Upcoming Speakers | Cowichan Valley Garden Club

Amaryllis, This one is 3 feet tall and had 4 blooms on January 30th, 2026, the day the photo was taken.

Upcoming speakers:

Date	Name	Topic
March 11, 2026	Bonita Elliot	Container Gardening for 4 Seasons

Bonita’s topic is Container Gardening for 4 Seasons. She will present ideas on planting and designing containers for four seasons, including colour theory and pros for and cons of the container types.

Bonita has been a life long gardener, starting with her mother as a mentor and continuing by contaminating her own children to love growing and nature. Her own garden is an acre and has numerous vegetable gardens, flower beds and fruit trees which she and her husband tend. She is a life time member of the Peninsula Garden Club, a member of the Victoria Floral Artists Guild and has a certification in landscape design.

Date	Name	Topic
April 8, 2026	Dorothee Kieser	My Favourite Vegetables and How to Grow Them

Our speaker for April 8th is Dorothee Kieser. Her topic is “My Favourite Vegetables and How to Grow Them”. Dorothy focuses on her favourite vegetables, those that do well on the East Coast of Vancouver Island. The discussion ranges from broad beans to zucchini with many others in between. Information will be given on different varieties within the same type of veggie (eg. choosing among a multitude of tomatoes), how and when to start seeds, on planting and preparing for the coming season and choosing between Summer and Winter varieties.

Upon retirement as a biologist, Dorothee wholeheartedly embraced gardening. She maintains her own large garden growing rhododendrons, fruit trees, and vegetables. Being a Certified Master Gardener, she teaches practical gardening through hands-on and theoretical sessions. She is currently President of the Nanaimo Rhododendron Society. As well she is Lead Mentor of the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners’ Association and she regularly volunteers at the Nanaimo Community Garden and at Milner Gardens and Woodlands.

Date	Name	Topic
May 13, 2026	Sean Rustemeyer	Care and Sharpening of your Gardening Tools

Our speaker for the May 13th meeting is Sean Rustemeyer. His topic will be the Care and Sharpening of your Gardening Tools.

Learn the basics for cleaning and sharpening your own tools. The workshop will focus on the techniques and products needed to care for pruning tools – secateurs, shears, loppers – and will also cover digging and weeding tools. Sean will present a PowerPoint slideshow followed by a live demonstration on a variety of tools. There will also be time for Q&A and to come up and check out the various sharpening supplies.

Sean Rustemeyer is the owner of Soil ‘N Green Landscaping based in Nanaimo, B.C. www.soilngreen.com His company uses ecological practices such as working with zero emission battery powered equipment, installing native plant gardens that promote biodiversity and gardening without the use of synthetic pesticides. Sean is a graduate of Gaia College and recently completed the Master Pruner Program through PlantAmnesty in Seattle, Washington.

Details on sharpening supplies:

Sean will have some rust erasers available for sale at the workshop ($20 each). And if you would like to purchase a complete sharpening kit from the Gardener’s Kit, you can pre-order them and he will also deliver those at the workshop. Send Sean an email at sean at soilngreen.com and let him know if you would like a kit.

Each kit contains four items: a whetstone, an abrasive cleaning block (or rust eraser), camellia oil, and a wicking oil dispenser. The kits are $78 plus tax and you can look them up at the following link: Gardener’s Kit Victoria

Date	Name	Topic
June 10, 2026	Ann Nightingale	Bird-friendly Gardening: What’s in your Backyard?

Our speaker for June is Ann Nightingale, a birder who will speak to us about Bird-friendly Gardening: What’s in your Backyard?

Join Ann of Rocky Point Bird Observatory for a presentation on the birds you see and hear in your backyard. She will introduce the valley’s common and unusual birds and how you can use some fascinating new technology to help to get to know them better.

Ann Nightingale has been birding for about 30 years and has been an active volunteer for Rocky Point Bird Observatory for almost as long. As well as being a licensed bird bander, Ann is a past-president of both RPBO and the Victoria Natural History Society, and completed a four-year term on the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network Steering Committee. She coordinates the Victoria Christmas Bird Count and participates in the Duncan Christmas Bird Count, sharing her knowledge and passion with beginner and experienced birders.

Previous guest speakers have included the following:

February 11, 2025 Barrie Agar helped us understand how to care for rhododendrons in the face of hotter, drier summers and showed us photos of exquisite rhodos in The Happy Rhododendron.
January 14, 2026 Club member Kathleen Mercer described dividing, seeding and making cuttings in her presentation on Plant Propagation – Making More Plants. Members, click here for Kathleen’s notes.
December 10, 2025 Instead of a guest speaker, Turnip the Beet, a Country, Blues Classic Rock dance band from South Vancouver Island entertained us with seasonal music.
November 12, 2025 Bethany Couture introduced us to permaculture’s ability to help us create lower maintenance, lower input and extra beautiful ornamental gardens in her presentation Permaculture for an Ornamental Garden. Members,Click here for Bethany’s handout.
October 8, 2025 Andrea Blum of Pacific Composting Co. spoke about “The Big 3 Methods” and hybrid approachesin composting.
September 10, 2025 Kathy Code spoke about lessons and observations she’s made over decades of learning how to work with nature, not against it
June 11, 2025 Bernie Juurlink gave us an overview of bats in general followed by telling us about the lifestyle and habitats of bats in the valley in his Bats in the Cowichan Valley presentation.
May 14, 2025 Jeff de Jong spoke about Plants That Earn Their Keep. Members, click here for Jeff’s list of plants.
April 9, 2025 Certified Arborist Trevor Coey advised us how to prepare our trees and shrubs for our changing and often extreme weather, especially heat and drought, in his presentation Protecting Our Trees in Changing Times.
March 12, 2025 a highway closure prevented our speaker from getting to the meeting
February 12, 2025 Kailli Pigott talked about her plans for a new flower garden.
January 8, 2025 Victor Vesely, founder and tea maker at Westholme Tea Company. His topic is ‘Steeped in Nature – The Adventure of Growing Tea in the Cowichan Valley’.
November 13, 2024 Barrie Agar, formerly the Head Gardener at Hatley Park Gardens at Royal Roads University, spoke to the club.
October 9, 2024 Joan Wynden’s presentation was about Spring Beauties: Deer Resistant and Drought Tolerant Bulb Selections. Joan has a home-based nursery in Courtenay https://gardenlore.ca/bulbs She invited members to order bulbs in advance and brought them to the meeting, and also brought a selection of bulbs to sell at the meeting.
September 11, 2024 Jade Lee on Let’s Bee Friends – Supporting BC’s Diverse Native Bees (and wasps!) The Native Bee Society of BC is at bcnativebees@gmail.com or www.facebook.com/groups/NBSBC
June 12, 2024 Lorraine Horn spoke on Creating and Maintaining More Resilient Gardens including the best plants and methods for dealing with drought and deer as well as attracting pollinators and coping with wet winters and dry summers. Members, please go to the Articles of Interest page for the slides from Lorraine’s presentation.
May 8, 2024 the topic was Foodscaping our Future with Edible Landscapes presented by Joshua Clae Wagler
April 10, 2024 Don MacWatt shared his knowledge of and affection for Cyclamen: Dynamic Genus for All Seasons.
March 10, 2024 Tamara Dinter introduced us to the basics of soil science, and how we can apply the knowledge in ourA 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 Grassesand 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 go to the Articles of Interest page 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, President of the Victoria Lily Society, 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.
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.
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”.

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