Tag Archives: Oliver Community Garden Society

Help Plant Sale “bloom” on May 26

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by Heather Whittall, Oliver Community Garden Society

We’ve been hard at work preparing for our big Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street. We’ve held a plant sale in combination with Communities in Bloom for the past 3 years but this year we’re flying solo as the Communities in Bloom competition is finished for Oliver, for now.

Gardeners will want to check out the plants and other gardening products for sale, as well as bring along some seeds for an informal seed swap on site.

This year we’re hoping to make the sale more of an event. We have The Gala Vanters lined up to play some live music, there will be a craft corner for the kids, food, local vendors, loonie auction, lots of gardening information and of course, lots of plants. The Oliver Ambassadors will also be on hand for the festivities.

We still need help with a few things:

First, we need plants to sell! If you’re digging in your garden and have plants to divide and pass on, send them our way! We’ll gladly take those extra perennials or bulbs. Rearranging and no room for that rosebush? Let us help you find it a new home. Please call or email us and we can arrange to pick the plants up from you. In-kind donations  are welcome from local businesses and individuals who want to support this very “green” community garden project. It’s a great way to show your support of this eco-friendly group, and encourage more gardening. Donations of soil, fertilizer, seed, garden equipment, gardening clothes and accessories, or anything else related to gardening would be warmly welcomed.

The second thing is a food vendor. We’d love to have a BBQ set up selling hamburgers and hotdogs so consider this an invitation to a local service group to grab an extra fund raising opportunity. You can keep all the profits – we’d just like to have food available as part of the event.

Can you help us out? Call Heather at 250-485-2575 or email olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com

And the last way you can help? Come to our Bloomin’ Plant Sale! There will be lots to see and do and you’ll be glad you did. See you there!

http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com/

Now on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-Community-Garden/207352179362353

Help Plant Sale "bloom" on May 26

Posted on by

by Heather Whittall, Oliver Community Garden Society

We’ve been hard at work preparing for our big Bloomin’ Plant Sale on Saturday May 26th from 10 am to 1 pm at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, 5840 Airport Street. We’ve held a plant sale in combination with Communities in Bloom for the past 3 years but this year we’re flying solo as the Communities in Bloom competition is finished for Oliver, for now.

Gardeners will want to check out the plants and other gardening products for sale, as well as bring along some seeds for an informal seed swap on site.

This year we’re hoping to make the sale more of an event. We have The Gala Vanters lined up to play some live music, there will be a craft corner for the kids, food, local vendors, loonie auction, lots of gardening information and of course, lots of plants. The Oliver Ambassadors will also be on hand for the festivities.

We still need help with a few things:

First, we need plants to sell! If you’re digging in your garden and have plants to divide and pass on, send them our way! We’ll gladly take those extra perennials or bulbs. Rearranging and no room for that rosebush? Let us help you find it a new home. Please call or email us and we can arrange to pick the plants up from you. In-kind donations  are welcome from local businesses and individuals who want to support this very “green” community garden project. It’s a great way to show your support of this eco-friendly group, and encourage more gardening. Donations of soil, fertilizer, seed, garden equipment, gardening clothes and accessories, or anything else related to gardening would be warmly welcomed.

The second thing is a food vendor. We’d love to have a BBQ set up selling hamburgers and hotdogs so consider this an invitation to a local service group to grab an extra fund raising opportunity. You can keep all the profits – we’d just like to have food available as part of the event.

Can you help us out? Call Heather at 250-485-2575 or email olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com

And the last way you can help? Come to our Bloomin’ Plant Sale! There will be lots to see and do and you’ll be glad you did. See you there!

http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com/

Now on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-Community-Garden/207352179362353

Green thumbs with community spirit make plans for 2012

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contributed by Heather Whittall

Gardeners everywhere are looking at seed catalogues and dreaming of the day when they can start planting their gardens. The fun of planning just doesn’t compare with the smell of fresh earth and the feel of soil in your hands and the sun on your back.

Workshops and presentations for gardeners of all ages will be the big focus at this year’s Annual General Meeting of the Oliver Community Garden Society. “Of course we also have raised-bed garden boxes available for rent,” says Luke Whittall, president of the Garden Society. “Not everyone has the space to build a garden. Our raised beds are easy to access and easy to work. You can have tomatoes growing in no time.”

Flowers, peppers, herbs, peas, beans, and pumpkins, have also done well in the past at the Community Garden. “Any crop suitable for raised bed gardening will work great here,” says Whittall. “Our plan this year is to provide totally automatic irrigation for the whole garden site. If you’re away for a couple weeks on vacation, you won’t have to worry about your garden getting watered.”

We have big plans for the Oliver Community Garden this year! Not only do we want to make it lusher and greener and more of the enchanted space we’ve been dreaming of over the winter, but we want to awaken the sense of community a garden can bring.

The Oliver Community Garden Society will be holding its Annual General Meeting on Monday, March 12th at 7 pm at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre, Studio Building on Airport Street which has also been the location of the Garden since the 2011 growing season. Though it is less visible than the previous location on Main Street, Whittall does not see it as an issue. “It’s makes for a much more serene gardening experience. On Main Street, it was loud with all the traffic noise and there was no shade. At the Quail’s Nest, it’s much more quiet and we have great shaded areas.”  The society welcomes all to attend and contribute to the discussion of what you would like to see the Community Garden do this summer and over the coming years. We are already planning a number of workshops and welcome your input on their topics.

The  community garden willl be holding monthly workshops on second Saturdays of each month starting in May as well as getting the youth of the community more involved and educated in the wonders of gardening. The kickoff is a great big Plant Sale and Garden Warming Party on Saturday, May 26th at the Oliver Community Garden at the Quail’s Nest Art Centre.

Visit the Oliver Community Garden Society online at  http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com

We’re on Twitter! http://twitter.com/olivergarden

Now on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Oliver-Community-Garden/207352179362353

For more information:  olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com

Get Clean: Give Away your Dirt

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Do you have a bright idea? The Oliver Community Garden Society is in need of dirt  to level out the remaining half of their new garden site at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre on 95th Street.  The soil does not have to be suitable for planting (which is done in container beds)  just fill to level the ground.  They are also looking for a way to transport the soil to this location.

Please contact Heather if you can help or know someone who can.

olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com
250-485-2575

There are still boxes available for rent for the growing season. Contact Heather or visit their website for more information about becoming a community gardener:  http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com/

It’s Gardening Weekend!

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First, head out Saturday for

Pick up great deals on tools, plants, decorative items, fertilizer, soil, and all things garden! Outside the Oliver Archives building just west from the corner of Hwy 97 and 350th Avenue.

On Sunday help the Oliver Community Garden Society settle into their new “digs”

Sunday May 15
9  – 11  a.m.
Quail’s Nest Arts Centre
34274 95th Street (across from the airport hangars)

Please RSVP to olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com or 250-485-2535 so they will know how many volunteers to expect.

It's Gardening Weekend!

Posted on by

First, head out Saturday for

Pick up great deals on tools, plants, decorative items, fertilizer, soil, and all things garden! Outside the Oliver Archives building just west from the corner of Hwy 97 and 350th Avenue.

On Sunday help the Oliver Community Garden Society settle into their new “digs”

Sunday May 15
9  – 11  a.m.
Quail’s Nest Arts Centre
34274 95th Street (across from the airport hangars)

Please RSVP to olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com or 250-485-2535 so they will know how many volunteers to expect.

Get Your Hands Dirty – for a good cause

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submitted by Heather Whittall, Oliver Community Garden Society

Spring is finally here and we are ready to start growing at the new home of the Oliver Community Garden (the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre). The sheds, beds, barrels and bins have been delivered but now we need your help. We need as many strong, able bodies as we can get to help us move everything into position. Please come and help and bring your friends on…

Sunday May 15th
9 – 11 a.m.
Quail’s Nest Arts Centre

Please RSVP to olivercommunitygarden @ yahoo.com or 250-485-2535 so we can get an idea of how many helpers we will have.

We will also still looking for donations of start up materials such as dirt and compost so if you can help us out in that way it will be greatly appreciated!

Garden beds are still available so don’t forget to reserve your garden box for the 2011 growing season by calling or emailing me. We’re setting up fewer boxes this year so space is limited!

Looking forward to growing and gardening with you!

Visit the Oliver Community Garden Society online at http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com/ . We’re also on Twitter! http://twitter.com/olivergarden

Arts Council welcomes two new groups under Umbrella

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The Oliver Handbell Ringers and the Oliver Community Garden Society are two new groups under the umbrella of the Oliver Community Arts Council.

The Oliver Handbell Ringers, under the direction of Sue Gay have been performing for the last few years. Their concerts have been gaining in excitement as the ensemble has been gaining in skill. The ensemble attains  a clear warm sound, with music that can both stimulate and relax. Proceeds from their concerts and donations from the community have gone towards purchasing  tuned sets of bells and sheet music.

The ensemble  is always looking to train new members.  It’s an exciting and non-threatening way to learn music, and gives you a gentle workout in the process. What more could you ask for?

The Oliver Community Garden Society has also recently joined.  See the article below (“Arts Council growing relationship”) for more information about this community-spirited  organization or check out their website (click on the link at right under “Member Organizations”). 

The “umbrella” of the arts council is a unique opportunity for groups and businesses to:

* have a forum for co-operating and networking within the local arts community,
* take advantage of advertising and promotional opportunities (like this one!),
* apply for financial aid, and
* to have a greater voice municipally and provincially to increase awareness of and access funding for arts groups.

And what about you? There’s lots of room under the umbrella! Contact olivercac@gmail for more information about becoming a member or fill out the membership form by clicking the link under the banner above.

Arts Council “Growing” relationship with Community Garden

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The arts council hopes to grow a green thumb in 2011. 

Oliver Community Garden Society reps Heather Whittall and Marji Basso proposed a partnership with the arts council at the January meeting of the OCAC Board. The Community Garden has been seeking a new location, after their two-year tenancy at the Murray property on Main Street. The Murray property has been slated for other development. 

The Community Garden proposal included a request for land use at the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre  (34274 95th Street) and  installation of 20 – 30 container beds,  a small storage shed, and other garden features.  The proposed area is a narrow strip of land 100 x 25 feet running north-south along the west side of the Quail’s Nest Arts Centre property,  adjacent to a back alleyway.

An exciting component to this partnership are proposed arts and culture projects. Whittall and Basso suggested events of mutual benefit to the two societies, including educational workshops,  children’s gardening programmes, and joint artistic installations such as painted picket fencing, decorated paving stones, a gazebo, birdhouses, and statuary.  Basso described the proposed garden as a “magical” space, that would be an attractive, inviting  and self-contained  area.

A joint committee of the two organizations is currently writing a memorandum of understanding that will delineate land use, leasing arrangements,  security, liability coverage, and water usage and access.   

Visit the Oliver Community Garden Society website at  http://olivercommunitygarden.wordpress.com/ . Interested in joining the Community Garden and book your container bed? Contact olivercommunitygarden@yahoo.com.

Comments or questions about this partnership? Email the arts council at olivercac@gmail.com.