TRENTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
MONTHLY MEETING MINUTES
THURSDAY, JUNE 15 AT 7 PM. IN PERSON
Trenton Seniors Club 105, 61 Bay St., Trenton
Attendance: over 50 members
7 PM WELCOME TO ALL BY PRESIDENT JUDY MULDOON
Tonight’s Guest Speaker is RACHEL BURROWS, MASTER GARDENER FROM PETERBOROUGH speaking on flower arranging and giving a demonstration. See below for some details and tips given by Rachel arrangements and demonstration.
Meeting Minutes from May 18, 2023:
Motion to accept May minutes. Motioned by Elva Strome, Seconded by: Elizabeth Thiel
Treasurers Report by Penny Tracy: As of June 12, Total in the bank, $8713.34, $6661.00 $100.00 Petty Cash, $2452.01 Certificate Motion to Accept Treasurer’s Report: Kathy Webb, Seconded by: Carol Sullivan
Membership Report by Pat Dunham- 3 new members, 93 total members
OJES also known as Ontario Judging and Exhibiting Standards books are available for sale for $10. If you are seriously planning to enter the upcoming Flower Show, this book is your guide! See Judy after the meeting.
Memberships are at Full price and available until the September meeting, then they will be available at half price and valid until the last meeting which is our AGM in November.
Please note that the Speakers for August and September have reversed. August will now be our Pot Luck Dinner, Vegetable Show and Plant & Pie Auction and September will have our Mini Flower Show: Design: Summer’s Last Hoorah-Design variety of flowers: ie: dahlias or mums and Horticulture: what’s left? and houseplants. Be sure to bring a guest to the Auction. September will have our Guest Speakers: Garden Art for Cheapskates presented by Peterborough Master Gardeners Gary & Diane Westlake
GARDEN PARTY & TEA – Sun. Aug. 20 at Elva Strome’s house, 417 Nicholls Dr. Cost $5.00. Tickets available at Flower Show and August meeting. We will be having a hat and fascinator competition as well. All welcome.
Debbie Geib has brought in some Red Salvia for anyone interested. Help yourselves.
PEC (Prince Edward County) Flower Show is on Wellington at the United Church on Saturday June 17. For more information check out their website for Flower show details.
Meeting Adjourned at 8:25pm by Judy Muldoon
Prepared by Sally Latimour, Secretary
Homemade Floral Preservative Recipe:
3 Teaspoons Sugar
Drop of bleach
Pint of water
Notes taken from Rachel’s Talk and Demonstration on Flower Arranging:
· Cutting and Conditioning: 20% of judges mark
· Pick your flowers or foliage early in the morning or late in the evening, but never in the heat of the day. They need 6-8 hours to relax in a bucket of deep lukewarm water with flower preservative added (either ready made or home made)
· Gather more than you will need
· Cut the stems on a 45-degree angle
· Remove all the foliage that will sit below the water line
· For Hosta leaves lay flat in water in the sink or a basin, if wilting, place the leaves in a bag of water and refrigerate for an hour or so
· Lilacs-take off all of the greenery for best results, lilacs should be about half open for best results
· Poppies-sear with an open flame at the bottom of the stem
· Hydrangea’s-take off as many leaves as possible and submerge in water
· Keep Daffodils separate from all other flowers
· You can store the following in the vegetable and fruit drawers in the fridge: Delphiniums, Lupins, Calla Lilies all have open stems at the bottom, pour water into the stem and then use a cotton ball to keep the water inside
· Dahlia’s-pick in their prime when they are flowering, sear the bottom of the stem or dip bottom of the stem in boiling water
· Gladiolas and Roses, wrap in tissue and recut stems
· Keep Fern in lukewarm water for 2-3 hours for best results
· Clematis-keep in a shallow container
· Hyacinths and Pansies do not work well in floral oasis
· When preparing floral oasis, soak it in water for at least one hour before using
· In containers to keep flowers in position, you can use any of the following: chicken wire, floral oasis for wet, florists thin scotch tape across the top of your container
· Your flowers or foliage should be 1 & a half times of the height and width of your container to be proportionate
· Use different textures and shapes
· When creating in design, use odd numbers of stems, create movement, group colours
· Make sure when you are creating your design to read the instructions carefully. If you misread the instructions, you could receive a lower mark or be disqualified altogether.
· Water softened water does not work well for keeping your flowers, best to use hard water where possible
· When using grasses, use several stems to get a better display and create some movement
Rachel read our flower show schedule and decided to create 2 designs: Class 70-What’s Cooking? A design using 1 or more kitchen items. Rachel also incorporated a line design within this design using a crescent line. Start by adding your foliage first. Rachel also used some herbs in her design.
The second design Rachel chose to make was Class 71-The Year of the Rabbit-an all-green design. Keep one flower as the focal point in your arrangement, Rachel used a Hydrangea
Rachel also made a fun design using blue flowers and donated it to be given away to one of the m
GARDEN PARTY & TEA – Sun. Aug. 20 at Elva Strome’s house, 417 Nicholls Dr. Cost $5.00. Tickets available at Flower Show and August meeting. We will be having a hat and fascinator competition as well. All welcome.
6 GARDENS WILL BE ON TOUR IN OUR REGION FOR OUR MEMBERS TO WANDER IN.