NHS 2009 Garden Tour

One of the highlights of the gardening year for members of the Newmarket Horticultural Society is the annual garden tour. Members and friends generously allow their gardens to be opened for our tour. We, in turn, learn from their vision and approach our own gardens with renewed vigour and insight. This year was no exception. We sincerely thank the families who shared their gardens and their perspective on the use of shade, sun, small spaces, corner gardens, vegetables, terracing and the use of a hill to develop a waterfall and pond, as well as beautifully planted urns and pots of annuals in and around perennial beds. Ideal weather and friendly gardeners made this year’s tour a resounding success. To view pictures of the tour select the NHS Albums page in the above menu.

Newmarket Horticultural Society

Main Achievements in 2009

The Newmarket Horticultural Society had a very successful year of achievements and highlights.  In order to encourage a younger generation of horticulturists, our Society established a $500 bursary to be awarded annually to a deserving Newmarket high school graduate.  Students filled out applications and submitted documents to our evaluation committee.  This process established financial need for a student entering into a horticultural-related program in an accredited Canadian post secondary institution. The recipient of our first bursary was an honours graduate from Newmarket High School.  He is presently studying at the University of Guelph in a five-year Environmental Science program.  He received the award at a presentation during our August general meeting and appeared in local newspapers last September.  The 2010 bursary applications are available to all Newmarket high school students.

Another new and highly successful undertaking for us last year was our participation in the Newmarket Home Show.  The Home Show received 7,000 visitors and was an excellent opportunity to promote public awareness.  We set up an attractive information booth and distributed hundreds of our newly developed colour brochures.  Many of our members volunteered to staff the booth.  It was the perfect opportunity to speak directly to the public and encourage gardening.  This initiative substantially elevated our profile in the community.  Twenty-three new members signed up as a result of the home show.  This new venture was so successful that we hope to make it an annual event.

All of our promotional efforts throughout the year resulted in an increase of over 50% in our membership from the previous year.  We are pleased to say that 74 new members signed up in 2009 and we finished off the year 187 members strong.

NHS 2010 Bus Tour

We are pleased to say that we had an overwhelming response for our bus tour this year which took place on July 17.  The sold out bus was comprised of fifty-five gardeners consisting of NHS members and their friends.   The day got off to a very early start,   departing from the Ray Twinney Complex at 8:00 am, as we had a full itinerary. 

After a one and a half hour drive we arrived at our first stop, the St. Jacobs Farmers’ Market and Flea Market.  Here we found more than 600 vendors both indoors and out, in a colourful rural setting.  We could not have asked for a better time of year to go as we enjoyed fabulous weather, sunny but not too hot,  and the farmers were selling fresh local produce at outstanding prices.  There were also numerous booths selling fresh baked goods made with the loving hands of the Mennonites,  as well as many exquisite flowering perennials.  There was something for everyone to enjoy.

After spending two hours at the market we then re-grouped at the bus which then took us to Picard Peanuts in St. Jacobs.  We had the delicious task of sampling and choosing from a vast array of specialty seasoned peanuts, unique snacks, including Picard's exclusive Chip nuts, and sweet treats of every description including peanut brittle and homemade ice cream.

We then made our way to The Crossroads Family Restaurant and enjoyed a scrumptious buffet lunch.  It consisted of a salad bar, mixed salads, hot buffet with five main dishes and last but certainly not least, an extensive dessert table.  There was certainly a large enough variety of food to please all.   We also had an opportunity to browse through a vast gift shop,  part of the restaurant premises,  which provided a wide array of lovely gifts.

Following lunch we had a half hour drive to Grobe Nursery located in Breslau.  This nursery is a very modern, clean and organized Garden Centre which not only provides garden products but also consists of over six acres of retail garden with literally thousands of plant varieties.  We were greeted by Perry Grobe, owner and landscape architect who graciously gave us a guided tour of the property along with a family history of ownership of the nursery that extends over a period of 45 years. 

Many of our gardeners made numerous purchases of not only small plants but also large bushes.  After they were placed and tightly secured in the belly of the bus, we then made our way back to Newmarket taking the scenic route home.  During the course of travelling in the bus throughout the day everyone enjoyed refreshments and snacks.  We arrived safely back in Newmarket at 6:30 p.m. with everyone expressing that they had a wonderful day.