Feb 13-Zoom-Lynne Patenaude, Invasive Species–what can gardeners do?

Escaped garden plants are the number one source of invasive plants in Canada. Learn which common garden plants can escape and invade surrounding natural areas, which native alternatives offer similar beauty, and if you have invasive plants in your garden, how to choose the best option for control.

Mar. 12 Anna Mizyn, Blooms for butterfly’s

With the increased pressure on the natural habitat our pollinators and butterflies need all the help they can get – Anna will focus on plants that do best in our area and what will assist in attracting the butterflies to your gardens.

​Anna plans to bring along several potted perennials for sale as well. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn more about the relationship between plants and butterflies.

Apr. 9 – Ken Brown, Vertical Vegetables

Space is a major concern when growing vegetables. At this meeting Ken will show you as many innovative ideas as he can to maximize the use of limited space. He calls these techniques, Vertical Vegetables. There are lots of vegetables that can be grown up, instead of out, such as peas, cucumbers, zucchini etc. There are some that are as decorative as they are useful and Ken will share some fun ways to include vegetables in your landscape.

May 14- Tony Spencer, Wildscaping: Explorations in Naturalistic Planting Design

Wildscaping is about using plant-driven landscape design to create and sustain dynamic garden spaces, filled with beauty and wildlife, to rekindle our relationship to the natural world. Join host Tony Spencer for an encounter with some of the international designers, innovations, issues, and landscapes leading the way – along with a look at his own experimental design projects – to inspire garden-making with a sense of purpose on the wild side.

Aug. 13-Walk about Sanctuary Flower Fields with Kelly Convery

Kelly, a former  Peterborough paramedic , has turned her love of flowers into a business  at  Sanctuary Flower  Fields in Ennismore. She grows all her seasonal flowers from seed and offers a variety of services including floral design, U-Pick and her fields provide excellent opportunities for photography- so, bring your camera for this private farm tour!

Sep. 10- Annie Scherz-Natural inks

Creating and using Natural inks isn’t that complicated. You can throw almost any pigment-rich base ingredient into an old pot with some basic ingredients and you have ink! These ingredients can be berries, vegetables, flowers, leaves…the resulting ink can be used to dye paper or fabric! Join us this evening for a hands on demonstration and open your eyes to new ways to look at your garden!

Oct. 8-Laura Keresztesi-Rain Gardens | Green-Up Coordinator, Neighbourhood & Residential Programs.

Do you ever worry about flooding when it rains? Curious about what happens to rain after it hits the ground? Interested in techniques to reduce runoff and keep water clean?  As climate change progresses, so too do more frequent and high-volume rain storms. Laura will share information on designing and installing rain gardens. These gardens can be both practical and beautiful!

Nov. 12-Emmy Murphy-The UK’s Gardens, Private and Public

In May 2022 Emma and her husband Grant traveled to southern England — not only to see many of the famous gardens (Sissinghurst, Great Dixter etc.) but also some lesser known beautiful private gardens. She’ll share with us her experiences meeting the people behind these private gardens in Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Sussex; some information about the UK’s National Garden Scheme; and of course, lots of lovely photos!

The Lakefield Horticultural Society invites you to learn about creating winter planters with their guest speaker Lynn Lavoie. The meeting will be held at the Lakefield Marshland Centre, Hague blvd. Tuesday Nov. 14th at 7pm.

Lynn will bring along lots of winter greenery plus accessories and invite a few guests to try their hand at making a beautiful winter container as well. Using a variety of hardy  greens such as pine, holly berries, colourful branches and accessories, Lynn will give some easy and practical tips so guests can create their own containers.

In addition there will be a short annual general meeting with board members and executive being installed for the 2024 year.

This a free event and guests are welcome to attend.

Thank you  to Anna from Anna’s perennials for the beautiful photograph.

Join us Tuesday Sept. 12th at 7pm at the Marshland centre to learn about houseplants from experienced gardener Jennifer Guertin.

Please note: You must pre-register for this talk as space is limited. There will a $10.00 fee to attend. Contact Ceci Leigh for more information.

Sold out. Contact Ceci to be put on the waiting list.

Our gardens come alive when visited by birds, bees, butterflies and beneficial insects. This illustrated talk provides practical information about how to create welcoming habitat that meets the full life-cycle needs of beneficial insects.

Lorraine Johnson has been writing about gardening as a force for ecological and social change for more than 30 years, in numerous books such as Green Future; Tending the Earth; The Ontario Naturalized Garden; Grow Wild; The Real Dirt; City Farmer; 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardens, and the recently published A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee (co-authored with Sheila Colla). In this illustrated talk, Lorraine shares stories and readings from these works, looking at what we can learn from efforts to rethink some gardening traditions in order to take us into a future of ecological health and justice. Prepare for some humour and some provocation, unified by the idea that our gardens matter now more than ever.

“Lorraine Johnson has been one of the most constant and helpful advocates of putting native plants back into the garden.” – A History of Canadian Gardening, by Carol Martin, published in 2000

Lorraine’s new book A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee, in addition to some of her other books will be available for sale with author signing following the talk.

Did you know that to manufacture bricks or concrete massive amounts of CO2 emissions are produced? Primal Patch is a new business with sustainability in mind when it comes to garden construction. They use real stone for their patios and lay by hand.

Laura and Robert Johnson design and build landscape elements such as stone patios and native gardens with the environment front and centre.

Laura went to George Brown college in Toronto for Construction Project Management and began working for a small construction business in Cobourg.  Within a year or two the company grew substantially and they ended up winning bids on large projects such as Venture 13 in Cobourg and Regency Retirement here in Lakefield.  Laura learned how to read blueprints, interpret building codes and work with the other trades to achieve their goals within budget.

Growing up on a family operated beef farm outside of Bobcaygeon Robert has never been scared of a hard day’s work.  In the summers he worked as a labourer for a local landscaper that specialized in local stone work.  Robert has had a passion for natural stonescapes ever since.  Robert has almost 20 years of building experience, is a trained health and safety representative and brings his meticulous eye to every project.

With their drive for Entrepreneurship, Roberts know how and having their  hearts set on conservation, wthey launched Primal Patch in 2021. Their goal is to create yards inclusive of the natural environment while still respecting our cultural needs for aesthetics.