Crown Point Garden Club

Growing in East Hamilton

Seeding mix for sale

The Crown Point Garden Club will be at Hamilton Seedy Saturday on February 4, 2023, with a vendor table and garden-related goodies for sale. We’ll have bags of plug and germination mix, one of our popular items from pre-Covid Seedy Saturday events.

This peat and perlite based soil-less mix is an extra fine, greenhouse-grower quality Pro-mix especially made for seed germination. We are selling it in 1.5 lb (dry weight) bags for $3.00 per bag or two bags for $5.00.

Each bag is enough for four (possibly five) pop-bottle type wintersowing containers.

If you’ve tried germinating tiny seeds and had disappointing results, this seeding mix may be the answer.

photo of bag of germination & plug mix for seed germination.
Germination and plug mix for sale. $3.00 per 1.5 lb (dry weight) bag or two for $5.00. All Proceeds go to the Crown Point Garden Club. Payment by Interac e-transfer. Contact cpgc_admin@crownpointgardenclub.org if you’re interested. Delivery can be arranged.

Containers available
For people who enjoy winter sowing native plants, the consistency and quality of this mix is perfect for the dust-like seeds of many native species.

If you’d like to try winter sowing, we are offering containers for $1 each. They’re clean and pre-cut to size, with venting and drainage holes already made– ready for you to fill, sow, and label.

'nesting'winter sowing containers made from coke bottles.
‘Nesting’ containers for winter sowing. Made from 2-litre pop bottles. Vent and drainage holes already cut.

If you’re unable to attend Seedy Saturday and you’d like to purchase mix or containers, please email siteadmin@crownpointgardenclub.org

annotated photo of completed pop-bottle type winter sowing container.
Completed ‘nesting coke bottle’ container for winter sowing.
Wintersowing success!

For detailed information on wintersowing (links open in new tab:

Winter Sowing- Before You Start
Winter Sowing- Step by Step
Winter Sowing- Container Choices

Pipeline Garden receives “Greener Greenspace” recognition

Pipeline Trail garden June-2020
Pipeline Trail Pollinator Paradise, June 2020

In the fall of 2021 the Crown Point Garden Club responded to a call for applications from the Society for Organic Urban Landcare (SOUL) for its innaugural “Greener Greenspaces” recognition program.

On December 21, SOUL announced the recipients. The club’s garden on the Pipeline Trail in East Hamilton was among 26 sites that made the grade, and one of six in the Pollinator and Habitat Garden category.

Greener Greenspaces recognizes Canadian sites that are great examples of ecologically focused land care. SOUL will be showcasing these green spaces to inspire gardeners and “further the movement.”

Completing a detailed questionnaire and submitting photos, club member Bev Wagar celebrated the beauty, history, and ecological function of the club’s first public garden project on Hamilton’s Pipeline Trail (between Edgemont and Park Row). The Pipeline Pollinator Paradise (the garden’s formal name) is about 90% native species. “It’s mature now,” says Bev “but we are still adding and editing as the soil improves, shrubs spread, and shade increases.”

She adds, “We are always looking for volunteers to help with weeding and, when absolutely necessary, watering. It’s a great way to learn about native plants up close.”

The club also maintains a large public garden on Kenilworth between Cannon and Britannia which also gratefully welcomes volunteers.

To learn more and get connected with the work of the Crown Point Garden Club, email cpgc_admin(at)crownpointgardenclub.org

2021 Heart Awards

The two winners of the Heart Award along with MP Matthew Green and instructors from  Mohawk College. They are standing in the shade of large trees on the lawns at Gage Park.
Lisa Bucci (left) and Lyanda Pugliese (second from right) receive their Heart Awards at Gage Park.

Fortunately the weather cooperated (although a breeze would have been nice!) and we were able to present the 2021 Heart Awards at Gage Park on Monday, August 30. Lyanda Pugliese and Lisa Bucci each received a certificate and a Lee Valley gift card. In addition to family members, two representatives from Mohawk College and Hamilton Center’s Member of Parliament joined us.

These awards are presented to one student in each cohort of the Foundations of Horticulture program through Mohawk College’s City School.

Congratulations to both recipients!

Natalie Page receives ‘Heart Award’ 2020

What happens when you combine a healthy bank account, a social conscience, and a bunch of people who love gardening? You get the Crown Point Garden Club Heart Award—a bursary for students of horticulture in Hamilton. A service organization in the east Hamilton neighbourhood of Crown Point, the garden club came together in 2014 with a community-focused mandate. “We’re activists with a gardening problem” quips founding member Bev Wagar. In that spirit, surplus from the club’s successful annual “Garden Day” event was dedicated to the cause.

Course instructor Sean James with 2020 Award Recipient Natalie Page

The club set up a Bursary Committee and Chair Jordan Sullivan researched local horticulture and landscaping programs. He discovered “City School” by Mohawk College and its unique approach to education. City School actively recruited students through employment agencies, finding people who would not qualify for a conventional college program but who still were looking for skills. The school offers a range of courses, free of charge, at mobile classrooms located throughout the city. Subjects include Manufacturing, Ship Building, Early Childhood Education, Personal Support Worker—and Start: Horticulture. It was just what the club was looking for. Gardening could help a person find a vocation.

City School’s “Start: Horticulture” program is ultra-condensed. Instructor Sean James presents a full curriculum of theory and practice that gets students employment-ready in less than a year. Sean, a Milton-based designer, landscaper, educator, and advocate for ecologically-informed gardening, expected to work with three classes per year.

Natalie Page with award. From left: Bev Wagar, Natalie Page, Jordan Sullivan, Christina Babcock.

As Jordan worked out the details with instructor Sean and staff from the Mohawk College Foundation, it became clear that, for an aspiring landscaper, academic excellence would not be the most meaningful criteria. So the Crown Point Garden Club’s bursary became the “Heart Award.” The eligible horticulture students were all unemployed and keen on learning a trade. Awarding tools instead of money was a way to get one of them started on their career…and the recipient would be chosen by the instructor, based on class contribution and involvement.

But COVID-19 had other plans, abruptly shutting down not only the mobile classroom but all outdoor classes and trips. Despite the challenges of social distancing and the sudden dependence on Internet technology, the first class graduated in August 2020.

Sean credits student Natalie Page with pulling the class together during the crisis. Said Sean: “Natalie Page, from our first cohort, has been amazing throughout… Natalie went above and beyond the call, scholastically, but more importantly, with supporting and networking the entire group.” Natalie had set up a Facebook page for the class where ideas, observation and support could be shared. Her online involvement “took the whole class to the next level” according to Sean. Natalie became the first recipient of the Crown Point Garden Club’s Heart Award.

Natalie recalls being devastated when the pandemic put an end to their field work outdoors. She found a way to “practice” at home by expanding and building new garden beds—which had the added benefit of hooking her husband on the joys of growing food. For her final project Natalie designed a garden for a cottage that her husband and father-in-law are building.

Natalie’s bursary was a pair of must-have tools for every aspiring landscaper: Felco secateurs and a quality pruning saw. They will come in handy next year when she and her husband buy property “up north”. Their goal is to start a business teaching about permaculture gardening to help people with food security, to sell their excess produce and preserves, and to both use and promote sustainable energy options.

The Crown Point Garden Club would like to continue presenting Heart Awards, one for each graduating class of City School’s Start: Horticulture program. Arranging an annual donation with the Mohawk College Foundation should simplify the process going forward. The club also hopes to provide learning and mentorship opportunities. “We always welcome volunteers at the public gardens we maintain” says Bev Wagar. “It’s a great way for horticulture students to learn about uncommon plants and challenging sites.”

Looking back, Jordan Sullivan thinks the bursary project turned out “better than we envisioned. We ventured out of the neighbourhood with the Heart Award. The journey’s been bumpy, but very worthwhile.”

Sept. 15 work party at DePave

Mark your calendars for Saturday September 15 (2018) for a hour or so of weeding, planting, and trash pickup at the DePave Garden. Meet at 3:00 pm at the garden (corner of Kenilworth and Britannia). Dress for mess, wear gloves, closed-toe shoes, and bring tools.

Walking Tour of Crown Point Public Gardens

In celebration of National Garden Days the Crown Point Garden Club will host a walking tour of the public gardens it maintains. Mark your calendars for the evening of Tuesday June 19. The free, 1.5 km tour starts at 6:30 p.m. sharp. Meet at the trailhead of the Pipeline Trail, behind the Dairy Queen at the corner of Main and Ottawa. Route details are below

All are welcome. Feel free to meet the tour at any point on the route.

The route:
– east on the trail to the Pollinator garden and Triangle Garden.
– left/north at Park Row to the Park Row Boulevard pollinator patches
– possible side trip to Cunningham parkette, site of future garden
– east on Cannon to Kenilworth to the DePave Garden at corner of Britannia and Kenilworth
– social gathering to follow. Manacala? Merk?

Questions? Send us an email via the online form on the contact page:

TreeMobile set for 2018

The 2018 TreeMobile program is underway. TreeMobile is a volunteer-run, not-for-profit organization that makes perennial food plants, mostly fruit trees, available (at excellent prices) to people in and around the GTA. The TreeMobile web site has comprehensive information on tree planting and care, although the species information is sometimes sketchy.

Orders can be made online and the closest pick-up location to Hamilton is Guelph, on May 12 only. We may be organizing a collective pickup if several club members order. Stay tuned for details– we’ll try to find a coordinator/driver.

Here’s the web site: https://www.transitiontreemobile.org

New web site is up and running

We’ve moved the club web site off wordpress.com and set up a self-hosted wordpress site/blog on our own domain https://crownpointgardenclub.org (opens in new tab). Please update your bookmarks and subscriptions. In a few weeks we’ll be replacing the content on this site with links to the new site.

We are also moving the mailing list to Sendpress so if you receive our emails you’ll notice some changes, including an opt-in link, so we’re completely compliant with Canada’s anti-spam legislation.

There are several reasons for the move. As site visits increase, WordPress.com is starting to deliver advertising to our site. We don’t want that. As well, the dot com setup limits what we can do with widgets and plugins. For example, we can’t run Sendpress without a self-hosted installation. We can also do nifty things with polls, calendars and photo galleries.

RBG spring 2018 courses for gardeners

Posting this to make it easier for our members and followers to learn about the RBG’s course offerings this spring.
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RBG logo Royal Botanical Gardens has wonderful programs coming up for the gardener. Register online at www.rbg.ca/publicprograms or call 905-527-1158 ext. 270.

PERENNIAL PLANT COMMUNITIES “The Know Maintenance Approach”

Friday, March 2; 7 to 8:30 p.m. at RBG Centre
Fee: $18; Members: $6

Roy Diblik’s thoughtful way to design perennial plantings welcomes fresh contemporary styles and plant diversity integrated with responsible maintenance methods. By using a selection of regionally dependable perennials and native plants, endless natural plant patterns can be constructed, each respecting time and cost to maintain. Roy discusses the developing partnership between the gardener, plants and nature, always knowing that the beauty is in the doing.

VEGGIE GARDEN REMIX

Friday, May 4; 7 to 8:30 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $18; Members: $6

Expanding beyond standard garden crops like tomatoes, spinach, and string beans can be intimidating for some vegetable gardeners. Join bestselling author, Niki Jabbour, to shake up your garden and discover unexpected flavours and textures in husk cherries, amaranth greens and yard-long beans (to name a few). Niki outlines dozens of plants for you to consider for your garden.

HARDSCAPING IN THE GARDEN

Wednesday, March 21; 7 to 9 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $35 (Members 10% off)

We often look at our garden design with only plants in mind. Hardscaping can be as important but is often given little thought. Ben Bushmuller, certified horticulturist, points out various materials to use, what is involved in the installation and why it will enhance your garden design., 905-527-1158, ext. 404. Weather updates are posted before program start time and in the event of weather postponement or cancellation, participants are notified via email at the time of posting.

GARDEN DESIGN FOR BEGINNERS

Tuesdays, February 27 to March 6; 7 to 9 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $60 (Members 10% off)

Join Andrea Weddum, certified horticulturist, in this two-part program to help enhance your gardens. She teaches basic techniques in design to help with colour, form, lines, scale and textures. She provides assistance with your garden plans that work with your style and property. Get a jump on the gardening season.

MADE IN THE SHADE GARDEN DESIGNS

Mondays, March 19 to 26; 7 to 9 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $60 (Members 10% off)

No two gardens are alike and some are shady. This can create challenges but with the right plants and knowhow, a shade garden can be a lush thriving oasis. Andrea Weddum, certified horticulturist, introduces plants, design concepts and one-on-one assistance so your garden can be transformed this spring.

HEIRLOOM TOMATOES WORKSHOP

Saturday, March 24; 2 to 4 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $50 (Members 10% off)

Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated, non-hybrid cultivars that often have the best flavour. Linda Crago from Tree & Twig Farms provides all you need to know to grow the best heirloom tomatoes. Participants sow their own tomatoes seeds to germinate and plant in their own gardens.

MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LAWN

Thursday, April 5; 7 to 9 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $35 (Members 10% off)

Lawns do require a lot of maintenance and Ben Buchmuller, certified horticulturist, points out a sustainable way of keeping your lawns healthy. Often grass is an important part of our garden designs and the maintenance can be daunting. A healthy lawn doesn’t mean lots of fertilizer and a chemical routine.

GARDEN ANYWHERE/ CONTAINER GARDENING

Tuesday, April 10; 7 to 9 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $35 (Members 10% off)

Tara Nolan, award-winning author of Raised Bed Revolution, discusses the fastest growing strategy for gardening — in containers. Tara reviews types of containers, materials to use and how to utilize a small space with maximum results. She showcases her lettuce table, suitcase planter and many other ideas that suit anyone with limited space. Enhance your gardening techniques.

TRAINING A PLANT INTO A STANDARD

Saturday, April 14; 2 to 3:30 p.m. at RBG Centre.
Fee: $40 (Members 10% off)

A standard grown plant is a single straight trunk topped with a round or weeping mass of foliage. Chris Tarrant, plant propagation and production manager at RBG, demonstrates the pruning process and care. Each participant has their own plant (a Fuchsias approximately 18″ tall and in a 6″ pot) to set up as a standard, and goes home with another rooted cutting to create a standard on their own.

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