Don’t miss the excellent speakers:
- 10:30 – 11:30 Sean James, Life Magnet: Creating a Layered Native Garden for Biodiversity
- Sean owns “Sean James Consulting and Design”. Gardening has been Sean James’ passion and profession for over 40 years. A graduate of Niagara Parks School of Horticulture, a Master Gardener, writer and teacher, Sean focuses on eco-gardening techniques. With the expanding trend towards landscaping to enhance all forms of life, the question becomes, how. By choosing plants favouring native species and creating layers including varying heights of plants, focusing on what food and habitat niches those plants would fill, the life cycles of many species can be supported. This involves looking at all life stages from birth (lava and eggs) to adulthood and from first food sources to berries and insects.
- 12:00 – 1:00 Bob Wildfong – Growing a Successful Seed Saving Garden
- Bob has been saving seeds and teaching about food biodiversity for over 20 years. As the horticultural specialist at the Waterloo Region Museum, he cares for the gardens in Doon Heritage Village that feature over 200 species of heritage plants. Bob is also Executive Director of Seeds of Diversity, an organization that conserves Canadian heritage seeds and plants from coast to coast.
- Learn how to design and grow a garden that includes plants for saving seeds. Topics include planning for isolation and seed harvesting how to tell when your seeds are ripe and best ways to clean and store your saved seeds.
- 1:30 – 2:30 – Stephen Biggs – Fit Fruit Crops in your Garden
- Steven is a horticulturalist, educator and writer, specializing in gardening, farming and food production. He has a gardening show on radio and is the author of “No Guff Vegetable Gardening”. Home gardens rarely have textbook growing conditions that means we can’t grow fruit by the book. But there are still lots of crops and growing ideas that work well in home gardens. In this talk you’ll find out about fruit crops suited to challenges including shade, poor soil and competition. You’ll also get ideas for ways to fit fruit crops in small spaces. Maybe even hide your neighbour’s ugly fence.
2025 General Meeting Speakers
| Date | Speaker | Topic |
| Jan. 28 | Aaron Day, Program Manager, Forestry Credit Valley Conservation | Forestry Management |
| Feb. 25 | Elisabeth Burrow Founder, President, Chief Roaster Jewels Under the Kilt | Nut Growing in Ontario |
| March 8 | Public Event | 13th Annual Seedy Saturday and Garden Show |
| March 25 | Denise Hodgkins, Garden Coach & Landscape Designer | The Busy Gardener |
| April 22 | Dr. Eric Lyons Associate Professor Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph | Lawn Care |
| May 17 | Public Event | Annual Plant Sale |
| May 27 | Wolfegang Bonham, Landscape Designer | Overcoming Common Landscaping Problems & Mistakes |
| June TBD | Public Event | Annual Flower Show |
| June 24 | Society Meeting | Strawberry Social / Trivia Night |
| July-Aug. | No Meetings – Enjoy Your Garden! | |
| Sept. 23 | Doug and Terry Kennedy, Orchids in Our Tropics | Get to know and grow the orchids |
| Oct. 28 | Instructor TBD | Fall Craft Workshop |
| Nov. 26 | Society Meeting | Annual General Meeting & Holiday Dinner |
| December | No Meeting – Happy Holidays! |
Speaker Details
Aaron Day, Program Manager Forestry, Credit Valley Conservation
January 28, 2025 Topic: Forestry Management
He will discuss his experiences in forestry, the challenges and opportunities facing forests, and some actions Credit Valley Conservation is taking to create and conserve forests in the watershed.
Elisabeth Burrow, Jewels Under the Kilt
February 25, 2025 Topic: Nut Growing in Ontario
Denise Hodgkins, Garden Coach and Landscape Designer
March 25, 2025 Topic: The Busy Gardener
THE BUSY GARDENER –Not exactly “speed gardening” – but close – this presentation gives gardeners the list of top garden jobs for each area of the garden month by month. Staying ahead of the “garden game” allows you to get your garden off to a good start with better results, and less effort.
Dr. Eric Lyons, Associate Professor Plant Agriculture, UofG
April 22, 2025 Topic: Turf Grass
Wolfegang Bonham, Landscape Designer
May 27, 2025 Topic: Overcoming Common Landscaping Problems & Mistakes
After years of working as a landscape designer and contractor, Wolfe Bonham has seen his share of poorly designed and built outdoor spaces. In today’s presentation he will highlight some of the most common mistakes that home owners make so hopefully you can avoid them in the future.
June 24, 2025 Topic: Strawberry Social and Trivia Night
Doug and Terry Kennedy, Orchids in Our Tropics
September 23, 2025 Topic: Get to Know and Grow Orchids
Doug and Terry Kennedy are the proud owners of Orchids in Our Tropics and have been growing, breeding and showing orchids for almost a half century. During all of these years, they have shared their hobby by working with the Southern Ontario Orchid Society, Canadian Orchid Congress, American Orchid Society, as well as other horticultural groups as volunteers and speakers. Terry is a current Trustee of the AOS.
The quality of their plants is evident in the numerous AOS awards and show trophies. Their love of orchids continues to take them on many fantastic orchid adventures and to spectacular events
Instructor TBD
October 28, 2025 Topic: Fall Craft Workshop Evening
Meeting Details
All regular meetings held at either the Flower City Bowling Club or the Flower City Seniors Centre start at 7:30 PM, with doors opening at 7:00 PM.
The General Annual Meeting starts at 6:30 PM, with doors opening at 6:00 PM.
Meeting events such as flower shows, mini-seminars, etc. are usually at 7:30 PM.
Flower City Lawn Bowling Club is Located at 8910 McLaughlin Rd S in Brampton. The October, November, January, February, March and April meetings are held here unless otherwise noted.
The Flower City Seniors Centre is located at 8870 McLaughlin Rd S in Brampton. The May, June and September meetings are held here in the Auditorium unless otherwise noted.
