november 10, 2015 in this issue identification workshop with don gayton photo credit: e. antonijevic...

11/18/2015 Fall Newsletter 2015

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Photo credit: D. Weir

Photo credit: E. Antonijevic

November 10, 2015 Vice Chairʹs Message

As I left the Gardens this morning I keptstopping to take one last look at the almoststartling colours of leaves and flowers. Thepurple asters against the brilliant orange andred of the deciduous collection make forstunning vistas in all directions. If youhaven't visited lately, and thought maybeFall is not the time, think again!

The Welcome garden as well as theCrescent garden continue to intriguewith the Fall flowering of the grassesand the changing structure and shapeof each planting.

In This IssueVice Chair's Message

Volunteer Appreciation

Luncheon

Make Water Work Project

Intergenerational Landed

Learning

Workshops in 2015

Autumn Garden Tour

Fundraiser

Centennial Celebrations

2016

Recent Improvements

Mulching for Tree Health

Taking out the invasive

tree

Brian Minter in Kelowna

Membership renewal

Summerland Ornamental Gardens




Photo credit: E. AntonijevicOur board members, Bev Krieger and BonnieFulton, serving cake to our deserving volunteers

With grant money we have hired a shortterm labourer/gardener to help dig outthe West border in preparation forwaterwise planting, leaving Wilma andTrina with some extra needed time toput the gardens to bed, plant Springbulbs, and start preparing for Spring!

Heartfelt thank you's go out to ourgardeners and many volunteers. Thegardens are truly in great shape thisyear thanks to you.

If you have been wondering about waysin which you can help the Friends of theGardens, please let us know. We areplanning and preparing for our GardenCentennial Celebration in 2016, and we have a variety of volunteer jobs...one thatjust might suit you!

Bev Krieger, Vice Chair

Volunteer Appreciation LuncheonOur volunteers were treated to a tasty luncheon in August served by our gardenersWilma and Trina, and the Board members.

Located at:

The Pacific AgriFood Research Centre4200 Highway 97S

Summerland BC Canada

Friends of the GardensP.O. Box 1363,

Summerland BC V0H 1Z0

250.494.6385

Click here to email us!

Click here to visit the

Summerland Ornamental

Garden's Website!

Please help us by inviting

friends and family

to support The Friends ofthe Gardens.

GARDEN HOURS Summer

8:00 am to 8:00 pm

Spring/Autumn

8:00 am to 6:00 pm

Winter

8:00 am to 4:00 pm

(Weather Permitting)

Admission to the Garden isfree. A suggested donation of

$5 is appreciated.

Board of DirectorsChair Aaron Anderson Vice ChairBev Krieger



Photo credit: E. AntonijevicOur Chair, Aaron Anderson, thanking the volunteers fortheir hard work

Photo credit: E. AntonijevicGroup photo after our luncheon

Secretary Bonnie FultonTreasurer Louisa CarterDirectors Gwen Steele Marian RudisillJan Carlson StaffHead Gardener Wilma Kruger Assistant Gardener Trina Taylor Community ProgramDirector Eva Antonijević

Pacific AgriFoodResearch Centre Garden Manager David Weir Integrated ServicesManagerSandra Varchol



Make Water Work Project

Friends of the Gardens are pleased to be partnering with the Okanagan Xeriscape Association in the developmentof three waterwise plant collections and labeling program aimed for our regional nurseries.

At the Gardens we will plant three waterwise demonstration sites using plant collections that will test and illustratethree groupings of plants with different water needs symbolized by labeling each plant grouping by their waterrequirements. These labels relate to minimal (07.5 cm/yr), low (1017.5cm/yr) and moderate (2027.5cm/yr)supplemental water requirements for each grouping of plants.

From left to right: Corinne Jackson, Communications Director, OkanaganBasin Water Board; Mike Byland, Sales Manager, Bylands; Gwen Steele,Executive Director, Okanagan Xeriscape Association and Director, Friends ofSummerland Ornamental Gardens Society

The plants contained in each waterwise plant collection and their accompanying nurserylabeling program arebeing developed by our partners: the Okanagan Basin Water Board's Make Water Work, Okanagan XeriscapeAssociation and Bylands Nursery.

An area encompassing 160 m2 of the Gardens will be converted from annual bedding plants to waterwisedemonstration sites in a high traffic area on the grounds.



Garden bed #1 one drop from 0 7.5 cm/yr of supplemental water Garden bed #2 two drops from 10 17.5cm/yr of supplemental waterGarden bed #3 three drops from 20 27.5 cm/yr of supplemental water

The designs have been completed by our volunteer landscape architect Donna Lane with the input of our GroundsCommittee. We will be planting these areas in March with the help of our volunteers. You are all invited to join us.Please stay tuned for more details.

Eva Antonijevic, Community Programs Director



Please contact Eva for more information or if you'd like to volunteer:[email protected]





Intergenerational Landed Learning

Our Intergenerational Landed Learning project has doubled in sizethis year! We have a grade 6 class from KVR as well as a grade 8class from Summerland Middle School. Each class will meet 4 timesin the Spring, preparing the soil, planning their gardens, plantingtheir seeds and seedlings, and harvesting their produce. Our ILLprogram is being supported by several funders, allowing us to beginthe process of designing some new raised beds that will allow fortwice as many vegetables to be grown!

In early October wehad the Healthy Schools network from School District 67 meet with usat the Superintendent's house in an effort to extend our relationshipbetween the schools and the gardens. If you are interested in beingpart of this exciting program please contact me. The more volunteerswe have, the more we can teach the students about growing their ownfood.

Bev Krieger, Intergenerational Landed Learning Committee Chair



Photo credit: E. AntonijevicKeen students attending Mario Lanthier's lecture on the SoilManagement to Conserve Water

Workshops Report

Grass Identification Workshop with Don Gayton

Photo credit: E. AntonijevicGrasess workshop involved a classroom work as well as a field trip with our local grassland ecologist Don Gayton

Soil Management to Conserve Water with Mario Lanthier



Photo credit: G. Steele



Autumn Garden Tour Fundraiser

Our Autumn Garden Tour fundraiser was a wonderful success with over200 people attending, travelling from Salmon Arm, Kelowna, Oliver, andeven the Sunshine Coast!

We enjoyed a wide variety of gardens including a backyard pool filled into make a pond habitat, a small city garden including bees and chickens,some beautiful perennial and annual gardens, and two very productivevegetable gardens.

Visitors appreciated the educational aspects as well as the focus onsustainable and vegetable gardening.

A big thank you to oursponsors, as well as all those who hosted, helped organize, andattended.

Bev Krieger, Autumn Garden Tour Committee Chair



100 Seasons in the SunA Community Centennial Celebration in 2016 The Ornamental Gardens is one of my favourite places to visit in all of Summerland. I know many of you have asimilar affinity to the place! Every time I visit I am impressed by the beauty and magnitude of the Gardens. I amin awe of the gardeners who designed and maintained the gardens for the past one hundred years! In 2016, we will celebrate the Summerland Gardens Centennial as well as the 25th anniversary of the Friends ofthe Summerland Ornamental Gardens Society. Funding is in place and the steering committee is moving forward. We will have a series of events throughout thecentennial year. Watch for more details as they evolve, but be sure to mark your calendar for July 1617, 2016. This weekend will be our major celebration. There will be activities for all ages, musical offerings, garden andhouse tours, arts and crafts demonstrations, games and art activities for kids, food vendors, and picnicopportunities. We will use the Research Station's annual Farm Picnic of the 1920's as our historical template, butalas...there will be no Jersey cattle in the show ring! There will be something for everyone during the July 16th 17th weekend. Do plan to join us. Bring your summervisitors too! If you are interested in getting involved with the planning of the Centennial events or helping us on site duringsome of the events, do let us know.

Connie Davis is our volunteer coordinator and I know she would love to hear from you. She can be reached [email protected] or at 250 4941448. Marian Rudisill, CoChair of the Centennial Committee



Archival photo of a Family Picnic at the Farm

A Pond and Climbing Roses Gardens in the early days



Superintendent's Residence when it was first build in the early 1920's



Premier Tolmie speaks at the Annual Picnic on June 3.1930

The photos were generously supplied by Connie DavisThe newspaper clipping was supplied by David Gregory



Recent Improvements at the Gardens

In preparation for our Centennial year we had a couple of renovations at the Gardens. The roof has been replaced on the former superintendent's house headquarters for the Friends.Additionally our the rickety railway tie stairs at the canyon view point have been replaced with a magnificent stoneslab staircase.

Photo credit: E. AntonijevicGleaming new roof and a new coat of paint



Photo credit: E. AntonijevicOur former rickety railway tie staircase has been replaced by these

magnificent stone slab stairs

Report by Eva Antonijevic



Photo credit: E. Antonijevic Wier Maple or Acer saccharinum "LaciniatumWieri" following the mulch application

Mulching for Tree Health A recent project at the Gardens involved installing a compost and wood chip mulch tree circle around the base ofour veteran Acer saccharinum "Laciniatum Wieri" or Wier Maple. Often as mature trees age their rate of growthslows sometimes reaching a point of stasis where annual growth comes at the loss of previous growth (onestepforward, onestepback or retrenchment in arboricultural terms). It is hoped that by reducing competition fromlawn grass and by creating a root zone environment that more closely resembles the trees native forest floor we'llhelp reduce stress and increase fertility giving a new lease on life for this magnificent old tree.

David Wier, Gardens Manager

Photo credit: E. AntonijevicCardboard, compost and wood chips were used in thismulching project

Taking out the Olives

For many years, horticulturists, nurseries and landscapers promoted the Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) as adroughttolerant ornamental tree for the Okanagan. However, it is now widely recognized that this imported tree ishighly invasive, and is spreading rapidly into our fragile natural ecosystems.

During the Earth week the Friends organized a symbolic removal of a mature Russian Olive from our Gardens. Thetrunk of the fallen tree was used to craft beautiful bowls by our local wood turner John Topham.




Summerland's Mayor Peter Waterman and our voluteer Don Gaytongetting ready to saw down the invasive Russian olive with the wordsof encouragement from the Friends in the background

Photo credit: E. AntonijevicOur local wood turner John Toppham crafted these bowls out of ourfallen Russian olive



Brian Minter Presenting in Kelowna Okanagan Master Gardeners Association invites you to the following event:

Please renew your membership or become a member of the Friends of Summerland Gardens! Click here to download the Membership Form and send us a cheque. Here is also an option to pay by PayPal.Family Membership Individual Membership Student Membership Life Membership Corporate Membership



The Friends depend on a strong membership to ensure we can uphold the mission of keeping the Gardensmaintained for all of us to enjoy. We encourage you to keep your membership up to date as your support isneeded to keep us growing.

Donation As an organization directed by a volunteer Board, we know the value of contribution and we trust that you willagree that gifts to the Gardens are beautiful, accessible and lasting. All donations are tax deductible. You can make a secure online donation right now via our Canada Helps donationpage. Donate by clicking here

FOG Mandate

FOG (the official name is "Friends of Summerland Research Station Gardens") is a nonprofit charitableorganization formed in 1991 to conserve, enhance and maintain the landscape features of the Gardens incollaboration with the Pacific AgriFood Research Centre.

The Gardens are nationally significant and comprise the Okanagan's largest public botanical collection andare a top regional attraction for both residents and visitors.

The Gardens serve as the Okanagan's leading demonstration site for landscaping in dry ecosystems andinclude Canada's first and largest Xeriscape Demonstration Garden where the Friends have been engagingand educating the community about water conservation landscaping since the 1990's.

Membership Benefits & Opportunities

Monthly tours, workshops and presentations Increase your plant and garden knowledgeParticipation in our planting and special events Help preserve and maintain one of the most spectacular places in British Columbia!Participation in future planningBe an advocate for horticulture and heritage preservationNewsletterWeeding Wednesdays Gardening in the Dry Interior of British Columbia, published by FOG in 2006



THE FRIENDS OF THE GARDENS SOCIETY IS SUPPORTED BY MANY INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO CONTRIBUTE TOTHE ONGOING SUCCESS OF THE GARDENS.

Pacific AgriFood Research Centre

BC Gaming

We acknowledge the financial assistance of the Province of British Columbia.



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Guerard Fine Furniture Joie Farm Kettle Valley Winery

Parkers Chrysler Dodge Jeep Pentage Winery Poplar Grove Cheese

Summerland Greenhouses Upper Bench Estate Winery ValleyView Guest House & Spa

2504946385 PO Box 1363 BC V0H [email protected]

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Summerland Ornamental Gardens | 4200 Hwy 97 | Summerland | BC | V0H 1Z0 | Canada

november 10, 2015 in this issue identification workshop with don gayton photo credit: e. antonijevic...

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