Winter holds us in its icy grip, as we contend with slick and treacherous roads, long commutes and the joys of clearing snow. Instead of grass seed and mulch, we have bags of salt sitting at the ready, and rakes and hoes have been replaced with shovels.
It’s difficult to visualize new plans for the garden when all we see are naked trees in sea of white, and dried seed heads bowed down by their caps of snow. Yes, there is beauty in this winter landscape, but by the time March rolls around our appreciation for the frigid splendours of this season is in decline — if it ever was there!
Some of us literally escape February’s harsh reality by flying to a warm climate. For those of us who do not have that option, listening to a talk on gardening is a good way to forget the cold outside. Now is the time to be inspired and plan, because once the warm weather comes we will be too busy digging, weeding and mulching to ponder which plants to put where.
We may have a garden that is bigger than we want, or too small. Maybe all we have is a balcony! Whatever the size, you have the choice of how
you put together the plants you chose — even if they are in pots.
Most gardeners are life-long students of horticulture, snatching any opportunity they have to glean new knowledge. A favourite pastime is walking through a friend’s garden to discuss and compare successes and failures, while admiring new additions. We do tend to pick each others’ brains! Trial and error is often the only way to see what works, and gardeners are pretty generous about sharing their hard-earned knowledge.
Cindy Saunders is such a gardener. She is an enthusiastic amateur gardener whose gardening knowledge comes from research and years of trial and error. She has been a member of the Flamborough Horticultural Society since 2021, and will be speaking on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at St.Thomas the Apostle Church parish hall, 715 Centre Road in Waterdown. She will be sharing her love of plants and balcony gardening, and demonstrating how to grow something wonderful in even the smallest of spaces.
Meet and greet begins at 7 p.m. First time guests can attend the meeting for free. See you there!
