Board of Directors

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE FOR 2023
Presidents' Report - September 2022 to August 2023

The 2021-22 year seemed to be the one where we full re-emerged from the pandemic.             

In September 2022, we had a very successful plant sale, and the weather co-operated yet gain as this was an outdoor event.. The spring 2023 plant sale was our best in several years, and we realized $2000 in sales with thanks to our many donors of plants and to Sandra Hession and her volunteers who organized the day of the sale and auction.

Sadly, in 2022, we lost two long-standing members: Millicent McLaren and Betty Breedyk. While neither had been active in recent years due to failing health, they are fondly remembered for their contributions to the Society.

We continued to have our monthly speakers with members having the option of either attending in person or joining via Zoom. Thanks go to Trish Santos and her team for arranging for the speakers and to Noémie Müller for her technical support.

We participated in the March Seedy Saturday at the Ron Kolbus Centre which allowed us to promote the Society as well as sell seeds and gardening books. Berit Erickson was particularly busy with the sale of her native pollinator plant seeds and was providing advice non-stop to interested members of the public.

Another endeavor that we continue to participate in is the maintenance of the Nepean Museum Gardens under the leadership of Elaine Petermann. In addition to the clean-ups in the fall of 2022 and spring of 2023, we were fortunate to have members do some summer maintenance as well. As a result of our lobbying with the local City Councillor, the Museum’s exterior has been repainted, while invasive shrubs and damaged trees have been removed all of which has enhanced the appearance of the gardens. An added but unexpected bonus was the creation of a beautiful mural by young artists which adorns the south-facing wall just behind our pollinator garden

We re-instituted the fall flower show (in addition to the previous year’s spring and summer shows), and it was heartening to see not only more new members participate, but also many of the first time participants received awards for their entries. Thanks go to Lois-Sowden Plunkett and her team for organizing the three shows. Several of our members also volunteered their time to the OHA Flower Show held at the Brookstreet Hotel in July 2023, and a number of members also had award-winning entries.

Another summer activity were the garden tours held by NHS members from late June to late August. There were eight gardens to tour (including one that had to be re-scheduled due to hailstorm damage), and members appreciated the opportunity to see a wide variety of gardening styles and chat with the host gardeners and other NHS members. Thanks go to Anne-Marie Muller for organizing the tour schedule.

The NHS received recognition at the 2023 OHA Convention where it was honoured with the OHA Environmental Award for the establishment of native pollinator gardens as well as the award for best OHA Yearbook.

Finally, I want to recognize those members who have retired from the Board: Lois Sowden-Plunkett, Anne-Marie Muller, and Dorothy Tol who have been serving faithfully as Flower Show Director, Membership Secretary, and Treasurer respectively. Their time and talents have benefitted the Society in revitalizing the flower shows, increasing the membership, and  keeping our finances in good order.