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Greetings!
The HCP wishes to thank all those who attended our best ever Arts and Music in the Gardens event. Roger Charles, executive director, gives a report on the event.
Don't miss the official opening of the Bonsai Garden September 15th.
There is still room for a few more on the Minter Garden tour. Call today.
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 Report on:
Arts and Music
in the Gardens 2013
by Roger Charles
It is one of the biggest challenges when organizing an outdoor event like Arts & Music in the Garden that the only thing you have absolutely no control over is the weather. So on the Saturday morning when I awoke and pulled back the curtains, a gloom came over me. For the preceding 45 days straight, each morning was greeted with brilliant sunshine and not a cloud in the sky. This Saturday morning all that was visible were dark and ominous clouds. Even Environment Canada had not predicted this scenario.
Over the coming hours all the staff and volunteers watched the skies to see what would happen. As if it were a miracle, by the opening hour of 11:00am, the clouds had dissipated and glorious sun shone down on us. Outside the gate, a line of visitors stretching to the road way awaited entry into the show. Saturday, August 10th was the best day ever for Arts & Music in the Garden with over 1200 people, young and old, streaming through the gardens.
On Sunday morning, I awoke and the same scenario presented itself. This time it was worse. It was raining! The staff and volunteers were getting soaked as we were preparing the Sunday opening. And yet once again, the weather gods looked kindly upon us. By 11:00am, the rain had gone, the sun shone and the visitors came through. While the visitors were not as numerous as the previous day, they were in a more buying mood. By the end of the day the artists had sold more than $12,000 worth of sales that we here in the office were aware of. This was the best day the artists had ever had.
At the time of writing, the numbers are provisional. However, it is clear that we had the best event ever from the perspective of visitors (over 2000) and total revenues (over $44,000). I would like to thank all the staff, Board members and volunteers who put in such long hours to make the event so successful. I would also like to express a special thank you to Brian Groos, the event organizer, who was putting in 14 hour days doing everything from planning the event , through smoothing ruffled feathers to picking up garbage to ensure a successful outcome.
In the end, notwithstanding the dire portents of the early morning hours of the weekend, to paraphrase Shakespeare, All's Well that ends Well. We now start planning for next year, the 20th anniversary of Arts & Music in the Gardens. We plan to make it even bigger and better. See you there. |
Bonsai Garden Opening
by Lisa Ballinger
The HCP is opening a world class Bonsai Garden on September 15, 2013. It has taken volunteers over a year to construct and to bring in the collection of 48 bonsai trees that are on display. This is the largest public collection of bonsai trees in Canada. The Garden features native trees that have been collected on  Vancouver Island and many other fine specimen trees from the Pacific Rim that have been donated for display. Many of the west coast trees are from high terrain areas of the province and are usually not seen by the general public. Some of these trees are more than 100 years old.
Members of the Vancouver Island Bonsai Society will be on site during the opening to guide visitors through the collection and to talk about the art of bonsai. Other members of the Society will be conducting demonstrations of bonsai tree pruning and care. Tak Yamaura, a recognized Bonsai Master will also be onsite to do a bonsai tree styling demonstration.
Please come out and join us; it promises to be a very interesting and educational afternoon. We are very proud of what has been done in this Garden and would like you to enjoy it.
View the Bonsai Garden writeup on our website.
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 August to-do list by Linda Petite, Head Gardener - watering is still the main activity for gardeners, a deep thorough watering is essential.
- continue to dead head annuals and perennials for continuous bloom.
- prune raspberry and blackberry canes after harvest.
- propagate perennials from division once they have finished flowering.
- collect seeds of your favorite plants-store in a cool, dry place.
- hebes and lavender can be given a light prune after flowering.
- heat loving veggies are ready to pick-tomatoes, cukes, zucchini, peppers and eggplant.
- turn and moisten your compost pile.
- seed out or plant transplants for your fall/winter crop (cole
crops, greens, scallions, radish).
- keep your potatoes hilled, so they aren't exposed to sunlight.
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Minter Gardens August 20th
Jane and Linda will be making the trip to
Minter Gardens with a bus-load of fun-seekers.
A second bus is possible, depending on the wait list. Please call the Gardens to hold your spot.
Cut-off for reservations is Sunday at noon.
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by Linda Petite 
Hydrangea paniculata
'Little Lime'
- dwarf form of Limelight Hydrangea
- blooms July-October, flowers start off white, then to green and finally to pink and burgundy in the fall.
- 1.2 m. height and spread.
- full-part sun.
- deciduous shrub ideal for containers or mixed beds.
- blooms on new wood, so prune in spring
- excellent dried flower.
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You may be a serious gardener if ......
by Linda Petite
 A new chipper/shredder as a wedding/anniversary gift is not considered immediate grounds for divorce; - Your will states that you want to be companion-planted with your spouse in the garden;
- You're running out of places to garden, but the street median looks promising;
- While waiting in the doctor's office, you find yourself removing dead leaves from the houseplants;
- You carry more photos of your garden than your kids;
- Your children have names like Hyacinth, Iris, Cypress and Phil O'Dendron;
- You suffer from zone envy. No matter what winter hardiness zone you live in, you will insist on growing plants from the next warmest zone;
- On vacation, your GPS is programmed to arrive at every garden centre and botanic garden along the way;
- You know far too much about manure and you insist on sharing that information with your friends during dinner parties; and
- Your neighbours don't recognize your face because that's usually not the end they see.
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