Since February has become Heart Month with not only Valentine’s Day but the Heart and Stroke campaign and the curling Tournament of Hearts, I just had to add a gardener’s heartfelt quote.

This month we are also starting a club history compiled by one of our founding members, Beth Fitzpatrick. I hope you all enjoy this addition to the letter as much as I have. It is like a visit to Beth’s home to share a cup of tea and look back at our past. It is great to remember not only the events, speakers and successes of the early years of the Squamish Gardeners but also to acknowledge the people who started it all. These chapters will be on our web site for future reference too.

When I write about a “white” garden I don’t mean what we have had these past few months! Although the snow holds its own beauty with shapes disguised and flowers hidden, with shadows and stark contrasts, I am missing the early signs of spring. The snowdrops sleep beneath the white blanket, the forsythias shiver in the bud, the heather failed to decorate Robbie Burn’s birthday and the rhododendron, that a few years ago bloomed in January, is nowhere to be seen. But the days are getting longer and the sun warms the air when it peeks out from behind the clouds.

My sunroom has proven to be a haven this winter. My orchids are actually blooming, some for the first time. I foolishly put them all right up to the windows for the light but the other plants have blocked the view as the orchids are all turned outward and I can’t turn them without damaging the stems. Next year I’ll put them where they can be maneuvered. The clivia is blooming too but it is on wheels and can be turned. I have blooms on my Angel’s Trumpet and a bud on the calla lily. I have also planted up pots of spring bulbs and left them in that room. Soon I will have spring even if the garden remains in white mode until April. So even though we did not complete our renovation job last fall, the room is meeting expectations.

February is a good time to visit your garden centers or to pick up cut flowers with your groceries. Just a couple of blooms, with a few cuttings of greenery or twigs, will cheer up your abode.

I like to force spring flowering shrub branches with big spider mums, a couple of tulips or blue flags. It is sometimes difficult to buy just three or five blossoms of a flower. Retailers seem to want to sell you more than you need. Try to spread the extra flowers around to family and friends. Perhaps you could buy the fresh flowers one week and a neighbour could do it the next.

Flowers bring sunshine into our homes and often they are not as appreciated here as they are in other parts of the world.

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I hope that by the time this reaches you we are welcoming springtime weather. Easter is very early this year so usually warmer weather follows the trend. To quell your appetite for gardening, take in the Home and Garden Show in Vancouver February 22-24 or take in one of the speakers at Van Dusen Gardens this month.

(For your information, this recipe was published in the Cottage Life Magazine in March 2002. The original recipe comes from the Robin Hood Baking Festival Cookbook (Robert Rose 2001) by Jill Snider, who is a stellar baker and recipe developer.)

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Dave Colwell will set up an "Appreciation Page" for contributors to our club. on the web site.

Carol pointed out that the Club has donated books and magazine subscriptions to the library.

Dave read a letter of support that Carol had written in response to a request from a local person from Water Connections who will be applying for grants to develop an eco-initiative educational garden linked to a community garden. All members were in favour of this letter being sent.

Treasurer’s Report: The Club has $500 more than we did at the same time last year. The Projected Budge shows an increase in the amount available for speakers. Phyllis Carter asked what is included in the “miscellaneous” category? New categories will clarify this.. Motion to acceptreport carried.

Correspondence: two letters acknowledging donations were received.

Newsletter: As normal in the e-mail. It will also be posted on the website. Material should be sent to Ellen before the end of the month, particularly in March.

Programme: Nairn asked for suggestions for timely topics. The February speaker will likely be from West Coast Seeds – Carol offered to billet, if required. March Speaker is to be decided. April: possibly Ingrid Hoff, who writes for Gardens West. Her topic will be rhododendrons. May: Nairn asked for ideas about the Keynote speaker...several ideas put forward

Speaker for the evening: Ray Zoporozan. For the past 25 years his passion, hobby and commercial venture (in North Vancouver) has been bonsai. For more details of his talk...check the our web-site News and Events section. Nairn thanked Ray at the end of his presentation. He provided a small bonsai as a door prize, and also had a few for sale

Our Speaker for the February meeting will be someone from West Coast Seeds. This will be a timelly topic so that we can all get ready and look forward to spring and new growth after our very snowey winter.

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It’s a snowy Saturday in February, the groundhog saw his shadow today and everyone knows that means we have 6 more weeks of winter. All I can do now while waiting for Spring is nurture my indoor plants, let the snow disappear, and tend to some “unfinished” business.

A few months ago I promised our President Carol, that I would try to write something for our newsletter on the evolution and history of the Squamish Gardeners. Being sort of a pack-rat, I had kept old minutes and other bits of information about the club in a very neat notebook thinking that some day the information therein would be useful! So here I am at my computer, a nice hot cup of tea beside me, thumbing through old minutes that tell the story of how the Squamish Gardeners came into being, the paths taken by the group and who the players (gardeners) were. Please know that I’m not making up any of the following information….it’s all to be found in the paper trail of our minutes and newsletters, although as a casual writer, I will be making frequent editorial comments!

The first “formal” meeting of what was initially called the Squamish Garden Club was held on June 27th, 1994, 7:00 PM at the home of Fran Martin, Dryden Road, Brackendale. (That’s 14 years ago.) This was an organizing meeting (gathering of addresses, initiating a phone chain, discussing meeting places, possible club projects, and of course, who would bring the refreshments for the next meeting). Lots of gardening interests were raised and ideas flowed readily. (How do I control slugs? Can we share seeds and garden magazines? ). The first membership list for the club includes some familiar names: Marcie Phillips, Melissa Geddes, Mary Wild, Jill Gould among others.

First Executive: President Bev Carson Vice President Cheryl VanDer Eerden Secretary #1 Thelma Whitfield Secretary #2 Tricia Scott Treasurer #1 Marcie Phillips Treasurer #2 Jill Gould

At the July meeting the club’s official name was established: The Squamish Gardeners and the first executive elected (see box). Committees were formed (social, fundraising, programs/events, membership) and the membership fee was set at $10.00. Members were advised to bring 12 self-addressed stamped envelopes to the next meeting if they wished to receive the minutes by mail. ( Now aren’t we fortunate to have e-mail?) More gardening/fund raising ideas were shared such as holding a plant sale, and donating funds to the library for the purchase of gardening books. I’m missing minutes for the next few months (I probably forgot to bring my stamped envelopes) but I recall that meetings continued to be held at member’s homes because of the difficulty in finding a “free” meeting place and the group’s limited budget. The first financial report (October 1994) showed 20 paid-up members and a bank balance of $187.45. The only expenditure in 1994 was $20.00 for membership in the B.C. Council of Garden Clubs.

In 1995 the group met for several months at the Howe Sound Secondary School, then at member’s homes in the summer months with a garden tour included!. Wasn’t that nice incentive to attend. Later in the year meetings were held at Xanthine’s Coffee House, which later became The Pause Café. As a fund raiser the group held a “Squamish Gardener’s Dinner” at a cost of $10 at the home of Kathleen Brennan. (a delicious menu!) and surplus funds were given to the club.

Although the group provided a wonderful opportunity for socializing most members wanted more information on gardening in Squamish and more structure at the meetings. We wanted to “tap into local expertise”. The first invited guest speaker was Greg from Garibaldi Nurseryland who talked about disease and pest control in the garden. A moss basket day was held in the spring . (That was fun: much like making a Christmas Wreath but using spring flowers.) Farmers from Brackendale approached the group to assist in resurrecting the Squamish Fall Fair and members were enthusiastic in their support.

The idea of a meeting raffle was proposed by Tricia Scott. Cost of the raffle ticket was a loonie and the raffle prize must not exceed $15. The lucky winner would bring the prize for the next month’s raffle and be re-imbursed from the treasury.

By June of 1995 the membership stood at 25 including three gentleman gardeners: Don Cochrane, Don McAllister and Lawrence Minchin. The dues were now $12 per year and an extra $5 if you wanted the club secretary to mail you the minutes. Elections were held at the August meeting: President Tricia Scott, Vice-President Don Cochrane, Treasurer Jill Gould Past President Bev Carson. Program planning for the meetings was taken on by 4 volunteers, each being responsible for the educational programs for a 3 month period.

The bank balance at the end of 1995 was healthy and the Treasurer reminded the group that we needed to think about ways to spend the money. Some of the ideas proposed were making wreaths, setting up a club greenhouse, buying and painting terra-cotta pots, and so forth. The first Christmas dessert pot luck was held at Kathleen Brennan’s home where we made Christmas centerpieces. Member Jennifer Porter bought the decorating supplies for the club. (Jennifer still supplies our Christmas wreaths!)

Now I know that reading accounts from the past can be tedious and I don’t want to loose your interest. Tune in for more next month! By looking back, we can see where we’ve come from and also honor our long-time members who led us down the garden path to where we are now.