The Society had a well-attended Annual General Meeting with a delicious Pot Luck dinner in November, at which a new Executive was installed for the current Term of Service.
Members of the Society decorated a tree that was placed in the Festival of Trees Silent Auction event, which was held at the Isaiah Tubbs Resort on the last weekend of November. This is very popular local annual event raises much needed funds for the purchase of equipment for PEC Memorial Hospital, and is organized by the Hospital’s Auxiliary. At the 2019 event, approximately $50,000 was raised.
The Executive has met monthly, conducting business and planning activities and events for 2020 There was no general meeting in February due to adverse weather conditions, erring on the side of caution for the safety of all members and guests who had planned to attend.
General meetings are not held in January, July, August and December. In August the Society holds a Pot Luck gathering at a member’s home in the County. At the March meeting there will be a Seed Exchange held for all members and guests. The Society has a full schedule of Guest Speakers for every general meeting being held in 2020. At each of the general meetings a Mini Flower Show is held, which now includes a “Bring ’n Brag” category for those members not wanting their submissions to be ‘judged’… only admired.
Also, at the March general meeting, a new activity will be started, which will take place again in June – Member Discussion Pods. Members (and guests) will be divided into small ‘pods’ or groups determined by the specific area of Prince Edward County they reside in. Participants will be given three gardening-related questions pertaining to the specific challenges in their area, and asked to discuss them within their ‘pod’ after-which, they will be encouraged to share their responses with the participants in the other pods. From this ‘exercise’, the Executive hopes to garner information that will better help them in determining what specific and helpful information the Society can provide to its members going forward…by having the hopefully, beneficial information available to members (and the public) through the Society’s website, holding more workshops, inviting other relevant Guest Speakers to do presentations at the monthly meetings, or helping to connect members with specific and knowledgeable sources to help them deal with and improve their gardening challenges, i.e. contractors, websites, publications, businesses, and other people in the County with similar challenges.
The Society has improved its Social Media outreach by redesigning its website, re-activating the Facebook page, and creating a quarterly e-newsletter. Ads for the Society’s signature events, and general promotion, have been strategically placed with print media sources (local and regional). The local Radio Station also makes PSA’s on behalf of the Society and other Not-for-Profit organizations.
Partnering with other local organizations continues to be nurtured, and more presentations to local community groups have been arranged throughout the coming year…most recently, Society Co-Chairs and Past President did a presentation to the County’s Newcomers group (very well-attended!), followed closely by a Seed Starting Workshop put on by the Society’s Past President, Lise Bois. These two presentations effectively created more interest in the Society, and increased membership numbers!
Plans for two County-based field trips are in the works for May and July.
May 16th, the Society’s annual Plant Sale will be held in Wellington, ON.
June 13th, the Society’s very popular annual County Blooms Garden & Flower Show will also be held in Wellington, ON.
June 27th is the date for the Society’s annual Self-Guided Garden Tour in Prince Edward County.
Looking forward to planting, growing, and what we can learn, share and do to keep our environment and climate healthy!!
Respectfully submitted:
Darlene Johnston & Cathie Coultis, Co-Chairs
PEC Horticultural Society
March 8th, 2020
The beautiful images posted for mini shows, garden shows, and our meetings are from photographs created by member Bert Jenkins.
