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FRIENDS OF THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARM
Farm Notes - November 2017
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Annual Non-dinner Event
Popular annual fundraiser is back - until December 31
Not a single person will show up and we will be delighted!
You can help the Friends of the Farm just by staying at home.
By purchasing tickets to this fundraising event that will never take place, you will help the Friends sponsor
numerous activities in support of the Ornamental Gardens and the Arboretum on the Central Experimental Farm.
Individual seats $25.. Couples $50.. Family $100.. Table of Six $150.. Community $500
Your support is greatly appreciated and your donation is tax deductible.
and then following the mailing instructions.
Or use
PayPal on our website
Donations page.
The fundraiser ends December 31, 2017.
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Ornamental Gardens in the Spotlight
A gem in the heart of Canada's capital for over a century!
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Garden party circa 1900, on the main lawn of the Farm.
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The CEF Ornamental Gardens have been an integral part of the Farm's landscape since the 1890s. Quoting from the introduction to
Blooms
, "Farm Director William Saunders....planned the gardens 12 years earlier, when the Farm was a wilderness of forest, scrub, rocks, and swamp." Since that time, "there have been many changes over the years; the gardens have been moved, redesigned, expanded, contracted, neglected, restored, and rebuilt." And they are spectacular!
In 2017, the gardens have been the focus of local and national attention. Author and Friend of the Farm Richard Hinchcliff paid tribute to the successes of ornamental horticulture at the Farm and the beauty of the ornamental gardens within this National Historic Site in his latest book Blooms: An Illustrated History of the Ornamental Gardens at Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm. It has sold well here on the Friends website, at local bookstores, and across the country through Lee Valley's Canada 150 - National Botanical Garden Book Collection. It makes a great gift!
As part of the 2017 celebrations, the Ornamental Gardens were selected as one of the
Canada 150 Garden Experiences, was #4 on the list of
Nine Amazing Canadian Gardens, and was a Destination Garden in the
Ottawa Garden Promenade.
That's pretty good for a century-old garden that has always been free and open to any and all visitors from here and around the world. And that reality has been recognized by a national organization!
Every year the Canadian Institute of Planners nominates and celebrates our communities with the
Great Places in Canada contest. The
Ornamental Gardens were nominated this year along with 10 other entries in the category
2017 Great Public Space. What makes a Great Space? "A planned public space is successful when it invites people to visit and socialize in safe and attractive environment. It is a community hub, an individual place having a distinct character and providing the capacity for a variety of activities, both organized and un-planned."
Voting ended Friday October 27 - we will update December Farm Notes with the contest results.
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Merivale Shelterbelt
Last opportunity for plaque inscriptions
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Shelterbelt volunteers busy at work.
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Thousands of trees once marked the northern and western boundaries of the Central Experimental Farm. The Friends of the Farm have been working diligently on the
Merivale Shelterbelt to recreate a boundary forest at the western edge of this National Historic Site. It beautifies the surroundings and provides a recreational path. It protects the fields from salt and soil erosion and helps clean the air.
The project is almost finished, so this year will be the last opportunity to help complete this important project.
Until July 31, 2018 you can donate to this beautification project in the name of someone or something you care about. An
inscription on a plaque will acknowledge your contribution. Plaques are on a commemorative wall in the plaza or rest area on the pathway. The wall acknowledges the official opening of the Shelterbelt and pavilion by the Governor-General of Canada in 2005.
Thanks to many generous donors, the Friends' volunteers have planted new trees and shrubs each year. We have room for one more year's donations. Help us build this beautiful green space and place a personalized inscription to a loved one or a special cause. Donations must be made by July 31, 2018, to be included in the final annual celebration in September 2018. For more information please visit the
Shelterbelt page.
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Gift giving made easy!
Blooms, For the Love of Trees, and Ottawa's Farm
Share our books with friends and family this holiday season -
we ship across Canada!
Want to learn more about Canadian Heritage right here in the heart of Canada's capital?
Look no further than Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm for inspiration, historical insight, and a profound love of our natural environment. From the enduring blossoms of the Ornamental Gardens, to
the majestic trees of the Arboretum and
rich evolution of research on the Farm, there is something for everyone!
Blooms:
An Illustrated History of the Ornamental Gardens at the Central Experimental Farm by Richard Hinchcliff -
$35 + GST
For the Love of Trees:
A Guide to the Trees of Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm Arboretum by Richard Hinchcliff and Roman Popadiouk -
$25 + GST
Ottawa's Farm:
A History of the Central Experimental Farm written by Helen Smith, photography by Mary Bramley -
$25 + GST
How do you get a copy?
- Come to the Friends office in Building 72 weekdays Monday through Wednesday from 9am to 2pm and purchase with cash, cheque, or credit card and take it home!
- Purchase it online on our website with a credit card, pick up at the Friends' office in Building 72 or have it shipped to a location of your choice within Canada.
- Local bookstores selling Blooms include:Perfect Books, Books on Beechwood, Octopus Books, Singing Pebble Books, Chapters at Rideau, Chapters at South Keys, World of Maps, Lee Valley Ottawa, Coles at Carlingwood, Coles at Billings Bridge, Indigo Barrhaven
- Blooms book reviews include the Ottawa Citizen and the Canadian Field-Naturalist
- Blooms book presentation Tue Nov 14 at West Carleton Garden Club & Horticultural Society
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OHS-FCEF Joint Project Update
QR codes now on plaques in the Ornamental Gardens
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Plaque commemorating Isabella Preston's work.
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OHS 125th ANNIVERSARY PROJECT:
Celebrating the Role of the Central Experimental Farm
The
Ottawa Horticultural Society (OHS) has joined with the Friends of the Farm on a special project to celebrate the 150th Anniversary of Confederation and the 125th Anniversary of the OHS. The project recognizes the importance of hybridization in the development of plants for the Canadian climate and how the Central Experimental Farm played an important part in promoting horticulture in the last hundred years.
The
first phase of the project recognizes significant achievements in hybridization, and specifically the work of three hybridizers: Isabella Preston (lilacs), Felicitas Svejda (Explorer roses), and A.P. Saunders (peonies). Plaques recognizing the work of each of them, as well as the importance of hybridization in Canada, have been installed at the pergola in the Ornamental Garden at the Central Experimental Farm.
Scan the QR codes with your smartphone for all the details.
A
second phase of the project will see a new planting of historical perennials in parts of the Macoun Memorial Garden. Located at the north end of the Ornamental Gardens, this garden was opened in 1936 to commemorate William T. Macoun, Dominion Horticulturist from 1910 until 1933, on the site of his former house. He was also President of the OHS in 1899. This project will be updated later this summer.
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Over 10,000 hours donated each year
Did you know that Friends' volunteers donate over 10,000 hours every year
to support its mission and activities? Every month a different volunteer is highlighted on the Friends website. We invite you to read the stories of our volunteers such as
Theresa Ring Hoffman
,
our Volunteer of the Month.
Previous spotlights
are also listed.
Each volunteer has an interesting story to tell and a unique connection and commitment to the Farm. Your efforts are greatly appreciated by the entire community!
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Canada 150 Lectures at the CEF
Free monthly lectures by ORDC scientists
The Ottawa Research and Development Centre
(ORDC) is celebrating Canada 150 with a free monthly lecture series. The ORDC was formerly known as the Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre (ECORC) on the Central Experimental Farm.
Here are the
ORDC Canada 150
lecture listings.
The public is invited to attend the free lectures at
K.W. Neatby Building
, Salons A/B,
starting at
7:00pm.
Each lecture is about 45 minutes with a question/answer period following the presentation. Free parking is available in the lot beside and spaces around the building. For more information please contact C[email protected].
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