The Feb. 19, Barriere meeting of the North Thompson Valley Garden Club (NTVGC) had only a few items on the agenda. First, a clarification regarding an item from the previous meeting; when anyone places an order with McFadden for seeds or plants and mentions the NTV Garden Club, the club will then get a $10 credit for every $100 spent by the individual. The club can then place an order themselves with the totaling credit.
Liz Gilbertson, chair of the Barriere Community Garden committee, reported on an exciting development. Last year the NTVGC entered the Pepsi Refresh Grant to try for a $5,000 grant for the garden’s sprinkler system and a shaded structure. While the submission came within one position of winning the grant, it was not successful.
However, common voting strategy within the contest was to align your project with other projects in other categories in a ‘you vote for us, we’ll vote for you’ type arrangement. Barriere made some strong alliances within the contest, with some of those equally deserving projects winning their grants. Barriere must have made a positive impression on some of the individuals participating in the contest, as the District was contacted by several individuals who wanted to send in monetary donations to the Garden. These donations came in from across Canada and totaled $1,200.
The District of Barriere is holding the funds for NTVGC and will be voting at the Feb. 20, Council meeting, on whether they will provide an in-kind donation of one day’s staff time for two employees to install the automated sprinkler system. Several representatives from NTVGC will attend the Council meeting.
The only other committee with a report was the Seedy Saturday Committee. This year’s Seedy Saturday will be in April, with more information available at the next meeting.
After the meeting, Tony Piluso came and gave a very informative talk about pruning. Piluso said he started pruning grapes when he was 12, and Christmas trees when he was 15.
He was able to explain in simple terms that all could understand how and why different kinds of trees get pruned different ways.
Several members had brought branches from their gardens, which he used for the demonstration.
Anyone who missed this talk can visit Piluso at his Timeless Treasures Antique Store on Connor Road, in Barriere, where he would be happy to chat about pruning (or antiques).
The next North Thompson Valley Garden Club meeting will be on March 18.
