Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Fundy Gardeners' first virtual year-end at Christmas party


Fundy Gardeners' first virtual year-end at Christmas party was a great success held tonight.

The was one party where masks and hand sanitizers were not required, and you could even dress in your pj’s.

The video shown was of the 2020 Garden Tours, where the  club members opened their gardens to members.

Starting in January, the Club will start the year off with virtual meetings with guest speakers.

The link below will take you to the video 

                                                                                      https://youtu.be/mSeSrr-ubDc


Thursday, April 23, 2020

UPDATE OF MESSAGE RE GARDEN CENTRE

FUNDY GARDENERS - UPDATE OF MESSAGE RE GARDEN CENTRES


Thanks to those who responded to the previous message. 

The situation is fluid, shall we say, re how our local vendors can respond to “opening” for business. 

In the news today, Scott’s Nurseries is still abiding by their "order ahead and pick up in the parking lot “ plan until they can establish a safe method of shopping inside their greenhouses and shop.

Halifax Seed will offer shopping in their outdoor centre sometime in May and have an order ahead and pick-up system in place for now ( 633-2032 ).


Brunswick Nurseries  ( 847-8244 ) opens on April 24. Here is a message from Duncan Kelbaugh,


“ Customers can shop in all our outdoor displays and greenhouses, practicing social distancing. The only places closed to them will be the sales office and bathroom, for the protection and separation of customers and staff. We will use wireless scanners and debit machines to conduct the sales with proper separation, and in the outdoor air as much as possible.

The Corral petting farm will not be open and no ice cream for sale until further notice, and we ask parents not to bring kids to the garden centre during that period.

We have plenty of plants and bulk gardening materials in stock now and look forward to the spring season. There seems to be a real strong desire for the public to get going in their home gardens! “



Duncan is right; we all want to get going. Stay safe, Pat McGill

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Special Greetings to the Fundy Gardeners

It is unfortunate as we welcome the signs of Spring in our gardens that we cannot associate in the usual manner for the foreseeable future. Here are some cancellations and an informal survey of our local gardening vendors with updates as to how we may purchase items for our gardens.

MEETING MAY 6  This meeting is cancelled.
Our speaker, Jim Cunningham from Cardwell Farms, will give his talk at a later date. Jim is willing to make a special trip to sell his bagged marine compost at such time as we are allowed to gather to do this. We will set a date and prior to that date, Pat McGill will take your orders, and you will be asked to bring the exact amount of money and to come for pick-up. Stay tuned for further notice about this sale.

WORKSHOP MAY 5 -This workshop has been cancelled.

JULY BUS TRIP TO NS- This trip has been cancelled and deposits have been returned to the participants.

MONTH OF JUNE ACTIVITIES
We have a meeting, the Car Boot Sale, Mystery Tour, an Open House at  Halifax Seed, and a sale at Public Gardens that at this point are all up in the air. For now, we are not cancelling them but we will give you an update next month. Stay tuned.

MEMBERSHIP FEES FOR 2020
After consulting with our treasurer, Paula Manuel, we will be offering a reduction of costs for membership, either to be applied to membership fees for next year for those who have already paid or a reduction to those who still have to pay for this year. We will work out something that is fair for all and easy enough for Paula to manage. As well, once we reconvene our meetings, memberships will then be available.

OUR LOCAL GARDENING VENDORS
All of our local businesses are striving to offer services at the same time as keeping us and their staff safe. Everyone is abiding by the guidelines from the Province and they ask that we all respect social distancing. While the premier announced last week that garden centres can open, many of them are small or not set up inside their premises for easy social distancing.

Prior to this announcement, I conducted an informal survey of some local vendors, with the following results;
Vendors who are closed to the public ( or are now working out a method to open ) who will take orders by phone  or online and then have parking lot pick-ups: 
  •      Cedarcrest 658-1112
  •      Brunswick Nurseries 847-8244 Opens April 24
  •      Scott’s Nurseries 506-458-9208
  •      Shades of Green 738-8319
  •      The Gentlemen's Backyard 608-6333 info@thegentlemensbackyard.com
Vendors who are planning to open sometime in May:
  • Home Depot 632-9440
  •  Kent’s 847-6666
  • Canadian Tire 848-6000
  • Superstore 847-7055
Other:  
     Sobeys reported that they will not have a garden centre but will have several racks at the entrance to the store.
     Cornhill Nurseries 506-756-3635   Cornhill will be open April 18, 8 - 5 every day. 
     There will be shopping in person but all are asked to keep a social distance.

Thanks to all for your patience. 
Enjoy your own gardens and as the queen says, “We will meet again.”
Pat McGill  pat.mcgill@bellaliant.net

Thursday, February 27, 2020

Monthly Meeting March 4th




Joe MacKay is the co-owner and cider maker at Yip located at Mackay Apple Orchard in Long Reach. Joe Mackay views Yip Cider as a leader in the orchard’s overall business with lots of room for growth. And they have something to celebrate as well. Four of their Yip ciders recently picked up medals at the Great Lakes International Cider and Perry Competition in Grand Rapids Michigan.