate change, the need to transform our gardens and the role irises can play in helping our gardens cope with summer drought while keeping them beautiful. 
• February 12, 2020 Kailli Pigott, co-owner of Dancing Dandelion Farms in Duncan, talked about growing flowers for cutting, when and where on the stems to cut them and how to protect against pests.  Kailli described the five elements of bouquets, that is, fillers, focal, secondary, lines and greenery and gave examples of flowers in each category. 
• January 8, 2020 Ken Nentwig presented on “Rainwater Harvesting in a Nutshell.”   Ken talked about best practice HOW TOs for developing a workable and sustainable home harvesting system, including for irrigation, other outdoor uses, indoor uses and proper design and installation techniques.
• November 13, 2019 Christina Nikolic spoke about the Seasons of the Soil and the best ways to make our soil spring back to life in the spring for a new season of healthy growth.  
• October 9, 2019 Bernie Dinter gave a very informative presentation about Small Fruits – The Underutilized Edible.
• September 11, 2019 Scott Stevenson spoke about Garden Water Features: The Basics for water gardens, Koi ponds, pondless waterfalls, hardscape features and reflecting and lily ponds.
• June 12, 2019  Dr. Glen Jamieson  Highlights of the Danish/Swedish/German 2018 American Rhododendron Society (ARS) Tours followed by a brief  talk on the Sex Lives of Plants.
• May 8, 2019 Zac Kregosky Xeriscape Gardening
• April 10, 2019 Lynda Smith  Succession Planting in the Vegetable Garden
• March 13, 2019 Anna Colangeli Exploring the Role of Genetic Research in the Garden
• January 9, 2019 Bill Jones Edible Wild Foods

• November 14, 2018  Jay Rostogi, Invasive Plants
• October 10, 2018 Jeff de Jong  Getting Ready for Winter Gardening.
• September 12, 2018 Pip Woodcock spoke on Greenhouses, Garden Rooms and Other Gems.
• June 13, 2018 Dr. Glen Jamieson spoke on his three-week Sikkim, India Rhododendron Tour.
• May 9, 2018  Solara Goldwynn  ‘Urban Food Production – Year-Round Abundance at the Nourish Kitchen Garden’.   HERE is the link to Solara’s husband Tayler’s YouTube video on creating a wicking bed.
• April 11, 2018 Lynda Dowling “Patio Passion” 
• March 14, 2018  Sara Wickham “A Guide to the Ecology, Identification, and Food Preparation of Local Seaweeds”.
• February 21, 2018   Dan Jason from Salt Spring Seeds “Growing More Food in Uncertain Times”.
• January 10, 2018  Sandra Stevenson presented Northern France: A Well-kept Secret!  
• November 8, 2017  Barrie Agar spoke on “Gardening for your site”.
• October 11, 2017  Lorraine Locherty   “Shrubs that Shine in the Winter Garden”.
• September 13, 2017  Lynda Smith presented “Lawns to Food”.
• June 14, 2017   Bill Dumont spoke on his tour of the Gardens of New Zealand.
• May 10, 2017   Malcolm Ho-You spoke on Shrub and Tree Peonies.
• April 12, 2017  Diane Pierce spoke on Spring Colour in the Garden.  
• March 8, 2017  Tracy Ferreira spoke on Integrated Pest Management.  
• January 11, 2017  Niki Strutynski spoke on the principles of organic agriculture.
• December 14, 2016  Members Karen Wade, Susan Scott, Wilma Harvie, Jean Addison and Judith Henderson each presented us with interesting gardening information or beautiful images.
• November 9, 2016  Ted Leischner The Importance of Pollinator Friendly Landscapes
• October 12, 2016 Eryl Morton spoke on Gardens of South Africa
• September 14, 2016  Bernie Dinter spoke on Gardening: Its changing focus.
• June 8, 2016 Tony Irwin spoke on Keyhole Gardening.
• May 11, 2016 Mary Sanh spoke on “Succulents – The Ultimate Easy Care Plant”
• April 13, 2016  Gordon Murray spoke on Trilliums.
• March 9, 2016 Linda Gilkeson spoke on Resilient Food Gardens for a Changing Climate.
• February 10, 2016  Jeff de Jong spoke on ‘Plants to Love’.
• January 13, 2016  Bill Dumont, organizer and tour leader of the Cowichan Valley Rhododendron Society 2015 Tour of Gardens of South West England.
• November 11, 2015  Michael Langkammer. His topic was ‘Creative Uses of Natural Materials in Making Christmas Wreaths and Table Decorations’.
• October 14, 2015 Ann Nightingale.   Ann’s slide-illustrated presentation was “Birds in Your Backyard: Attracting Birds to Your Garden Throughout the Year”.