Blenheim-Harwich Horticultural Society
59 Ellen street N0P 1A0 Blenheim, ON, Canada

Hi All, Greetings, all. We had a very informative meeting Monday night at Talbot Trail Place. Some people expressed interest in obtaining purple crocuses from Harry Wyma who is selling them on behalf of the Rotary Club. They are raising money for World Polio Day and offering 20 crocuses for $20.00. Please contact Harry directly at [email protected] if you wish to purchase them.... Thanks for considering helping the Rotarians. Anne Henderson, Secretary See more

Do you have a bat box? Then Karen Vanderwof at Trent University would like to know about it! Bats in Canada face multiple threats from habitat loss and disease.... As towns and cities expand, the large old trees that bats call home are being cleared, resulting in the loss of their roosts. Bats need a warm and secure place to roost during the day in the summer. A bat box is a simple and effective way to provide additional roosting habitat for bats, but little is known about bat box use in Canada. Karen's research seeks to determine which bat species use bat boxes across Canada, what box designs are preferred by bats, and which temperatures bats prefer for roosting in our northern climate. If you have a bat box and would like to participate in this study, please fill out this online multiple-choice survey with questions about your bat box: http://ow.ly/rrz350ChFzK Or contact Karen at: [email protected]

Hello, Fellow Gardeners: Due to the on-going Covid 19 infection rate, the Board has decided to defer Society meetings until April, 2021. We would like to have the meetings but only if we can have confidence that they will be safe for all. With rising infection rates, we simply don't have that confidence. The Board will meet again in the early 2021 and we'll re-assess the meeting situation. We'll keep you updated on the results of that Board discussion. Hopefully no one suf...fered severe damage from the high winds yesterday. Anne Henderson BHHS Secretary

Did you know this is the beginning of the busy season of Phosphorus Run-off (or P loss as we say)? Land filled with plants helps retain soil. Soil that is r...etained means less Phosphorus entering our watershed. After a summer harvest when agricultural producers (our amazing farmers) pull up the plants that feed our communities soil is left bare and exposed. Naked land = field prosperity quite literally blowing away in the wind. Luckily many farmers are turning to fall planting of over-wintering crops such as the winter wheat in this photo. Soil with plants growing on it, is not only more nutrient dense but more stable. Autumn rains fall and winter snows build, eventually leading to spring thaws. We see more soil staying put and less Phosphorus in our watershed, just from this one practice of planting cover crops! So when you are driving through the Canadian countryside and see green into our winter months know you are witnessing a farmer caring for their community and working to keep our Phosphorus levels down. Take a picture the next time you see a field with green in a cold month and tag us in it! #ltvca #lowerthames #conservation #ontario #conservationcanada #watershed #thamesriver #nature #getoutside #forestschool #theartofnature #ohcanada #ontariobeautiful #southwesternontario #water #cleanwater #waterpollution #phosphorus #cleanwater #data #getoutside #winterwheat #fallplanting #notill #thankafarmer

Hello, Fellow Gardeners, The deadline to contribute to the Trillium Winter edition is December 1st, 2020. For those interested, please read the following: Please remind the Gardening Clubs and Horticultural Societies in your District that the deadline for submissions for the winter issue is Dec. 1, 2020. Everyone enjoys reading about what’s going on in gardening.... Articles should be sent in Word format or plain text. Files created in another format can simply be copied and pasted into your email. Photos and other graphics should be sent as separate files (i.e., not as part of a Word file), with a resolution of at least 1000 by 800 pixels. Larger, original files are acceptable, too. Send the submissions to the [email protected] email address and please include the names of the writer of the article and the name(s) of the photographer(s). If there are any questions, please email or phone me and everyone stay safe. Laura Masterson Trillium Editor 905-682-2380