GardenKitchener
7 Floral Cr N2G 4N9 Kitchener, ON, Canada

I like to refer to Rockway Gardens as a teaching garden. We hope that through the imagination of the Supervisors at the Gardens that we are introducing the community to new varieties and what is possible in gardening. This is a variety of Daffodil that is new to me. It is a double that is true but one that I will have to learn about.

Fritillaria is starting to bloom. I never noticed the yellow ones before.

It seems that the Magnolias around the Cities are at quite different stages. I suspect it has a lot to do with the amount of sun they receive. I'm sure it also has something to do with the variety. The Yellow Magnolia at the Gardens is far behind this one even.

The Tulips and Daffodils are beginning to pop at the Gardens.

I find these Tulips at Rockway Gardens really attractive. There was a time when I wouldn't look twice at an orange flower, now for some reason, I find them really attractive and have started to include orange flowers in my own garden.

SEEDY SATURDAY 2021 Covid19 has caused us to be a little more creative this year, so we have decided to run our annual SEEDY SATURDAY event as a 2 day event. The first part will be held on Saturday, Feb 27th as a virtual event. Eleven of our partners (vendors and non-profits) have offered to provide virtual presentations between 9:30 am and 2:00 pm. The Kitchener Master Gardeners have also agreed to answer gardening questions throughout the day. Topics and speakers on that d...ay are as follows: Saturday, Feb 27, Part 1 ROOM 1 9:30 10:00 Simplicity of Sprouts by Cathy Nesbitt, Cathy’s Crawly Composters 10:00 10:30 All about Seeds by Christine Gilhuly, Kitchener Master Gardeners 10:30 11:00 Herbs by Spencer Hauck, Sandhill Botanicals 11:00 11:30 Natures Abundance Seed Saving Secrets, by Kat Granger, Seeds of IMBOLC 11:30 12:00 Planting Seeds, by Christine Gilhuly, Kitchener Master Gardeners 1:00 1:30 Bees and Flowers, by Jolanta Dabrowski, Natural Instincts Beekeeping 1:30 2:00 Homegrown Conservation: Native Plant Species You Should Have In Your Yard by Becca Robinson, REEP Green Solutions ROOM 2 9:30 10:00 Caring for Seedlings, by Christine Gilhuly, Kitchener Master Gardeners 10:00 10:30 For the Love of Gardening, by A Group of Waterloo Gardeners 10:30 11:00 Seven Simple Steps to Save the Songbirds by Catherine Hale 11:00 - 11:30 Cultivate appreciation: Kitchener In Bloom garden recognition program by Kim Moran, KIB Volunteer 11:30 12:00 Companion Planting, by Tanya Olsen, Royal City Nursery 1:00 1:30 Moving Seedlings Outdoors, by Christine Gilhuly, Kitchener Master Gardeners 1:30 2:00 Holistic Orchard Spray 101 by Steph Roth, Silver Creek Nursery BREAKOUT ROOM 9:30 12:00 and 1:00 2:30 Q and A, by Kitchener Master Gardeners A link to sign on to the virtual event will be posted on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/gardenKitchener 24 hours prior to the event Watch our page for Part 2 of the SEEDY SATURDAY event to take place, hopefully, in March at an outdoor venue.

Our second seminar this year is Saving the Song Birds - Presented by Catherine and Brad Hale Tuesday February 9 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. "Birds are telling us we must act now to ensure our planet can sustain wildlife and people". Please join us as they present how each one of us can make a difference to help bring back our Songbirds. Registration instructions can be found on the website. http://www.kitchenerhs.ca/cms/events/2021/seminar-02/ ** note that registration is limited to the first 100 people.

Guess what will be sailing it's way to Rockway this year? The votes are in and counted and with 43 of the 101 votes the Bluenose takes it by more then a league. Make sure you do "knot" miss it this summer!

Hi Everyone! Make sure you get your vote in for your favourite design for the carpetbed (please see the previous post). We will start counting votes tomorrow morning, so "comment on the picture of the design you would like to see this summer. Karin is very eager to get things started. https://www.facebook.com/243756221951/posts/10159036037186952/

Hey everyone! Now that the visions of sugarplums and the New Year’s parties are all finished, we are sure everyone is eager to put their thoughts back to the garden! While we still have a few months to go before we can get our hands into the soil again, this is the perfect time to start planning. Karin Clemens, Supervisor, Rockway Gardens, has been planning all sorts of great things, and this year we’ve decided to let you help make some of the decisions! In the coming posts y...ou will see 4 different designs from Karin for our capet beds this summer. Check out the posts on each of the designs and vote for the one you would like to see. Once the winning design has been chosen, Karin will get the plants started, and we are sure to have another beautiful space this year. #1. The 50th anniversary of the Multiculturalism Policy #2. The 100th anniversary of the schooner Bluenose ’s launch in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia #3. The 25th anniversary of National Indigenous Peoples Day #4. Knot Garden Design Add a comment to your favourite design !!!

Thank you to all who attended our first online seminar in 2021.

Our first zoom demonstration worked very well last night!! Here’s Spencer Hauck and our lucky winner of the urn insert, Liz. Last night we learned how to put together a Christmas planter, what greens work and what works well together. Thanks Spencer. @ Sandhill Botanicals - Softscaping, Landscape Design and Public Speaking

CHRISTMAS CENTERPIECE WORKSHOP- this workshop is FULL. GardenKitchener is pleased to announce our first Zoom workshop on December 8th. 6-8 pm. This workshop will be run by Spencer Hauck who will be demonstrating how to put together a Christmas Table Centerpiece. Spencer will show you step by step how to build your personal centerpiece; you will have the opportunity to ask questions while you follow along with your own customized kit available for pickup ahead of time. This subsidized workshop is $25 for members and $35 for nonmembers (includes membership). You must register and pay in advance. Limited to 30 people. Details are in the link. http://www.kitchenerhs.ca/cms/events/2020/workshop-12/

Some beautiful pictures taken the other day by Emma Shatkowski. Very Beautiful !!!

Think Pansies! Here at Rockway we don't leave pansy planting until the spring. There are a few varieties available that you can get that are winter hardy and show some colour in the fall and blooms first thing in the spring. This variety is Cool Wave. A spreading pansy variety

Through Community we build a better Kitchener and better world. We grew a lot of vegetables this year to highlight and teach. We wished to show how decorative and showy vegetables can be even in a formal setting and compete with the flowers. A side benefit for the Horticultural Society and Staff at Rockway gardens is the ability to give back. We have been able to provide a nice delivery of beets, kohlrabi, two varieties of kale, peppers, carrots, parsnips, swiss chard, parsley, basil and sage each week to three of our organizations in town. We thank you for this recognition.

Seminar is full. Our next seminar this year is Christmas Decor Demonstration with Spencer Hauk. Tuesday November 17, 2020, 7:00pm to 8:30pm and it will be an On-line virtual event using Zoom. Learn how to make your own personalized Christmas décor with Spencer Hauck, a horticulturist with over sixteen years of experience. He will demonstrate how to create holiday designs from seasonal greens! You will walk away with tips and tricks for creating your own festive front door ...urns, wreaths, and centerpieces. A few spots were added, so check the registration link http://www.kitchenerhs.ca/cms/events/2020/seminar-11/

Staff at Rockway Gardens is proud of one our first deliveries being made to the House of Friendship in Kitchener. Our produce was grown in the gardens this year to show how you can integrate veggies into you floral plantings and give a great opportunity to give back in our community by providing for the food shelters. A great day for us today!

Amaranth at the Gardens. What a beautiful variety. It really is breathtaking.

A few shots of the process we followed at our pandemic Bulb Sale showing the orders waiting for the members to pick up, the drive-through, and the volunteers that made up the orders and delivered them to the vehicles. Everyone worked pretty hard especially the staff members and the Board member (Roger) that designed the process and managed the orders. For them, the process was more labour intensive but not so for the rest of us. We are pleased to hear that so many of you enjoyed the process. Thanks for participating.

Thank you to all our members who ordered plants and bulbs online and came to pick them up on Saturday at our Annual Bulb and Plant Sale. Due to Covid, this was our first time creating the online sale, which is typically held each Spring at Rockway. We did have a few hiccups but it was a good learning experience for all the volunteers who helped pull this together. Hope you enjoy all your new plants and spring bulbs.

A great fall flower shrub/small tree is Heptacodium miconioides or Seven Sons. It flowers now in September. They are fragrant and a great draw for lots of pollinators. The seed heads and stem turn a vibrant red. It has great fall leaf colour. The bark also is multi shaded and peels attractively. Just an all around stellar plant for your garden.

A couple more of the flowers in bloom at Rockway Gardens now

Hard to believe that although we were short-staffed due to the pandemic and we werent in a position to accommodate volunteers that so much was accomplished. Staff followed very strict Covid-19 procedures to ensure their safety and that of anyone that visited the Gardens this year.

A portion of the Rockery. This section between the 2 cascades represents Ontario and Manitoba between the Great Lakes and Lake Manitoba. As you may not know, The Rockery was designed to emulate Canadian geography from the Atlantic to the Pacific. 2000 tons of limestone were imported from Sheffield, ON to construct it.

Hard to believe that although we were short-staffed due to the pandemic and we weren't in a position to accommodate volunteers that so much was accomplished. Staff followed very strict Covid-19 procedures to ensure their safety and that of anyone that visited the Gardens this year.

From around Rockway Gardens this weekend.

One of the best September perennial is Bugbane or Cimicifuga. It comes in a few different foliage colours. This one is Cimicifuga 'Brunette ' The flowers come out in a nice bottle brush form which are striking white against their brown foliage.

Today at Rockway

A cloudy Saturday morning, August 29, in Rockway Gardens

The online members sales have started !!!

GardenKitchener and Rockway Gardens would like to THANK YOU for your continued support this year, despite our challenges from COVID. We would like to provide some GOOD NEWS for our members !!! Your 2020 membership will be automatically extended to the end of 2021. In addition, any membership purchased for the remainder of 2020 will not expire until December 2021. It is still $10 for one member and $15 for a family. ... Note: you will need to purchase a membership in order to buy bulbs or perennials at the upcoming sale. You will receive an ecard by email shortly. If you wish a paper card, they will be available at any event, when we are able to start them up again (hoping for the fall, even if a digital format !!!). http://www.kitchenerhs.ca/cms/join-renew/

Some interesting history.

Getting ready for the bulb and perennial sale... details for the sale will be coming soon.

Thank you to Bruce and Maryanne for your input to a great article. https://www.kitchenertoday.com//the-healing-powers-of-rock

Success! Finally a worthy visitor to the Gardens. All our Butterfly attracting plants are working.

Sumac if you can control it, makes a great addition to the garden. Look at that colour and texture!

Sunny start to the morning! Moon drops open in the late evening and bloom overnight a d then close in early morning.

Variegation can create such great texture and excitement in the garden!

Another plant Patrick Lima suggested for the garden is Rose Mallow. Looks pretty nice with blues like Salvia and Russian Sage. The one difficulty is that this produces loads of seeds but that is easily dealt with by deadheading. Seedlings are also easy to pull out.

Years ago, I bought a book entitled "Perennial Garden" by Patrick Lima (Harrowsmith; 1988) that had a number of flower border designs in it. I took one of the designs almost completely and replicated it in my yard. The great thing about Patrick's recommendations was that everything he used in his garden on the Bruce, would grow in our area. Since then, our garden has changed rather dramatically as I got to know more about plants and plant combinations but his design was a perfect way to start. The attached photos are some of the plants that were recommended in the book although the varieties that I used were different. Don't be afraid to follow suggestions from other gardeners as it can really pay off. For some reason, I haven't been able to attach the photos. Will do separately.

Saw these guys at the Gardens recently - Pyrethrum/Painted Daisy.

The Lupines at the Gardens are really striking this year. Dont think I realised the variety of colours.

Our beautiful native tulip tree is blooming. You have to look way up to see them ! https://ontariotrees.com/main/species.php?id=2133

A special physical distancing goodbye and tree dedication to our retiring supervisor Barb. Barb, best wishes in your retirement and with all your plans!!!

Siberian Irises seen at Rockway Gardens. The colours on these guys are just spectacular.

The Lupines at the Gardens are really striking this year. Don't think I realised the variety of colours.

Friend Teresa Walker gave me permission to post her fine picture of our Fringe Tree. Hope you have had a chance to see it at the Gardens. Oops, that is a Golden Chain tree as corrected by Karen Sciuk.