John L. has resigned from his position as Staffing Director. John as worked faithfully as staffing director for a substantial period of time. John we thank you for your dedicated service and you will be missed.

 

Rob W. has accepted the position as Staffing Coordinator and will take on the role as  staffing coordinator effective as of August 1st. 2009.

 

Rob's previous position as Director at Large will remain unchanged

After the article last month on Garden Design, I was going to continue with that process. However, when prompted to talk about English Gardens, off the top of my head was the 20th Century English garden design. So I did a bit of research to give you a history of the English Garden and that brings me to the design elements I wanted to speak of. So here goes !!!

 

Back in the ROMAN BRITAIN days gardens consisted of formal low hedges, dividing great expanses of lawn so that people could play tennis and lawn bowling.  Those were the social activities at the time, in the garden, and the castle gardens and some large estate homes had these to entertain their friends and families. In MEDIEVAL TIMES gardens were on the small side and enclosed with hedges and or fences to keep out the deer and cattle. People just wanted to be safe and protected. Then when the TUDORS came along, they adopted the ideas of hedges and walls, but made them much more ornate. Hedges were of boxwood clipped into intricate shapes and very low were planted to form KNOT GARDENS - hedges laid out in intricate patterns and enclosed shapes. Within these enclosed shapes were planted flowers or shrubs or herbs, or a combination of them all. If you are stumped for a garden design, just look at some herb garden designs and adapt them to your likes and needs. You can adapt a part of a design, making it larger and fill in with the plants or garden artifacts that you so choose. When the STUARTS arrived on the scene, gardens became much more formal with rectangles, circles and intricate patterns and more diverse plant material was used, as England became more worldly. SUNDIALS, STATUES, BIRD BATHS, BENCHES AND ARBOURS would be found in these gardens. Then the GEORGIAN ERA moved in. Informal landscaping with very open parkland. Large expanses of lawn with GROTTOES   AND FAKE RUINS, placed somewhere in the distance.  Hedges  are GONE. Then in the VICTORIAN ERA, bedding plants became the flavour of the day. Greenhouses and Conservatories were prominent, so tender plants could be wintered indoors. Public gardens became very colourful and intricate with the wide variety of plants available.  Although these flower beds could be very formal and contrived, there was also a trend to more wild garden looks, with no clipping, staking which leads into the 20th century.  Perennials with various season of bloom are planted somewhat randomly, but still planned to create an interesting garden with various heights, colours and season of bloom.

 

And finally the 20th CENTURY ENGLISH GARDEN DESIGN, is a mixture of many styles of herbaceous borders--------- the cottage garden with its profusion of flowers, informally planted and yet the formal more manicured garden fits into this also.

 

Now that you have this info, you can look around the City of Oshawa and see these English Styles for yourself. PARKWOOD ESTATES contains many of these styles, because of all the hedging, expanse of lawn, enclosed gardens, statues, grottoes, etc. The north end of City Hall in Oshawa is sort of Victorian in nature, with the formal layout of beds and the formal layout of the plant material. There is a round bed there which is more informal, but that fits into the Victorian style also. The PEONY GARDENS, at the Valleyview Garden, beside the  CHILDREN'S ARENA, is more 20th Century, a formal layout with a profusion of flowers. There is also a CARPET BED ON LOCATION, which says OVBG, OSHAWA VALLEY BOTANICAL GARDEN, SPELT OUT WITH PLANT MATERIAL.

DOWNTOWN OSHAWA, with its planters and hanging baskets is more ENGLISH STUART, in nature because of the formality. MEMORIAL PARK is more 20th Century with some STUART influence with the statues and some low boxwood hedging.

 

Gardening style is a matter of preference, and you may mix many styles and periods. It's all about what you LIKE. So, if you happen to have a garden bench and a bird bath at home and are just starting a garden------maybe a small garden surrounded with
boxwood hedge, a birdbath in the middle and some choice perennials or annuals. If you want to change it up every year, and place that bench nearby with maybe a tree for some shade, and a place for the birds to perch and you have the start of  "YOUR GARDEN".

 

TILL  THE NEXT TIME!!

 

What a week of fabulous fun... Pride week never disappoints as the naked bodies painted in vibrant colours hit the streets.

 

Beyond the commercialism and blatant self-indulgence continues to lie a message. Remember the old cry "We're here, we're queer, get used to it?" Seems like such a far distance away from the spectacle of Yonge Street at the infamous parade.

At first glance, it appears a spectacle and party, but look closely and you will still see a social/political movement. While the days of Stonewall protest may have ended, the need for the movement continues. Ask any member of the LGBTQ community and they will be able to tell their own stories of discrimination and hate. There continues to be significant institutional homophobia in our society and the reality is that individuals in our community still continue to be victims.
Only recently, my rainbow license plate cover was destroyed as well as personal items on my property. Two or three young guys screamed back hate at my husband and I as we confronted the vandals. Even after years of work anti-homophobic work within our community and knowing very well the hate statistics, I can't believe the feeling of insecurity the incident left both of us with. It was my gentle reminder that there is still work to be done.

So as I proudly Marshalled our Club 717 float at the parade this year, I couldn't help but to notice the eye contact with many of the old folks like myself in the crowd. Eye contact was made on many occasions and while there was significant pride and celebration, there was also a sense of purpose. We knew why we were really here. It wasn't about naked bodies painted in vibrant colours... it was about basic humanity and making a difference in our community. Happy Pride everyone!
 

First off let me introduce myself as your new Staffing Director. Many of you I already know very well, some of you I know a little and a few I don't really know at all.
 
I am calling my initial Mandatory Staff Meeting with you all on Sunday, July 12th at 1:00 pm at Club 717. Bring with you, your staffing availability at that time for August.

 

I will outline at this meeting how I plan to operate the staffing of Club 717. Whether your a regular staff member or past staff member, your attendance at this meeting will indicate to me your interest in continuing as a staff member at Club 717.

 

I look forward to meeting with you all.

 

Sincerely,

Bob W.

Staffing Director