Cobourg Garden Club Celebrating 165 Years with Summer Flower Show
Cobourg Garden Club, which is celebrating 165 years of operation, will host a Summer Flower Show and Tea, on Saturday, 10 August 2024, from 1.30 – 3.30 pm. at the Cobourg Library. Visitors are most welcome to this free event.
Last August the Club hosted over 100 guests to a wide assortment of exhibits in many categories. The Show has classes for annuals, perennials, fruits and vegetables, houseplants, design, preserves and photography. Among the floral classes are separate sections for dahlias, roses, hydrangea, containers and collections, plus shrubs, garden foliage, herbs, and ornamental grasses.
The Design section of the 2024 Show has the theme, “Celebrating our Club’s 165th Anniversary.” with classes titled, Two for Tea, A Victoria Style Design and The White Rose of Cobourg.
This year’s mild Winter and rainy Spring could be a challenge for the summer gardens. Club members are generally very well able to adapt. They garden in different zones, from Lake Ontario to the surrounding Northumberland hills, each with its challenges, but also opportunities to grow different plants, specific to their garden’s micro-climate.
Cobourg Garden Club was founded in February 1859, by a group of men, originally called the Cobourg Horticultural Society. It has been in operation since. Early activities and events were regularly recorded in the local newspapers, with the annual flower show and exhibition a highlight of the summer. Five hundred people attended the first Flower Show in July 1859, a huge number given the population of Cobourg at that time. There were three categories – Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables, the many classes providing an opportunity for new residents to learn which varieties would produce the best yield.
Cobourg Garden Club holds flower shows in May, August and December. Other activities include a popular annual plant sale on the Victoria Day long weekend each May, speakers at monthly meetings, and garden tours, sometimes in association with neighbouring societies. The club has for many years presented an annual scholarship to a Cobourg high school graduate pursuing post secondary education in horticulture or related studies.
Among the community projects undertaken by the club over the years are the Edwin Haynes Memorial Rose Garden in Victoria Park, the Golden Plough, the Northumberland Hills Hospital, and the Millennium Garden at the Five Corners. Club members maintain the Five Corners Garden for the enjoyment of the citizens of Cobourg and visitors, with a “little free library” of horticultural books.
To commemorate the Club’s 165th Anniversary a Bitternut Hickory Tree was planted by the Town of Cobourg staff on June 5 at Tracey Park, beside the Columbus Community Centre. The beautiful floral clock in Victoria Park is planted by Town staff to feature the Club’s significant anniversary in 2024.
For more information about the Flower Show and Tea please call the Flower Show convenor, Sarah Holland, 905-349-3710, or visit: www.cobourggardenclub.ca
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love