Upcoming Events

The next general meeting is Tuesday Apr 25, 2023 at the Mill Bay Community League Hall located at the Kerry Park Rec Centre (1001 Shawnigan Mill Bay Road). 

Doors open at 6:30 pm 

Meeting starts at 7:00 pm 

April Brag Table Theme:   Finally Spring

April Speaker:    Expert Panel

The speaker portion of the April meeting will be an 'Expert Panel'. The panel will take questions from members about gardens and gardening and do their best to provide helpful answers. The panel members are Elaine Scott, Barb Kohlman, Fran Benton, Carrie Nelson and Dustin Carlson. These five members bring a collective wealth of knowledge and experience in a wide range of garden topics. Members please bring questions about your most pressing garden issues to the meeting on the 25th. If people prefer to send in questions ahead of time, send them and the question will get to the panel.

The 2023 Mill Bay Plantaholics Annual Plant Sale will again be online. Our customer base has become so large that it is just not practical to have an on-site sale any longer.

The plant and wooden garden novelties lists will be sent out to customers at 9am on April 15, 2023. Although there will be well over 1200 plants for purchase, one needs to be on the alert on that day to put in an order as things move very quickly. If you are already a customer you will receive the lists. Some funds are saved for the purchase of potting soil and seeds for the following year but all other proceeds are donated to the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society in Duncan to assist with the operation of Somenos House or to help fund other related programs.

Sunday April 21, at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney BC. 

The event runs from 9am - 4pm.

 This  year we are trying something new - the event will be a one-day event,  on Sunday April 21, at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney on the Saanich Peninsula.  Entries  in the Show vary from year to year, as we chose different times of the  season to showcase different plants. The Propagation Group has been  active over the  past few years, and so we expect to have a very full range of plants  grown by the Club for sale during the Show.  

 More details may be found by checking out our website at http://www.virags.com. 

April 21, 2023 from  1:00 pm - 8:00 pm

April 22 , 2023 from 9:00 am - 3:00 pm

This organization has an annual sale which is always really great. The times for this year's sale will be April 21, 1pm-8pm and April 22 9am-3pm. It will be held at the Lambrick Park Church, 1780 Feltam Road, Victoria. It is a sale that one should not miss as it always has unusual plants and very knowledgable

members are present to advise you on your purchases. The event will include a judged show, club plant sale and vendors sale and a silent auction. Check their web site at www.virags.com for more information.

Remember that the proceeds from this plant sale help to maintain the gardens at Cairnsmore Place and Hospice House in Duncan. Save the Date! Plant sale on Saturday, May 6, 2023. The Volunteer Gardeners for Cairnsmore Place and Hospice House in Duncan will be returning to an in-person annual sale this year!

We will have a large variety of plants for sale, Master Gardeners on site to answer any questions, and tours of the gardens for anyone who is interested. The annual plant sale is our major fundraiser and helps us buy plants, soil, compost, fertilizer, gardening tools, and irrigation equipment to maintain the gardens at Cairnsmore Place and Cowichan Hospice House. More information on the sale will be available in the spring. Thanks for your continued support!

Saturday May 13. 10am - noon. Hundreds of rhododendrons grown by our society and companion plants. A list will be provided at a later date. Please contact us at the email below for more details.

The Cowichan Valley Garden Club’s Spring Flower Show and Afternoon Tea is Back 

This very popular annual community event is back at St. Peter’s Church Hall, 5800 Church Road in Duncan, after a 3 year hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. From 1:00 to 4:00 on Saturday May 27, a beautiful display of floral designs, Spring flowers and plant cuts, and potted plants will be on display.

Visitors will be able to view hundreds of exhibits showcasing the bountiful Spring plants and flowers of the Cowichan Valley and the talents of the Valley’s floral designers; enjoy a delicious afternoon tea; and watch demonstrations of floral design throughout the afternoon.

Admission to the event is $5.00, free to youth 16 years and under, and includes entry to a Door Prize Draw. The afternoon tea is $5.00.

This is a Judged Show, open to all. There is no entry fee. $200 in prize money will be awarded to entries in various Classes of the Show. Gardeners and floral designers throughout the Valley and beyond are encouraged to enter the competition. Members of the Vancouver Island Horticultural Judging Group judge the entries. The Show Schedule, available at www.cowichanvalleygardenclub.com provides all of the information needed to prepare and enter exhibits.

The Valley Garden Club’s first Spring Flower Show, co-hosted with IODE, was held in 1955. A Spring Show was held by the Club most years until 1961. Then, after a 15 year hiatus, it was reinstituted in 1977, with an added Plant Sale. In 2015, because the combined event had become so popular, large and crowded, it was decided to hold two separate events. In 2023, the Plant Sale will be held on April 29 and the Flower Show and Tea on May 27. More than 50 Club members volunteer to stage each of these events.

For further information about the event, contact:

Marlene Karmann, Publicity Coordinator Tel. 403-651-5191, Email marlene@helmsman.ca

Diane McAmmond, Show Convener  Tel. 250-746-8577, Email diane@skirrow.org

June 3, 2023 from 9:00 am - 2:00 pm

This show has it all ‐ great food, beautiful flowers, plants to purchase, garden vendors, and a huge silent auction. Proceeds from the show go to support local charities in the Cowichan Valley.

More information is available here.

Come join our Garden Tour Committee for fun and good times! Greeters, auction item coordinator, media relations, sponsorship, parking attendants, directional sign posters, poster distributors, Garden Tea coordinator, bakers and much more are all warmly welcomed. The CFLA provides free and affordable mental health services to Cowichan Valley residents and the Garden Tour is a major fundraiser. Come join the team and help your family, friends and neighbours get the services they need. Not to mention one heckuva wrap-up party.

The 2024 Mill Bay Plantaholics Annual Plant Sale will again be on-line.   Our customer base has become so large that it is just not practical to  have an on-site sale any longer.  The plant list will be sent to our  customers during the morning of April 20.  We will give you one day to  review the plant list and ask that no orders be submitted until 9am on  April 21.  Plant pick-up will be on May 4 at 2836 Oceanside Lane, Mill  Bay.  Members of the Victoria Master Gardener Association will be on  hand to answer any general gardening questions.  

If you are already a  customer you will be receiving plant sale alerts and will receive the  plant list.  If you would like to become a customer please contact  Elaine Scott at TheScottRogers@aol.com and you will be placed on the  customer list.  

Some funds are saved for the purchase of potting soil  and seeds for the following year but all other proceeds are donated to  the Cowichan Women Against Violence Society to assist with the operation  of Somenos House or other related programs.  

Even if your garden is no more that three pots at the front door, you will love your visit to the

74th annual Mill Bay Garden Club’s annual Community Flower and Garden Show. This show has it all ‐ great food, beautiful flowers, plants to purchase, garden vendors, and a huge silent auction. The garden show features a fierce competition in flower, fruit, and vegetable categories. Do you love your garden but are puzzled by its problems? Bring your garden problems to the master gardeners. Buy the newest and most attractive plants and flowers in the outside vendor area. As always there are plant bargains galore at the Mill Bay Garden Club’s huge plant stall.

This year the Community Flower and Garden show will be held on Saturday June 8th from 9 am till 2 pm. 75 categories of flower, plant and edible classes round out the amazing show of color collected from gardens all over the Cowichan Valley. In years past almost 250 entries were registered! It’s a real giant of a show!

This show directly benefits local charities. It also supports a bursary fund established by the Mill Bay Garden Club to provide financial assistance to qualifying local students entering higher education in agricultural and horticultural studies.

The silent auction has over a hundred items donated by artisans, sponsors, businesses, and club members. Last year’s donations ranged from a truckload of primo bark mulch to an artist‐ created birdbath.

The South Cowichan Healthcare Auxiliary bakes up a delectable Strawberry Tea. Bring your

appetite!

If you are the competitive gardener then enter our show! Entries for the judged classes will be taken on Friday June 7 from 1:00 pm till 6:50 pm. Entry fee is $0.50 per entry with no limit on the number of entries you’d like to show in. Programs are available locally at Buckerfields, Thrifty Foods, Country Grocer, Dinter’s Nursery.

Show Admission is $2.00 for adults.

April 6, 2025 from 9:00 am - 4:00 pm

Greetings Fellow Gardener,

The  bright winter aconites have cheerfully popped up in Victoria gardens,  reminding us that Spring is soon to follow. In the meantime, members of  the Vancouver Island Rock and Alpine Garden Society have begun preparing  for the much anticipated annual VIRAGS Spring Flower Show.

This year’s is a one-day only event, on Sunday, April 6 in the Mary Winspear Centre in  Sidney. 

A  well-established, juried event, the Show features exhibits of rock and  alpine, woodland, bog and succulent plants. As well, there are displays,  vendor and seed sales, donor prizes, a silent auction and tea service.  Speciality plants grown by club members will be available for sale  throughout the day. Admission is by donation. More details can be found on our website at www.virags.com.

Hope we may see you there!