Mayor Andy Adams signed a proclamation on Tuesday declaring June 16 to 24 as Garden Days in our community and the president of the Campbell River Garden Club, Fran Ferguson, couldn’t be happier for the recognition.
“Garden Days is a nation-wide celebration of the vital role of gardens and gardening,” Ferguson says. “It showcases our cultural garden landscape, history and innovations and underscores the importance of public and private gardens, the values of home gardening and the promotion of environmental stewardship.”
From her perspective, anything that encourages people to get out and “get their hands in the dirt” is a good thing.
“Personally, I’m all about advocating people getting their hands in the dirt and growing stuff,” Ferguson says. “When I moved here, I couldn’t believe – and I still have a hard time believing – that not everybody has fruit trees or berries or little plots set aside for growing. Coming from the prairies, this is like a magical land in terms of growing things. People may think they don’t have room in their yard or whatever, but it’s amazing what you can grow in just a couple of containers, even on an apartment balcony, and if this gets a few people to at least take a look at it, it’s a wonderful thing.”
The Campbell River Garden Club holds regular meetings, garden and nursery tours, special projects and social activities, all for the purpose of gathering and sharing local and expert gardening knowledge. Everyone is welcome to join.
As part of Garden Days, the Campbell River Garden Club is bringing Brian Minter to Campbell River. Minter will be a familiar name to anyone who listens to CBC Radio, as he hosts a weekly call-in show on BC Almanac where he takes questions about all things that grow.
Minter’s Campbell River visit will surround a two-hour presentation on sustainable gardening at the Community Centre on June 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Community Centre.
“We’re so excited to have gotten him,” Ferguson says. “He’s been doing it for a long time – apparently since 1970 – he’s received the Order of Canada, and he’s basically the biggest superstar in B.C. Gardening. We’re so happy to have been able to partner with the city and with Tamarack Projects Ltd. to have this opportunity.”
Tickets for the Minter presentation are $5 and are available at the Community Centre.
Find out more about the Campbell River Garden Club at campbellrivergardenclub.com or by following them on Facebook. More information about the national Garden Days initiative can be found at gardendays.ca