It’s time to think spring, and what better way than with learning how to improve your gardening skills and knowledge.
In March and April, the City of Guelph will host the annual Healthy Landscape Speaker Series where residents are invited to participate in a variety of in-person and remote events, all dedicated to the world of gardening.
Karen McKeown, landscape and yard program coordinator with the City of Guelph, began the speaker series 16 years ago, and says it's something that residents really look forward to year after year.
“The speaker series is part of our Healthy Landscapes program which is designed to educate residents on how to have water efficient lawns and gardens,” McKeown said.
Since COVID, McKeown says city residents are eager to get together again, in-person, and talk about all that is gardening.
“We are doing it live this year. At our first talk last week, the weather was great and it was so nice to get together with people again,” McKeown said.
“I like that part of it. Some of our talks are still virtual, and some are live, just to give everybody the chance to get involved.”
McKeown says the speaker series offers a great way to get together with your community, talk to other gardeners, discover more city programs, and also learn something new about gardening.
“We do try to get speakers who are very knowledgeable, well spoken, and can talk about a variety of different things,” she said.
Scheduled talks include topics such as making the most of your urban garden, garden design, the mini-forest revolution, and vegetable gardening.
“Vegetable gardening is a big thing right now. We have two talks about that this year. We get a lot of people asking us about how to grow vegetables, how to grow them properly, how to get high yields, how to make them more water efficient,” McKeown said.
“I can’t remember talking about vegetable gardening as much as we do now. Now, a lot of people are asking about it, especially with the price of food today.”
Since the pandemic, McKeown says people are definitely interested in growing more vegetables, and in general, just spending more time outdoors.
“I think during the pandemic, more people were spending time at home thinking about things like growing a vegetable garden or how to spruce up their lawns,” McKeown said.
And the idea of mini forests in Guelph and in surrounding areas has grown in recent years.
“Last year, the city planted a mini forest near York Rd., up from the Boat House, by the covered bridge. Lots of volunteers came out to help and it is doing really well. It's an experiment to see how it will do. Mini forests are a big thing now which is great because, personally I love to talk to people about trees. Trees are so important,” McKeown said.
The speaker series is part of the city’s Healthy Landscape Visit program.
“We have staff that will come out to your property and offer site specific recommendations on, not only lawn efficient gardens, but how to have a pollinator garden or a rain garden. That program continues to be really successful,” McKeown said.
The goal of the free program is to provide area residents and businesses with first-hand education and information about water-efficient landscaping practices.
The Healthy Landscape program also offers information and advice about natural pest control alternatives, and preventative maintenance practices that could be employed to limit outdoor water use requirements and proactively manage common outdoor turf based pests.
To learn more about the Healthy Landscape program, visit here.
McKeown says there is still room for anyone interested in signing up for the Healthy Landscape Speaker series.
“After the pandemic, people are just so excited to get together with others, learn about gardening, and get involved in the community again," she said.
