Awards and a Big Thank-You

Fundy Gardeners President Jane LeBlanc (left) presents Dick Chiswell the Presidents award on behalf of  the out going President Bob Perry. The award was given to Dick for his work and voluntarism within the club. The painting is of  Dick's  famous vegetable garden by artist Nancy Hart (right)


The Fundy Gardeners wish to thank Bob Perry for his work in the past two years as President.

Jim Wilson January's Speaker

This month’s guest speaker at the Fundy Gardeners meeting is Jim Wilson whose enthusiasm on birding is always evident. But when he starts to talk about birding in New Brunswick his eyes just light up. “New Brunswick is like the eye of the needle,” says Jim, “so much gets funneled in here because of its biodiversity, weather patterns and the jet stream.” Still, if New Brunswick in general is special for Jim, the Bay of Fundy is the jewel in the crown.


“There is so much diversity in the bay” Jim explains. “Grand Manan and the nearby islands have more rare birds than anywhere else. It’s a crossroads.” In fact, Jim and his long-time friend, Cecil Johnston, even discovered a Siberian Stonechat on Grand Manan - the first official sighting in North America. Quite a trip for a small bird - quite a lot of excitement for two keen birders.

Jim’s not one to keep his enthusiasm or his knowledge to himself either, and with more than 200 books on birds and a lifetime of experience, that’s a lot of knowledge. As a board member of Nature NB, the provincial umbrella organization for 12 nature clubs scattered around the province, he has given many talks and leads outings whenever he can. “I’ve mentored a lot of people,” says Jim. “I love to show someone a new bird for the first time. It’s a simple childish delight and it’s free. Nothing beats it.”

Merry Christmas

Happy Holiday's To All

Fundy Gardeners Christmas Party

FUNDY GARDENERS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS PARTY DEC 1,2010



Sea Belles Click to view info 

OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP CHURCH, GONDOLA PT RD AT CHURCH ST.

PLEASE NOTE THE ENTRANCE FOR THE RECEPTION AREA IS THE LOWER LEVEL AT THE BACK OF THE CHURCH.THE GUESTS COMING FOR THE CONCERT ONLY WILL ENTER THE FRONT MAIN LEVEL.

*12 PM TO 1 :30 PM VOLUNTEERS SET UP THE TABLES AND CHAIRS. DECORATIONS FOR THE ROOM ARE WELCOME.

PEOPLE ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING CENTRE PIECES FOR THE TABLES WHICH CAN BE EXCHANGED IF YOU WISH.

SUPPER SERVED AT 6:30 SHARPE.

BUSINESS MEETING AFTER THE DINNER.

8 TO 9PM SEA BELLS CONCERT IN THE SANCTUARY UP STAIRS. You are welcome to invite friends,relatives to attend the concert.

*9pm VOLUNTEERS TO CLEAN AND RETURN THE RECEPTION AREA TO IT'S ORIGINAL STATE.

NOTE A FILM OF GARDENS (Florida, Ottawa, Alaska, and a bit of NB.)WILL BE SHOWING DURING THE DINNER HOUR THANKS TO BRIAN HUDSON.

SANTA WILL DISTRIBUTE DOOR PRIZES. PLEASE COME AND BRING YOUR SMILES

* VOLUNTEERS PLEASE CONTACT ELAINE HOOPER  jevl@nbnet.nb.ca

Putting your garden to Bed

 At the October's meeting Fundy Gardeners Meeting members Dick Chiswell and Bob Perry explained how they put their garden to bed. Dick showed off his new parsnip digging tool and Bob displays his bumper crop of squash.

Fundy Gardeners 2011 Calendar

AVAILABLE NOW!

2011 CALENDAR

$8.00

Photographs of the gardens offered for garden tours by our members in 2010.

Includes the winning photographs from the Fundy Gardeners’ 2010 Exhibition.

Includes photos by Fundy Gardener Freeman Patterson

Philip Savage Fundy Gardener Member

Philip Savage of Quispamsis has started a business sculpting wood and making furniture from wood. His style is 'contemporary organic.' That's not much of a surprise given that this wood sculptor and furniture   maker grew up on a flower farm on Darlings Island, picking up pieces of wood as a young boy and whittling  them into shapes, and worked for many years as a landscape gardener.Today, when you go through his portfolio, you can see how all of his 26 years growing up on the farm, working with plants, and hiking, paddling and observing nature have influenced his work."I've been always exploring plants and growing things. It's so essential to woodworking - knowing where it came from and how it grows and the real intimate characteristics of wood. I was really interested in it as a gardener and still am."Savage recently turned from being a seasonal landscape gardener to making a living as a full-time wood carver and furniture maker. In the garage of his Chamberlain Road home, he chisels and sands wood - his favourite being ash and dark walnut - into sculptural or functional pieces whose shapes mimic nature's own shaping process.Seeds, as protective and powerful vessels capable of transformation, are found throughout his work. Carved maple pods hold dark-stained seeds, oversized seed shells carved from walnut and ash lay empty of their potential, and a trio of swimmers carved in birch resemble a stand of waving trees.

"I would call my style contemporary organic - the shapes that nature presents and the way the elements shape things, or the structure of plants and seeds, and the way they grow, occasionally throwing in some man-made angles to keep it grounded."Having some right angles or a flat top on a coffee table brings back that aspect that we recognize as human and comforting in some ways, but also let's us get closer to nature and the true forms that always existed before people started shaping everything."Savage began his relationship with wood when he was a 10-year-old boy growing up on the family farm called Straw Flower Ridge. Seeing his interest in carving, his parents bought him a few rudimentary tools and later enrolled him with the KV Carvers Club.

"I was like the only kid there. These guys were like retired, but they taught me a lot."In his teen years, he abandoned this interest, giving into the usual teenage "temptations, impatience and all that." But in his early 20s, he resumed carving - a way to fill the long winters unemployed as a landscape gardener."I had these winters to kill and I just started exploring it more as a sculptural medium."Last fall, he had his first exhibition at the Saint John Arts Centre."I got tonnes of positive feedback from people," he said, "so I decided to try this and give it a go and it's been going really well."He's recently completed a piece for the University of Dalhousie's medical school, and this past February, the Town of Quispamsis commissioned him to create gifts for the corporate sponsors of the Q-Plex - a commission that was a turning point for Savage's new business."That's when I thought I could make it viable," he said.While the business is still in its infancy, Savage is optimistic about its potential. In July, he toured across Ontario after showcasing his talent as a guest of the National Capital Commission on Canada Day.It was there that he realized there are fewer artists and craftspeople working in wood - afraid, he said, of not being able to compete with cheap furniture factories."There's a few people and they seem to be doing really well, but I got excited because I saw this niche of bringing wood back into people's homes and lives," he said. "I think there is great potential for it."
That's why he's looking to the future and his dream of a grove of trees. While he may expand into some of the other elemental materials - such as metal and stone - he wants to celebrate "the shape and unique qualities of wood both in sculpture and furniture design," he said.For that reason, he's considering moving to a more rural setting where he can grow his future forest, set up shop, use a chainsaw, and "make more noise without bothering the neighbours."Already, he's tending to an assortment of seedlings, which he wants to shape and train with curves and strengths."Then they could be worked into high-end sculptural furniture because not only were they shaped by tools but nature shaped them. So I'm pretty excited about that. But that will take 20 to 25 years," he said. "It's my long-term investment."

For more information, visit www.savagesculpture.com.

Reprinted from the Telegraph -Journal. Erin Dwyer writes the Developments column for the Telegraph-Journal. It appears Tuesdays. To make a suggestion about a new business in the Kennebecasis Valley, email her at dwyer.erin@telegraphjournal.com.