Vancouver Hardy Plant Group

Welcome to the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group, founded in 1997.

We are dedicated to the cultivation and study
of hardy, herbaceous perennials.

Meetings are held occasionally,
when gifted and brilliant speakers are obtainable.

Open gardens are enjoyed by members,
a bi-monthly newsletter is published
in which members are encouraged to contribute information,
news and articles, and bus trips to nurseries occur from time to time.

Membership Information
Vancouver Hardy Plant Group was formed in 1997 by a group of keen gardeners,
headed by Beverley Merryfield, to bring more internationally acclaimed horticultural lecturers to Vancouver and over the years we have been delighted to host, amongst others, Christopher Lloyd and Fergus Garrett, Roy Lancaster, Piet Oudolf, Anna Pavord, Helen Dillon, David Culp,
Will McLewin and many more too numerous to mention. During that time members have also enjoyed private members garden tours, study days, trips to Heronswood [sadly missed now],
as well as spring tours of Free Spirit Nursery in Langley, garden visits to Sunshine Coast
and Bowen Island gardens and so much more.
For the last ten years annual membership has remained at $15.
Effective September 1, 2007 the annual membership fee will increase to $20.
Please forward a cheque for membership dues to Shirley Cole at the address listed
on the back page of your newsletter. Also, it would be greatly appreciated if you would take
the time to fill out the accompanying membership application form
as it helps the planning committee. Thank you.
- Angela Miller

To join, please write or e-mail for an application form to:

Vancouver Hardy Plant Group
7179 Westminster St.
Powell River, B.C. V8A 1C7

Click here for regular e-mail correspondence.

Click here for correspondence regarding memberships.

Diary Entry for March-April

Busy time in the veggy garden. Mostly because the rest of the garden still needs more weeding and perennials need some division and even moving, and there is little time for preparation work for the food crops. One compost box was ready and had to be dug and spread. My preference is to give this special soil to the vegetable beds first. If there is anything left over, it can be used in the rest of the garden. In fact, I had quite a lot of good compost this year , and was able to use my "extra" compost for areas that needed it i.e. my new epimedium walk where the soil is very poor.

I have found I don’t need to turn the compost as long as I do regular layers of manure in the layering process. I keep some large bags on hand near the compost boxes. Every 3-4 layers of kitchen organic waste, weeds, grass clippings, and soil/leaves, I have taken to adding a 2-3" layer of manure I dig from a local stable. The result is amazing. The pile will suddenly drop many inches after 5-6 days with the manure addition….AND I find it composts well without turning. Important as I find it kills my back if I have to do this job. I have three 4’x 4’ bins and I can JUST manage to have enough space with one active, one recently finished and one aging ready for use. It is necessary to be picky about what is added re: weeds and other clippings. Now we have the city green waste bins, it is much easier. One can give them the convolvulus, couch grass, fungus-marked hellebore foliage, rose clippings, fern leaves or roots and the thicker stems of perennials in the autumn! In my compost bins, I carefully spread out each new layer fairly evenly to keep the process going well and once the box is full up I may cover for a few months to get a heat build up…but this isn’t essential. An occasional stomp on the loose pile can provide a big increase in capacity, however too much will over compact the soil...so be gentle!

The vegetable beds are now piled up well and ready to go. Love this ready look!

Because the weather has been so awful, I have started many veg. and sweet peas inside the greenhouse. Tomatoes are doing well and up to 4-5" (need to be potted on to ½ gals.)...ditto romano beans and scallop squash. Tomatoes will remain in the GH but the others will move out if only the sun comes back. Sweet peas are holding their own now they have been moved outside at 3", though they aren’t growing yet. Started arugula, and lettuce (various heritage leaf lettuces grown in small clumps), buttercrunch in the GH...All did well and now I hope will cope outside. Started seeds outside too: peas, sugar snaps and broad beans - all can take a lot of cold…and are showing though germination rates are low at present. Will add some extra seeds if necessary. Possibly just slow?? The garlic and sprouting broccoli started last autumn look excellent and we hope to have our first meal of broccoli this week! Asparagus are pocking through...but only 2 so far!

And now back to the rest of the garden!

~ Clare Philips

Upcoming Events

Calendar of Events

DATE	SPEAKER / EVENT	TOPIC or LOCATION
Thursday, June 5	Open Gardens	Salt Spring Island
Saturday, June 28	Open Gardens	New Westminster & Queensborough
Sunday, June 29	Open Garden	Free Spirit Nursery, Langley
Tuesday, July 29	Open Gardens	West Side, Vancouver
Saturday, Nov. 15	Fall Study Day	Set Your Tools Aside: Let’s Talk Gardening

When attending VHPG events, please respect your fellow group members and refrain from wearing perfumes or colognes.

Club Events:

Open Gardens
May 25 (Sunday) 10am - 2 pm, West & North Vancouver
June 5 (Thursday), Saltspring Island

Please support the members who are generously opening their gardens to us. This is a wonderful opportunity provided by the Vancouver Hardy Plant Group to come out and enjoy the gardens and meet with other members. Consult MapQuest before setting out and always take a map book. Please refer to your April newsletter for the location of the open gardens.

Fall Study Day
Saturday, November 15th, 2008

Speakers will include William Cullina and John Grimshaw. Mark your calendars now!

Other Garden Events

Hardy Plant Study Weekend 2009

De Vine Visions: An Exuberant Weekend for Plant Lovers will take place at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney (near Victoria), June 19-21, 2009. Scheduled speakers include Dan Heims, Philip MacDougall, Julie Moir Messervy, and Mary Toomey. For more information, click HERE.

Recent Events

Camera Walk with Paddy Wales
On a chilly May morning a dozen Hardy Planters joined photographer Paddy Wales for a Camera Walk in VanDusen Garden. The light was soft, and, at 8 am, the chilly garden was nearly empty. Click HERE to view some of the photos taken by participants.

Photo by Clare Philips

Visits since August 1, 2004:
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