Master Gardeners Association of Alberta

Vancouver MGs: Spring Seminar 2024--Gardening Well in Today’s World
2024-03-24 09:00 - 15:00 (America/Edmonton)
Sunday March 24th, 2024 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Michael J Fox Theatre, Burnaby (Recording also available)
Speakers:
Taking the Easy Road – Adapting My Garden to a New Climate – Thomas Hobbs
A Garden Revival – Jeff de Jong
Making Friends with the land: Using Native Plants for Beauty, Health and to Give Back. – Nancy Shackelford
Invasive Species Update – Diane Watson
More speakers to be announced!
Plus, a used book sale, Sea Soil Sale, a vendors’ fair, door prizes and more.
Cannot Attend in Person – We are offering Recordings of our Speakers
Tickets are $50 early bird and $60 on February 1st to attend in person, includes recordings for one month viewing.
Recordings Only $35 for one month of viewing
We hope you will join us!

Tickets at: https://www.karelo.com/register.php?BID=435&BT=10&Ev=21642

MMGA: Growing Under Cover with Niki Jabbour
2024-03-23 11:00 - 17:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Manitoba Master Gardeners Assoc. presents Niki Jabbour
Join award-winning author Niki Jabbour as she shares her techniques for growing more food, reducing pest problems, and dealing with unpredictable weather in her Nova Scotia vegetable garden. With the special challenges of Manitoba’s climate in mind, she’ll spotlight a wide variety of season extenders like shade cloth, row cover, cold frames and poly-tunnels, as well as show you how to use garden covers to prevent damage from deer, flea beetles and cabbage corms. She’ll also share some of her stand-out crops and varieties for fall and even winter harvesting.
Niki Jabbour is the best-selling, award-winning author of four books including The Year-Round Vegetable Gardener and Growing Under Cover. She’s a two time winner of the prestigious American Horticultural Society Book Award, and has been a radio host for 16 years. Find Niki on SavvyGardening.com
Members $10. Non-members $15.
www.mgmanitoba.com
March 23rd, 11 a.,. CMT

Calgary Seedy Saturday
2024-03-23 10:00 - 15:00 (America/Edmonton)
March 23, 10a.m to 3 p.m.
Bowness Community Assoc.: 7904 43 Ave NW, Calgary
This is a free, drop-in event.

MGAA Member Movie Night: Painting The Modern Garden: Monet to Matisse
2024-02-26 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Join us for an inspirational garden movie. “For many great artists the garden has long been considered a desirable subject for the expression of colour, light and atmosphere.” This movie explores the Impressionist’s gardens and the paintings they inspired. Sorry, Members Only.
Monday, Feb. 26th, 7 p.m.
Email Event-south@mgaab.org

Kelowna Garden Club: Gardening into the Future
2024-02-24 09:00 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton)
Host Don Burnett, Speakers: Mario Lanthier, Sigrie Kendrick, Ken Salvail, Laverne De Yaegher
Trinity Church, 1905 Springfield Road, Kelowna

Tickets are $50 with Complementary Lunch.
Tickets available on Eventbrite

MGAA: Introduction to Mushrooms: Common Garden and Urban Mushrooms with Martin Osis
2024-02-21 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Martin Osis is passionate about wild mushrooms!
Martin has been actively involved with learning about and teaching mushrooms since 1987 (that is close to 40 years!).
Holding various positions in the Alberta Mycological society as well as the North American Mycological Association. He has a special interest in local mushrooms, medicinal mushrooms and his newest study area is in the soil web and soil remediation.
Hope you can join us for this event of learning about mushrooms. It will be fun and educational!
$15.00 for Non-Members – Free for MGAA Members
Tickets at Eventbrite
This is an online Zoom talk.

CRAGS (Calgary Rock and Alpine Garden Society) Small Daphnes and their Cultivation, with Jiri Papousek
2024-02-11 14:00 - 15:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Jiri Papousek: Small Daphnes and their Cultivation
Jiri Papousek is an expert rock gardener who visited CRAGS in June 2017. His garden is situated at altitude 200m, 10 km from Prague, capital of the Czech Republic. There are crevice rock gardens, various planted troughs, a woodland area with peat blocks, and an alpine tunnel with tufa wall. He has 35 years of experience of growing and exhibiting alpines at Prague Rock Gardens shows, and was part of the International Czech Rock Garden Conference committee in 2007, 2013, 2017 and 2023.
Daphnes are small shrubs with showy flowers, often evergreen, that are ideal for the rock garden. Many are hardy in Calgary’s Zone 3-4 climate. Usually the flowers are fragrant and they generally require well-drained soil. This genus is in the family Thymelaeaceae, native to Asia, Europe and north Africa.
CRAGS February speaker will be Zoom-only. Non-members may register on Eventbrite to attend this meeting (cost $8). A recording of the talk will be available for a limited time.
Eventbrite
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/jiri-papousek-on-small-daphnes-and-their-cultivation-tickets-797414687797?aff=erelexpmlt

MGAA Member's Seed Exchange, Packaging and Social Event
2024-02-11 11:00 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton)
Bring your seeds and join us for a get-together to clean and package them for our table at the Calgary Seedy Saturday and Calgary Horticultural Society Spring Event.
Beverages can be purchased at the Teaja kiosk in the YMCA . Trays, envelopes, pens and snacks will be provided.
RSVP or questions can be directed to VolunteerHours@Mgaab.org

Quarry Park Library in the Remington YMCA (108 Quarry Park Rd SE Calgary, Ab.)

The Calgary Horticultural Society's Think Spring! is back in 2024!
2024-02-10 09:30 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton)
We are excited to announce big plans for our growing-season-launching event!
Winter is time for planning your garden, so the theme for 2024 Think Spring! is landscape design. Topics to be covered include curb appeal, edibles, being water-wise, and lawn and lawn alternatives.
Think Spring! is being hosted on Zoom and is a day of online learning. This year there is one stream of talks, so you don’t have to choose. You can attend them all online!
Keynote:
The event will be opened with a keynote presentation by Carson Arthur.
Carson is a landscape designer and TV personality who has taught homeowners how to raise the value of their homes through outdoor renovations, while maintaining a focus on environmentally friendly choices.
Afternoon Sessions:

Water-wise Landscapes: Kath Smyth (Calgary Horticultural Society)
Edible Landscapes: Joanna Tschudy (Inhabit Landscapes)
Turf Landscapes: Lawn and Lawn Alternatives: Nathan Gill (Eagle Lake Professional Landscape Supply)

Talks will be recorded and, once posted, will be available until 11:00 pm on Monday, February 19.
Cost: $5 for CHS members and $10 for non-members (+GST)
Online: Zoom
For more information contact: https://www.calhort.org/whats-happening/think-spring/

MGAA Member Talk: Lyndon Penner: Native Plants for the Short Season Yard
2024-02-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Join us as Lyndon discussed his book ‘Native Plants for the Short Season Yard.
Sorry, Members Only.

A zoom link will be sent to members by Communications.

AHA: Dr. Doug Tallamy, Nature's Best Hope is You!
2024-02-03 10:00 - 23:30 (America/Edmonton)
The Alberta Horticultural Association is excited to host a webinar with Dr. Doug Tallamy, New York Times Best Selling Author!
Nature’s Best Hope is You! Gardening with a focus on the little and big things that matter most.
During his webinar Dr. Doug Tallamy will help us understand how insects interact with plants and how those interactions affect the diversity of bird, and other animal communities. His talk will touch on why we as gardeners need to be aware of invasive species and be diligent about controlling them due to their effects on the ecosystems in our gardens and in the larger landscape. Most importantly, Dr. Tallamy will give us concrete ways that we as gardeners in Alberta can make big contributions to biodiversity and the health of our local ecosystems through how we design and plant our gardens. Bring your questions for the Q&A following Dr. Tallamy’s presentation.Your participation helps the AHA fund education programs, working together with the network of horticulture societies and clubs across the province.
For more information contact us at: ab.hort.association@gmail.com www.ab.horta.ca
Register on Eventbrite at: https://AlbertaHorticulturalAssociation-Tallamy.eventbrite.ca

If you have any questions, we would be happy to hear from you.
Saturday, February 3, 2024. 10:00-11:30 AM on Zoom.

MGAA: “All About Soil” presentation by Robert Spencer, Spencer Horticultural Solutions
2024-01-31 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Hope you can join us for an evening of learning about soil! Making amendments and improvements to the soil is best done with a firm foundation of information about the soil. This session will address soil sampling, interpreting the results of a soil test and what the component parts mean in terms of soils, as well as some of the ways that soils might be amended and improved. It
will include a brief question period at the end of the webinar.
Rob Spencer is well known by vegetable and fruit growers across Alberta. For over 17 years, as the Provincial Commercial Horticulture Specialist, Rob hosted many workshops and field tours, wrote horticulture production manuals, and covered all aspects of production and marketing in many editions of the monthly Hort Snacks newsletter. In March 2020 Rob started Spencer Horticultural Solutions, delivering customized horticultural consulting services to a range of clients.
Rob has a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture with a major in Horticulture and a Master of Science (Plant Sciences) from the University of Saskatchewan. He resides with his family in Olds, AB. Rob is currently a full-time instructor of Horticulture at Olds College.
Free for members — 15$ for non-members. Tickets at Eventbrite @ https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/learning-about-your-soil-tickets-804391766427?aff=oddtdtcreator

17th Annual Gardeners Day- Sangudo Horticultural Club
2024-01-20 09:00 - 15:30 (America/Edmonton)
Carmen Lamourex, Urban Farm Permaculture Project . via Zoom.
Practical Resilient Gardening Strategies
Creating resilient growing systems is essential to meeting our needs in an ever-changing world. While satisfying our fundamental needs for food security is key, our gardening practices need to address more than the need for nutrient-dense food. As mindful gardeners, we acknowledge that we are connected to, and dependent upon, the ecosystems that support us. We see the value in employing practical strategies that not only nurture the whole system into health, but also nurture our own place within the garden.
Join me as I take you through the garden gate of my Calgary property, the Urban Permaculture Project, and illustrate the various strategies we have in place that allow us to build deep levels of resilience, enhance productivity, support soil nutrient cycling, nurture robust ecosystem health and create beauty and sanctuary for myself and my family.
Clara Qualizza. Meadow & Thicket Farm Flowers. New Perennials Design- An Adventure on the Boreal Edge- 2023 update
The New Perennial Movement is a natural answer to our extreme growing conditions. A wonderful range of perennial plants are used, including many cultivars of plants native to North America. Using a dense planting plan, once established the tightly knit tapestry hardly allows rooms for weeds. The designs draw inspiration from natural plant communities found on the Prairies, benefit pollinators, and create a four season dream of a landscape!
Landscape designer Maria Beers and flower grower Clara Qualizza collaborated to design a demonstration bed at the historic George Pegg Botanic Garden, near Genevis, Alberta. With the help of volunteers, the bed was planted in 2022. In her short presentation Clara will outline the journey from planning to planting and will highlight some of the outstanding plants.

Jenn Brennan: Jenn Brennan is a horticulture (Landscape Management) graduate of Olds College with over 20 years of experience. She is currently the president of the Gibbons Community Garden Society, and works at Sunstar Nurseries in Edmonton. Jenn has a wealth of horticultural knowledge and is always there to help identify a flower, bug or bird in the garden. She is Sunstar’s resident native plant expert and an integral part of the team.
Cassidy Madsen: Cassidy Madsen is a Red Seal Landscape Horticulturist with 7 years of experience in the industry. She received her Journeyman status through the Olds College Landscape Horticulturist Apprenticeship Program (LHAP). Cassidy’s love for horticulture stems from her background in Conservation. She loves being able to help others find the right plants to suit their needs, while helping educate them on proper planting practices and answering any other horticultural related questions. She currently works at Sunstar Nurseries in Edmonton but is hopeful to one day open her own design/consulting business.

Cassidy Madsen & Jenn Brennan. Sunstar Nurseries. Woody Ornamentals & Herbaceous Perennials- Microclimates & New Cultivars
Denise O’Reilly, A’Bunadh Seeds. Try Something New in Your Vegetable Garden
Tips and tricks of season extension with focus on plants you might not think will grow and produce here outside of the greenhouse. Focus will be on edible plants and vegetables, as well as some things you may not have heard of.
Mini Trade Show & Displays:

Throughout the day you’ll have time to meet our local vendors selling horticultural items. Remember to bring some cash as you are sure to find something to take home.
We have several community organizations with horticultural interests. Learn about their programs for 2024.
Sangudo Horticultural Club cookbooks for sale
44 Horticulture Hot Spots- take a virtual tour of Alberta and plan a summer road trip

Food & Fun:

morning & afternoon coffee breaks
catered lunch by the Jaded Kitchen. Soup & Sandwiches- includes gluten-free options
garden seeds for every participant
Tree Time gift certificate– place your bid to win the $50.00 voucher. Since 2005 TreeTime.ca has been providing a wide variety of shrub, tree, and berry seedlings to landowners via their online retail store. They are a western Canadian company that specializes in selling prairie hardy stock, including native and landscape species
door prizes

Thanks to our sponsors & partners:

Lac Ste. Anne County
TreeTime.ca

For more information:

Sangudo and District Horticulture Club on Facebook
SangudoHortClub@gmail.com
Visit www.AbHortA.ca events calendar

Registration deadline January 12, 2024
Enjoy a winter break with fellow gardeners & take home some new ideas for your yard!

Mayerthorpe Diamond Centre
Mayerthorpe, AB, Canada 4814-54 Street Mayerthorpe, AB T0E 1N0

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/17th-annual-gardeners-day-sangudo-horticultural-club-tickets-767126996497?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete

MGAA Christmas Zoom Party
2023-12-14 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Join us for an evening of seasonal botany, drinks, traditional recipes, prizes and fun.
Dec, 14th at 7:00 p.m.
Email events-North@mgaab.org or events-south@mgaab.org.

MGAA Christmas Party
2023-12-14 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Edmonton)
Join us Dec. 14th, at 7 p.m. for the
MGAA Christmas Zoom Party.
Seasonal Talks, Recipes and Prizes…
Members only. Email events@mgaab.org or vmwgardener@gmail.com

Grounded In Science: 2023 MGAA Fall Symposium
2023-11-25 09:00 - 15:30 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM
Rebecca McMackin, M.Sc. Adventures in Ecological Horticulture.
Who doesn’t love butterflies? Our gardens can be stunningly beautiful while also providing habitat for the wildlife that enriches our lives. Indeed garden design and thoughtful management must consider the many other organisms that also use our land. However,
traditional landscaping practices rarely take biodiversity into consideration. Cultivating habitat is central to landscape management. Join us to learn how to use ecological insight and
experimentation to develop new management strategies and, why careful observation and documentation of the insects, birds and other wildlife in your garden is crucial to their success
Rebecca McMackin is an ecologically obsessed horticulturist and garden designer. She spends her days developing strategies to help people create and care for beautiful gardens that also provide habitat for birds, butterflies and soil microorganisms. She believes passionately in the value of ecological horticulture as a vehicle for environmental justice. Rebecca spent a decade as the Director of Horticulture of Brooklyn Bridge Park (BBP) where she and her team used organic principles to manage 85 acres of diverse parkland. During her time overseeing the park ecology stick bugs, rare mantids, threatened bees ad extirpated lady bugs all returned to the park. The research conducted at the BBP , in, cultivating urban biodiversity and ethical management strategies has influenced thousands of people and entire urban parks systems to adopt similar approaches.
In her imaginary spare time Rebecca writes, designs public gardens, lectures and teaches on ecological landscape management and pollination ecology. She recently installed an 8000 sq foot native wildflower garden for the entrance to the Brooklyn Museum. Rebecca has just completed a Loeb Fellowship at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, studying ecological design and science communication. She loves to tell stories and has been published by and featured in the New York Times and the Landscape Institute as well as appearing on National Public Radio and PBS. In October of this year she did a TED talk.
Rebecca holds Masters degrees from Columbia University and the University of Victoria in landscape design and biology.
Tehreem Chughtai, Calgary AB.
Every garden has its own unique environment. Using the concepts of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a useful tool for examining a garden’s ecosystem by looking at the “bigger picture” of the garden landscape and how to work with nature to manage it appropriately.
Garden friends and foes, natural pest management solutions and companion planting strategies will all be topics of discussion.
Tehreem Chughtai is a University of Calgary educated biological scientist whose research interests are entomology (the study of insects), ecology and public health. She works with the Calgary Horticultural Society as an instructor for the Master Gardening program and as a consultant. Tehreem was recognized as one of the Alberta Council of Status & Women’s ‘Women in STEM’ award recipients for her researches’ contributions to equality in the field of science. Tehreem is passionate about making scientific knowledge accessible and has shared her research findings on Global News, YouTube web series and published articles with the University of Calgary.

Kerry Ross, BASc, BArch, Green Roof Professional Green roofs are a renewed building technique initiated in central Europe and catching on in Alberta. The local green roof market is seeing greater uptake in commercial, institutional and also residential construction, bringing the multi-beneficial nature-based strategy to the roof.
Come learn the basics including defining the various types of green roofs, their design considerations and how they can help solve some of the most pressing ecological and developmental issues facing our communities. Kerry will share cold-climate case studies from nearby and abroad and highlight the new opportunities for gardeners, and discuss suitable plants for rooftops in Alberta.
Kerry Ross began working on one of the first buildings in Alberta to integrate contemporary green roof systems into the building’s design. Bison Courtyard, the project situated in the town of Banff, spurred her passion to learn more about green roof technology as an innovative method to lessen the impacts that buildings have on the natural environment. This experience, along with study and field research led her to become one of the first Green Roof Professionals in Canada. In 2010, she launched Green T Design, a company dedicated to green roof design, installations and maintenance. Kerry continues to champion the integration of green roofs where possible.

Tickets at: Eventbrite https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/mgaa-fall-symposium-grounded-in-science-tickets-737555718007?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

General Public $50., MGAA Members $40., MGAA Students $30.

"Entropy in Garden Design: Five Disorderly Landscape Projects", with John Harper
2023-10-23 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Winnipeg) | via ZOOM
Join us for this illustrated talk by Winnipeg professional landscape designer and university teacher John Harper, about some of his naturalistic garden projects. Owner of Studio 169 Landscape Architecture, John is known for his sustainable landscape designs that incorporate ecological principles while meeting clients’ practical requirements.
If you’ve seen the MMGA’s Gardening in the Heart video series, you will recall, for example, his beautifully realized design for Master Gardener Lisa Renner’s naturalized garden https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKOj6OTxTQM . In addition to maintaining his landscape practice, John also teaches landscape design history at the University of Manitoba.
(The presentation will be recorded for registered participants to view later.)

MGAA Board Meeting
2023-10-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-09-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-08-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-07-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-06-14 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Edmonton) | via ZOOM

Rimbey and Area Love My Garden Tour 2023
2023-07-29 09:00 - 16:30 (America/Edmonton)
For more information and locations contact: lmorris4@telusplanet.net

Edmonton Horticultural Garden Tour
2023-07-22 10:00 - 2023-07-23 16:00 (America/Edmonton)
The EHS Annual Garden Tour is the most popular event of our year and the perfect way to spend a summer weekend in July.

Tour some of the Edmonton area’s best gardens
Chat with their gardeners
Learn what grows here
Get design and planting ideas
Soak up the beauty

Dates & Tickets: The next tour will be held July 22 and 23, 2023. Gardens are open from 10 am to 4 pm
Tickets on sale now! Click HERE to purchase online or visit one of these locations:

Greenland Garden Centre – 23108 AB-16, Sherwood Park
Apache Seeds – 10136 149 ST NW, Edmonton
Salisbury Greenhouse Sherwood Park – 52337 Range RD 232, Sherwood Park
Salisbury at Enjoy – 101 Riel Dr., St. Albert
Classic Gardens – 10008 6 AVE SW, Edmonton
Wild Birds Unlimited – 12204 107 AVE NW, Edmonton

Volunteering: If you want to do more than just visit the gardens, consider volunteering as a gate keeper. Gate keepers will receive a free ticket to tour all of the gardens.
Each year’s tour is self-guided. Your ticket will include the gardens, their addresses with driving directions, and a brief description of what makes each garden special. Start where you choose and proceed at your own pace. The tour goes rain or shine. We do not offer refunds.
The Gardens: The gardens are chosen for quality and variety. Their gardeners are passionate and ready to welcome visitors. Each garden has a particular charm and special features. Many are award-winning gardens. Each year brings new gardens.
Touring: This event is not to be missed if you enjoy gardens and beautiful plants. Make a day or a weekend of it. Invite a friend or two to join you. Stop for lunch at a favourite restaurant along the route. Take time to really enjoy each garden. Please show your appreciation by following appropriate garden etiquette.
Our thanks to those who make the tour a success.
Our warmest thanks and appreciation to the host gardeners who graciously open their private gardens to our ticket holders.
Each year our tour is made possible by local businesses who generously provide sponsorships, advertise in our ticket booklet, sell tickets and help to promote the tour. We salute you!

Free -- Botanical Gardens and Greenhouse Tour at the Crop Diversification Centre South
2023-07-21
Botanical Garden and Greenhouse Tour.
Friday, July 21, 2023, from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
78 Horticultural Station Road (Range Rd 142A), Brooks
MGs, it’s time for a summer field trip! Let’s get together and tour the greenhouses and botanical
gardens at Alberta’s Crop Diversification Centre South, near Brooks. This is an interesting historical
and educational destination for tree and shrub enthusiasts. The botanical gardens include the:
 Heritage Rose Garden, with some one-of-a-kind results of early Canadian rose breeders
 Golden Prairie Arboretum, which encompasses four acres of trees, shrubs and over 100
lilacs
 Forever Green Pinetum, featuring many conifers
 perennial bed/rock garden border and an interactive sundial
Schedule
9:50 am – Meet in the parking lot of the botanical gardens
10:00 am – Hosted greenhouse tour
10:45 am – Self-guided tour of the botanical gardens
12:00 pm – Lunch at the picnic area
12:45 pm – Continue touring the gardens
Details
This field trip will proceed rain or shine, so come prepared with your sunscreen, insect repellent, and
umbrella or rain gear as needed. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended. Please be aware
that the greenhouses may be extremely warm inside.
Please bring your own bagged lunch, drinks, and snacks. (Food may also be purchased in Brooks.)
Public washrooms are available.
Cost and RSVP
There is no cost for this tour. Please RSVP to Linda at events-south@mgaab.org if you wish to
attend. Please feel free to bring a friend.
Maps and plant information will be provided for attendees upon arrival at the gardens.
Directions and Parking
The Crop Diversification Centre South is a two-hour drive from Calgary. To get there:
1. Follow Highway 1, heading east towards Brooks.
2. Turn south onto Highway 542 and follow Cassils Road E into Brooks.
3. At the Flying J Travel Centre, turn left onto College Drive E (Township Road 185B) and follow it
until it meets Horticultural Station Road (Range Road 142A).
4. Drive south on Horticultural Station Road until you reach the Crop Diversification Centre South.
There is free parking at the botanical gardens.

International Master Gardeners Conference 2023
2023-06-18 - 2023-06-22

MGAA Study Day
2023-06-17
Our First In-Person Study Day

The MGAA Learning Committee is very excited to present our first Study Day on June 17 in Calgary. This is an opportunity to increase your knowledge with Jane Reksten, a perennial expert and highly respected horticulturalist. After the morning presentation, participants will spend the afternoon touring two incredible local gardens. These two spaces are truly unique and showcase a level of horticultural excellence not often seen.
This is a member’s only event but we invite you to bring along a guest. Tickets are $25/person. Space is limited. For more information and to purchase tickets send an email to learning@mgaab.org.
Hope to see you there!
Ecological Gardening – perennials and their garden habitats
Gardeners that look beyond their garden gate will have found it hard to ignore the trend towards what is variously known as: ‘naturalistic planting design’; ‘designing with plants’; ‘new wave perennials planting’ or ‘wild-scaping’. They describe a philosophy of gardening which requires seeing plants for more than their flowers, embracing their form, structure, and how well they earn their keep after they have died back in the fall. Gardeners that follow this movement aim to use plants based on ‘ecological rather than purely aesthetic principles, which ultimately should lead to low-maintenance, sustainable gardening spaces.

In this workshop we will go beyond the simplified information typically found in plant catalogues and on tags. We will dig deeper into the true habits and growth patterns of plants, and discuss the importance of their origins – all of which allows us to use plants successfully. We will make a close examination of garden habitats, and study the difference between highly bred border perennials and native perennials, and their suitability for the garden.

Jane’s bio
Jane Reksten has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Victoria in Microbiology and Environmental Studies and a Diploma in Horticulture from Olds College. She worked in the landscape maintenance and development industry for five years before joining the Calgary Zoo and Botanical Gardens, first as the Schoolyard Naturalization Project leader, and then the Botanical Education Coordinator and Manager of Continuing Education. Jane joined Olds College in 2011 and managed the Botanic Gardens and Greenhouses until 2020. She is now an independent consultant, and the Head Gardener for Lougheed House. Jane is a regular writer and speaker on a variety of gardening topics and has a particular interest in perennials and design.

CRAGS (Calgary Rock and Alpine Garden Society) Plant Sale
2023-06-03 12:00 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton) | Lakeview Community Association Hall, 6110 – 34th Street SW., Calgary, Alberta, Canada
CRAGS ANNUAL PLANT SALE: SATURDAY JUNE 3, 2023
CRAGS Plant Sale Saturday June 3, 2023:

Open to the public noon to 4pm.
Volunteers get early pick from about 11:15am to noon.
Setup starts about 9:45am.
Buyers: Please try to bring a tray or box for your purchases. Each vendor handles his or her own payments, so please bring some small denominations of cash.

CRAGS has been holding an annual plant sale for over 30 years! 2023 will be the 32nd year we’ve had a sale. The club’s portion of the proceeds go to pay for our speaker series, which features local and international speakers.
Over the years we’ve relied on our own members who produce specialty rock garden plants. Commercial vendors have come and, sadly, gone. We all miss the late Willi Roth and also Roger Barlow of BC. Lately we have at least one wildflower specialist and an orchid specialist who usually come to our sales.
But the variety and quantity of plants at our sale continues to amaze. Many member growers offer plants that have been started from seed under lights only a few months prior to the sale, or one to two years prior. These small plants are often successful transplants into a trough, crevice garden, or other rock garden, after a short period of hardening-off. Some members bring small self-seeded plants or divisions from plants in their garden, so you can be sure those are hardy in our areas. And the prices are below what a commercial nursery would charge, as their offerings are usually much larger and older.
Then there are the happy surprises such as Martagon Lily divisions from established perennial gardens, and even tomato seedlings, because even rock gardeners have other types of garden plants in their yards.
Holding the event outdoors since 2021 has been very pleasant, though the set-up is a little more work. (Volunteers always welcome for that!). We have the option to move indoors at the Lakeview Community Hall if the weather is bad.
If you are a grower planning to offer plants at the sale, or a member wishing to volunteer for setup, teardown, or other work such as cashiers, please contact Patti at president@crags.ca

Edmonton Horticultural Society Plant Share
2023-06-03 10:00 - 14:00 (America/Edmonton) | Edmonton Horticultural Society Office, 10746 – 178 ST NW, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Edmonton Horticultural Society Plant Share
Gardeners love to share! The EHS’s semi-annual Perennial Exchange is a great opportunity to find new homes for your extra plants, exchange them for new ones, and buy locally hardy plants at reasonable prices. You can donate and buy garden tools, too.
This event is held twice a year—each spring just as you are getting started and may have extra plants, and during fall clean-up when you may be dividing perennials or have seeds to share.
Here’s how it works:
For every plant you bring, you get one credit. During the exchange, you can trade your credits for plants that someone else brought. After the exchange portion of the event, remaining plants are sold for very reasonable prices. There are vendor and display tables to browse and the popular Garden Tools table, where EHS members and others can donate gently used unwanted garden equipment to be sold to benefit EHS.

Gallardia

Why participate?

To get new plants that grow well locally
To share your excess plants with others
To meet fellow gardeners
To have a good time

Prepare before you come.
Guidelines for preparing your plants:

Please pot healthy plants in individual, sturdy containers (not paper or plastic bags, please). Bulk, bare root stock (such as iris) is permitted but must be identified as to the quantity of tubers, bulbs, or corms, as well as the labeling requirements listed below.
Plants must be labeled. Please identify plants by botanical name, if known, and common name. It’s very helpful if you can also indicate height, spread, bloom colour, location preference, and bloom time.

Qualifiers

No guarantee is offered that there will be plant material available of equal value to your plants.
No credit is given for Chives or Goutweed.
We do not accept plants designated as noxious or prohibited noxious. For a complete list see the fact sheets at abinvasives.ca

Okotokes Plant Swap & Sale
2023-05-27 09:30 - 11:30 (America/Edmonton)
