All events are free for members, unless otherwise specified. Guests are also welcome to attend any event that is not identified as for members-only at a cost of $5.00 per event.
March 27: Book Club Evening
Claremont Royal Canadian Legion
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Our Book Club Event last year was such a success that we thought we would try it again. Nominated for best fiction in 2021, The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams is “An unforgettable and heartwarming debut about how a chance encounter with a list of library books helps forge an unlikely friendship between two very different people in a London suburb.”
April 17: Successful Vegetable Gardening
Claremont Royal Canadian Legion
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Julia Dimakos, the Gardening Girl, will walk you through the steps she took in creating an abundant vegetable garden on her country property. These steps include grating the land, building raised beds, proper fencing to keep deer at bay, soil preparation, planting and watering techniques, crop rotation and more! Julia will also detail her gardening techniques and show you how to apply them to create your own successful vegetable garden.
May 15: Dahlias and Chrysanthemums
Claremont Royal Canadian Legion
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Dahlias have been a significant and wonderful part of Murray Thompson’s life over many years. Coming from a farming background, and having spent over 60 years of summers in the garden, Murray has much experience in soil management and the selection and care of growing stock. Murray grows over 150 different named cultivars and 400+ seedlings for a total well over 1000 plants in his Whitby garden. His presentation will provide an overview of all aspects of dahlias, including purchasing, starting them in pots or direct-planting, supporting, trimming, viruses, insects, feeding, digging, and storing.
June 19: Member’s Garden Tour and Gathering
Members-only Event
6:30 – 8:30 pm
Tour a 32 acre property in Balsam that has deep roots in the community and continues to be farmed today. The original home was built around the 1880’s and was owned by the Ward family, who are one of the early settler families in the North Pickering area. When the current owners purchased the property there were only three trees as it was mostly farmland. The owners started planting what is now considered invasive and non-native trees and plants in the 1980s. Over the last few years, they have been adding more native trees and plants. You will be able to view the extraordinary gardens, which should have peonies, irises, lilacs and red buds in bloom during our visit. In addition to the perennial beds and annuals that dot the property, there is a spring fed pond which is home to a variety of turtles and ducks that nest each spring. Further details will be provided to members closer to the event which will also include a social event to take advantage of the longer evenings.
July 17: Designing Great Plant Combinations
Claremont Royal Canadian Legion
7:30 – 9:00 pm
Evelyn Wolf has been a hands-on gardener for over 30 years, where a passion for collecting and experimenting with new plants and their design possibilities has been something close to an obsession. We will learn about a working formula for creating a perennial garden that wows. Evelyn will explain and illustrate some rules of thumb to follow to design a perennial garden that looks great from spring to fall. Her presentation will provide many images showing some great combinations and the design principles at work. Her talk will also provide some maintenance tips to keep plants looking good through the whole season.
October 2: Mushroom and Lichen Walk
Glen Major Forest
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Join us for a walk in one of our local trails as we search the ground and rotten logs in the mature deciduous forest for a variety of mushrooms. It should be the optimal time of the year for mushrooms and lichens to appear. The walk will be led by two members of North Durham Nature: James Kamstra, a biologist and environmental consultant, as well as by Lynda Kamstra, a retired teacher who has been learning all about lichens. Further details will be provided to members.
TO BE RESCHEDULED IN 2025: After the Blooms Workshop
Members-only Event
In this hands-on workshop, Margaret Abernathy from Claremont Meadows will demonstrate how to press and dry flowers and provide ideas on what you can do with them afterwards. Then make your own mini dried floral grapevine wreath. This workshop will be capped at 20 participants. Further details and images of the project will be provided to members.
October 27 (Sunday): Tour of Valley View Gardens
8636 Reesor Road, Markham, ON
10:00 – 11:00 am
Members-only Event
If you have not visited Valley View Gardens, especially in the winter when you are dreaming of a warm place filled with plants, this is the place to go. With 45,000 square feet of covered greenhouses and five acres of working land, it has among the largest inventory and variety of plants, flowers, trees and shrubs in the GTA. We will have a one hour guided tour of the tropical plant warehouse as well as a behind the scenes tour of where they plant and grow bulbs, seeds and cuttings.
As an added bonus, Valley View Gardens is also one of our supporters and they will provide a discount on regular price plants, just in case you fall in love with one (or two!).
November 20: Annual Potluck Dinner
Claremont Royal Canadian Legion
Members-Only Event
7:30 – 9:00 pm
The evening will include a raffle and silent auction. All funds raised go towards the Claremont Garden Club’s events and the charities that we support.
You can view our speaker series from prior years: Agenda of Prior Years
