Heads up! The snowdrops are a-bloom, the daffodils’ greenery is above ground, … so most obviously Spring can not be far behind! And Seedy Saturday 2019 in Qualicum Beach is less than a month away!
For this day full of curiosity, wonder, learning, and ‘dreaming in green’ (picked up that sweet phrase in Switzerland!) here’s the day to mark on your 2019 calendar: Seedy Saturday February 2nd 10:00 am until 3:30 pm, at the Qualicum Beach Civic Centre, 747 Jones Ave. in QB. Admission by donation.
To quote from the Seedy website, “Seedy Saturday is an annual event that provides a wonderful opportunity to gain knowledge about gardening in central Vancouver Island, and access to heritage seeds, plants, and garden-related supplies and tools.”
Seedy Saturday is a Canada-wide event (but ours is often the first and earliest!). ‘Seedy’ operates under the auspices of “Seeds of Diversity’ and gives gardeners, experienced and novice alike, an early opportunity to learn, plan, and acquire knowledge, inspiration, and that nitty-gritty of a garden … seeds and/or plants!
The QB Civic Centre will be bursting, inside and out, with green opportunity. The roots of sSedy, of course is its most busy component the “Seed Swap”! This activity rates a whole room to itself and is one of the most popular and intriguing aspects of the day. Here’s how it works: gardeners bring in little packets of seeds from the most successful, beautiful, or flavourful plants in their gardens, hand them in and are given receipts with which they can choose seeds brought in by others … rare seeds, seeds they’ve heard of, searched for, yearned for, or simply want to try in their own gardens. If you have no seeds of your own to trade, you may buy packets of seeds for a very nominal fee … and next year, you may have your own seeds to trade. Often, gardeners are on the lookout for unusual seeds or heritage seeds brought from ‘the old country’ generations ago, and still bravely producing.
Another most popular feature of “Seedy” are the two knowledgeable speakers, morning and afternoon. The AM speaker will be the well-known popular and expert gardener Carolyn Herriot, speaking from 10:30 – 12 with her topic “Eco-Nutrition – the Future of Food.
From 12:30 – 2:00 Larry Church will expand on the housing and care of those ‘other gardeners’ you may want to cultivate … “Mason Bees through the Seasons”.
So “Seedy” is sure to provide gardening lore, inspiration, seeds, plants, and just about ‘everything garden’, plus worthwhile advice with Master Gardeners. ‘Seedy’ will be alive with its over 70 enthusiastic and specialty participants and vendors You can support your own very busy body at the Seedy Café; introduce your children (those future ‘green thumbs’) to Milner Gardens’ “Shoots with Roots” programme, and give yourself the chance to win a door prize, or one of the great Raffle prizes donated by Ted Jolda (glass blower), Qualicum Foods, Dolly’s Home Hardware, or Lee Valley.
2019 is here, and Springtime is not far behind, so mark your calendar and save the date for your green thumb: Seedy Saturday, February 2nd, 10:00-3:30, Qualicum Beach Civic Centre. 747 Jones Avenue, GB. Google the website “Qualicum Beach Seedy Saturday”. See you at SEEDY 2019!
Nancy Whelan
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