On a damp May 24, the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society (SGHS) held their annual plant sale with a good turn-out of customers. This was also the first year that SGHS formed a partnership with the teachers and students at Frederick Banting Secondary Alternative Program school. The convenience of the sale being held in the school’s parking lot was certainly an attraction for the plant sale.
The students of Frederick Banting assisted customers with their plants and they also handed out packages of plant holders that had been created by one of their teachers using a 3D printer.
Every year the SGHS members work hard to prepare for this annual fundraising plant sale for the Stittsville community. Residents look forward to the SGHS annual plant sale and this year as in previous years, many residents walked away with various plants that will soon be growing in a new garden.
With fundraising being a necessity for the local club to cover their general expenses, guest speaker fees and donations to various organizations, this year with approximately 400 plants sold and the $900.00 plus raised, these funds will go far to assist with their expenses.
Judith Cox, President of SGHS shared with Stittsville Central, “this is the first year that the Stittsville Goulbourn Horticultural Society has partnered with the Frederick Banting Secondary Alternative Program and it went very well. Our members donated a large number of plants and were very aware of the invasive species thanks to our latest speaker Connie Matthews-Cull. Kim Bonin and Arlene Rowe-Sheppard brought many of the plants stored at Jo-Jo’s Community Garden. Arlene is instrumental in growing native plants for our ongoing project at Lee Boltwood Park. Many thanks to the hardy volunteers who stayed throughout the sale to help people looking for plants even with the periods of rain and the cool weather”.
What makes this plant sale a success? Knowing that the flowers, bushes, trees and vegetable plants will prosper in Stittsville gardens, with the right care, and, importantly, they are Canadian native plants. The plants are locally grown in the horticulture members’ own gardens right here in Stittsville. What better way to start or add to the success of your garden!
