Mark your calendars now for June 16 to 24 and help celebrate Garden Days in your community.
You may now be asking, "What is Garden Days?" It is an annual celebration of Canada's garden culture that began in 2013. It was modeled after the American Public Gardens Association that has a National Public Gardens Day annually in May. Recognizing May is much too early to showcase gardens and gardening in Canada and putting the focus on the vital role gardens and gardening has in our lives, this nine-day program of activities and events is for gardening enthusiasts, families, schools and tourists alike.
Garden Days is an opportunity for Canadians to enjoy their own garden, visit or take part in their favourite garden experience, get inspired at their local garden centre or travel to a nearby destination to enjoy their favourite garden.
National Gardening Day is June 16, which is the beginning of our 10-day celebration, so start planning now to make 2018 the best Garden Days ever. If you have an activity already planned during those days then you can easily register them on the Garden Days website http://gardendays.ca/for no charge.
Consider this article your personal initiation to get involved. It does not matter if you are part of a horticultural society, a garden club or even a group of school children with a teacher who has a green thumb, Garden Days is for all of us. A couple of weeks ago, I was asked to volunteer my time to participate and become the spokesperson for Saskatchewan. In the interest of gardeners and those who want to be across the province, I decided to donate just a bit more time to the gardening world.
If you have an idea, I am here to help you to make your community a grand participant of Garden Days. Simply reach out to me and we can get this show on the road. Activities that range from a workshop to a children’s treasure hunt are all possibilities. Have a look at the website and scroll through the many activities that are already registered. The activities you will see come from garden centres, schools, garden clubs, municipalities, community gardens, wineries, churches, private citizens and more. We hope to reach the 400 activity milestone this year.
It is also my hope to get as many of our communities as possible to declare their own official Garden Day. We even have a downloadable copy of a proclamation template that can be easily used by your community regardless of the size or population.
Saskatchewan was just included this year, so let's show some good old Saskatchewan pride and show all of Canada what we are made of. I look forward to helping you out with any and all your Garden Day activities. Let's get gardening,
Hanbidge is a horticulturist with the Saskatoon School of Horticulture and can be reached at 306-931-GROW(4769); by email at growyourfuture@gmail.com; facebook: school of horticulture; twitter: @hortiuclturepat; instagram: patyplant or check out at saskhort.com.
