Consider joining the Transcona Garden Club
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/04/2021 (776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Spring is here and it’s time to start thinking about planting your flower and vegetable gardens. I’m looking forward to joining the Transcona Garden Club for some helpful gardening tips, once COVID restrictions are over. For now, I’ll keep in touch through its Facebook page.
The Transcona Garden Club has been around for over 50 years and is affiliated with the Manitoba Horticultural Association. Members used to meet the third Wednesday of the month (except in December and January) at the Transcona Retired Citizens Centre but, like all social gatherings, these meetings have been cancelled since COVID-19 restrictions came into effect.
Part of club’s mission statement is: “To promote interest in horticulture and instill a love of gardening within the community, and maintain an awareness of Transcona as a ‘Park City.’”
The club is a great way to meet neighbours and friends who share a common interest and it welcomes new members of all ages. Whether you’re planning your first garden or have specific questions about your existing set-up, the group is a great source of information and folks will be happy to answer your questions (via their Facebook page, for now).
At monthly meetings, members discuss a variety of topics such as soil amendment, organic gardening, how to propagate plants, or the importance of bees. They often have speakers join them to talk about their specialties. The group also sponsors garden tours for members. They usually visit 10 to 15 gardens and both hosts and guests enjoy this.
Members of the Transcona Garden Club plant and care for the planters around the Transcona Museum and the Transcona Retired Citizens Centre.
Two long-time members, Domia Derkatch and Louise Page, were instrumental in getting the Transcona Horse Pond transformed into the George Olive Nature Park, which officially opened in 2001. Years ago, the park was a construction dumping ground. Volunteers removed the debris and restored it to a quality 16-acre park.
Louise, a recent Honour 150 honouree, named the Transcona Garden Club as the charity of her choice to receive the $500 that came with her recognition.
The club once ran a junior garden club, with 20 to 50 kids participating, that would do fun things such as planting beans, experiments with plants or planting in planters. However, it was cancelled due to a lack of volunteers so, if this sounds like something you’d like to volunteer to help with, please contact the club.
To keep the club going, it runs various fundraisers, so keep checking Facebook for updates. In a normal year, it would also have a plant and bake sale in May. As of now, it still plans to hold its annual spring show at Kildonan Place in June.
For more information, email club president, Lorene_Schipper@yahoo.ca or visit the club’s Facebook page.
Happy gardening!
Suzanne Hunter is a community correspondent for Transcona.