Squamish
Gardeners’ Club
General
Meeting
Carla
Halvorson Burke chaired the meeting. She
mentioned the First Nations Gardening Show on APTN in November. Dorte Froslev has donated two
Dawn Milne moved that the minutes of the last meeting be accepted; seconded by Colleen Polowich; motion carried.
Correspondence: Pauline Lawrence had unfortunately mislaid her post office box key, so no mail was available.
Website/Newsletter: Ellen Grant apologised about the incorrect information on tonight’s speaker in the last newsletter.
Treasurer’s Report: Dorte reported that the proceeds from the Garden Tour were $2,200 – net $1,974. This amount was within $50 of last year’s amount. The club currently has around $4,600 in the bank. This and January are the time for membership renewals, so the total fluctuates. $1,025 has been spent on speakers to date, and the income from speakers is $641. Copies of the financial reports were available at the meeting for those interested.
Carla asked the meeting to consider the donations that the club makes annually.
Last year the club made the following donations:
· Library - $450 from Garden Tour & about $57 in for the magazines Fine Gardening and Gardens West
· Lily’s Garden – $200
· Scholarship Fund through BC Council of Gardeners – $200
·
· Total = $1107 in donations
Judy Crowston said that Lily’s Garden is to be turned over to the district as there are too few family members to maintain it properly (although the family will still be involved). The club will therefore likely reconsider donating to this.
Dawn suggested that we might increase the money donated to the Scholarship fund by $100. There was some discussion as to whether we should offer a separate scholarship to local students enrolling in horticultural/landscaping studies. However, it was decided that the local high school counsellors would be told of the availability of the existing Scholarship so that they could encourage students to apply through the B.C. Council.
With reference to
the donation to the Railway Park, a club member sent the following to Carol
Robson: It's no secret
that the Park is hurting for funds
at the present time. That said, I
would hate to see our funds go
into the General pot of money used
to pay bills, etc. If we do
decide to donate I feel strongly that
we should ask to have the funds
earmarked for a specific gardening project
within the Park. (In the
past, our donated money was used
for hardscape such as flower barrels,
edging for the garden beds, a light-weight
wheel barrel, etc.)
One area that could use a
face-lift is the entrance to the
Park, meaning the grounds before you
cross the bridge. The Brightbill House
had a lovely vegetable garden this
past year, both Rhodes junction and
the Mason Station gardens need a lot
of work, and I'm sure there are
other areas that could be designated.
Beth Fitzpatrick suggested that a bird bath might be a good addition to be funded by the club at the Park. Carla said the new manager, Susan, was open to ideas.
The Christmas
party will be at the BAG on December 8 at
Election of Officers: Beth called for nominations from the floor.
· President – Carol Robson – nominated at previous meeting
· Vice President – Carla Halvorson Burke - nominated at previous meeting
· Treasurer – Dorte Froslev - nominated at previous meeting
There were no further nominations, and Carol Raffaele moved that the nominations be closed. In the absence of a volunteer to be Secretary the Executive will take turns in taking the Minutes.
Nairn thanked Pauline for her work as Secretary. Moira Biggin-Pound thanked Nairn for all her work in getting speakers for the club.
Carla passed around a sign-up sheet for Committees.
Beth suggested the large flower barrels and hanging baskets at the Dog Pound be considered. Every year someone plants and takes care of watering them and the display is lovely. Even though no-one had taken pictures, it was decided to award a certificate.
Refreshments: Gerd Moore thanked Dale Embree and Glenda Begley for providing refreshments.
Nairn then introduced the speakers for the evening: Andreas Sandell and Chris Hamilton of AC Stonescapes, of Squamish, on the topic of The Use of Stone in the Garden. The talk was illustrated with numerous illustrations. Website: ACStonescapes.com
Stone can be a difficult element to fit into a garden. There are four basic uses:
§ Retaining material
§ Access (walkways and steps)
§ Surface coverage
§ Features
AC Stonescapes uses mainly indigenous material, basalt and Brohm granite, obtained locally. NorthWest Landscaping has a good supply of stones, and direct purchases can be made from them.
Retaining walls: these define plant spaces. Dry stack can be used up to 4 feet tall. Walls can be backed with concrete for stabilising. They also generally have a slight batter – are sloped inwards slightly.
With current compacting processes, frost heave generally doesn’t affect dry stacked walls. If concrete is used, the structural footing is generally deeper.
Stone borders can be used to define spaces – and to make maintenance (e.g., lawn cutting) easier.
Illustrations of various steps and pathways were shown. Coverage with stone was also shown – one circular patio pictured was made from slices of basalt columns set in concrete. It had been laid on 8-9 inches of compacted crush, with dry concrete hosed into the gravel. It is also possible to use permeable pavers for coverage. Stone driveways were also shown.
Features can be whatever the mind can dream up. Pictures were shown of indoor and outdoor fireplaces, firepits, stone benches made from horizontal columns, pool surrounds, etc.
Stone
is sold by the pound, and can range from 8-23 cents/lb. A typical stepping stone could cost from
$15-20. Large boulders can even be purchased. North West Landscaping in
Chris and Andreas had brought along a stone mushroom for a draw prize – it was won by Dorte.
Nairn thanked the speakers, and the meeting was adjourned.