JANUARY 25, 2017
MASON BEE UPDATE – Brian Yeo, current VRGC member & mason bee enthusiast, will give an update on caring and nurturing our spring pollinators: mason bees.

FEBRUARY 22, 2017
BACKYARD CHICKENS & BEES – Kate Fraser, of Bees Please Farms, offers her experience on the benefits of raising backyard chickens & bees.
http://www.beespleasefarms.com/
Kate Fraser bio
Not only does Kate run Bees Please Farm – supplying chickens & bee rentals across Victoria, she is an avid gardener and leads the fruit & Vegetable Group of Victoria Horticultural Society

MARCH 22, 2017
PLANT PRODUCTION WITH PARKS CANADA
The Conservation Nursery at Fort Rodd Hill produces a wide array of native plants for restoration efforts in Garry Oak and Coastal Sand ecosystems. Nursery manager Nathan Fisk discusses what it takes to build and manage a facility like this.
http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/lhn-nhs/bc/fortroddhill/activ/activ1.aspx#GarryOak 
Nathan Fisk bio
Nathan lives, works and plays among the greenery and firmly believes there is nothing more restorative than a breath of untamed air. 

APRIL 26, 2017
GROWING A MEDICINE GARDEN – – Herb grower Jessy Delleman of Fireweed Farm & School discusses some of the healing plants that can be grown easily in the home garden, and the ways in which they can be incorporated into complementary folk remedies for your family. Explore the role the medicinal herb garden in creating sustainability on a personal level, for the enhancement of health and well-being, and also on a wider ecological scale through the creation of sustainable habitats.
http://www.fireweedschool.com/
Jessy Delleman bio
Jessy Delleman is the creator of Fireweed Farm & School, a small medicinal herb farm located in Brentwood Bay BC. Jessy is a herbalist, teacher, herb grower, and medicine maker with a passion for connecting people and plants. Through Fireweed School she offers workshops, plant walks, and programs on herb growing, wildc-rafting, and herbal medicine. Her roots in herb farming became established at Ravenhill Herb Farm, which she operated from 2008-2014. With a background in biology, horticulture, and art, Jessy also has formal herbal training with various herbal schools.

MAY 24, 2017
WATER FEATURES – Two of our VRGC members talk about water features in their gardens:
Betty Sherwood has created a pond in her yard and will talk to us about caring for and planting the area.
After researching the subject, Michael Fox built a ‘pondless waterfall’ that has now been continuously operating for 4 years. He is now planning to redesign to improve the visual appeal and will talk about fine-tuning and waterside vegetation.

JUNE 28, 2017
ROSES: Grow Them to Know Them Before You Show Them – Longtime club member & Rose Judge, Barbara Munton, ‘The Rose Lady’, brings her energy & enthusiasm to growing & showing roses. Barbara brings reference books and shows us how to use them. She takes us on a photographic tour around her rose collection of minis, shrubs, hybrid teas, floribunda, grandiflora, David Austin and others, many of which are in pots.
Barbara Munton bio-
“I learned most of what I know about gardening in View Royal where my grandparents were good gardeners and lived on Stewart Ave. He grew vegetables to feed us all and she grew flowers to please us all.” Barbara joined the View Royal Garden Club in 1987. She served as President twice. As well as years of judging locally, Barbara Munton also judged at the World Rose conference in Vancouver & the Canadian Rose Show in Montreal.

JULY – no meeting in July

AUGUST 23, 2017
THE ART OF BONSAI – Maurice Bombezin presents a selection of Bonsai trees to show various styles and species.. He tells us how to acquire & care for them.
http://www.victoriabonsai.bc.ca/
Maurice Bombezin bio
Maurice has been growing bonsai plants for over 40 years, acquiring & creating a very large selection of specimens. He’s been a member of the Victoria Bonsai Club for 26 years. He also teaches the art of bonsai.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
COLWOOD GardenWorks – Dress warmly for a special 6 pm start at Colwood GardenWorks. Lynda Dowling of Off The FarmLandscaping chats about Fall Colour & how to keep garden interest going through autumn
http://www.happyvalleylavender.com/
Lynda Dowling bio
Lynda and Micheal Dowling started Happy Valley Herb Farm in 1983. Lynda also operates Off The Farm Landscaping, offering total landscaping & garden care, from patios, to rooftop, to seaside, to forest & downtown too.

OCTOBER 25, 2017
PESTS & BENEFICIALS IN THE GARDEN– Jacq Bradbury, owner of Garden Arts, leads a discussion about the value of encouraging & bringing beneficial insects into the garden. Who are the real pests? How do we best manage them?
Jacq Bradbury Bio: Aside from running her own garden business, Garden Arts, Jacq is an active parlor show judge and longtime member of numerous garden clubs, Jacq Bradbury is well versed in all things horticultural.

NOVEMBER 28, 2017
The Christmas Party annual Awards celebration, silent auction & pot-luck dinner. (It does not include a speaker presentation nor a mini show.)

DECEMBER – no meeting in December.

updated Jan. 23, 2018