Friends of the Central Experimental Farm
Farm Notes - January 2022
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Happy New Year!
All the best in 2022! Bonne et heureuse année!
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Here's to a bright and healthy new year!
May your 2022 be filled with all good things!
Friends of the Central Experimental Farm will reopen at
9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 4, 2022.
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Our Winter Newsletter is Now Online
Building Canada's Farm, and reconnecting with the Ottawa Ex
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Botany Building (74) in the Arboretum / Richard Hinchcliff |
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Though most local residents will likely remember the Ottawa Ex for its rides, booths, music shows, and throngs of people, agriculture was at one time the focus of the Central Canada Exhibition. As Patricia Jasen writes in our Winter 2022 newsletter, the Ex was vitally important for the Central Experimental Farm to demonstrate the practical results of its research.
The CCE is long gone from Lansdowne Park, but as our newsletter notes, a reconnection with the Farm was recently made. Thanks to Doug Shouldice, former President of the FCEF, trustees in the dissolution of the CCE chose the Friends to be the recipient of a generous cash donation.
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Robert Martin, Principal Architect at Robertson Martin Architects, was one of the fine speakers at the launch of Building Canada's Farm, our new book on the Farm’s buildings and their research and people. He noted, “the book is a remarkable accomplishment, one that so beautifully demonstrates that heritage value is inextricably woven into the site and buildings, in both tangible and intangible ways.” You'll find more of his remarks in the newsletter. ~
You can also read about the past, present, and future of the DARA Tennis Club at the Farm, about our Autumn at the Arboretum event in October, about last year’s guided Arboretum tours, and about the connection to the Farm found in the family history of one of our valuable volunteer gardeners.
All this and more!
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Are you the Event Planner We're Looking For?
We're seeking a Farm-loving team leader who thrives on details!
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Autumn at the Arboretum, October 2021 / Photos by Richard Hinchcliff |
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Friends of the Central Experimental Farm is looking for individuals who love event planning/coordination and fundraising. If you're a creative thinker and a "go-getter," this volunteer position might be made for you! The perfect candidate will help us raise funds and create awareness for the Friends of the Farm through our annual events, including Art on the Farm, Autumn in the Arboretum, and our annual plant sale and used book sale. |
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Plant Sale, Neatby Building |
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Working as a team leader for one or more of our events, the ideal candidate would oversee other volunteers in planning, coordinating, and developing resourceful ideas for our 2022 events. Good communications skills are required, as are exceptional organizational skills, the ability for creative lateral thinking, and an easy-going manner. Previous work overseeing volunteers is an asset, as is bilingualism. You must be available for the weekend of each event you oversee. |
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A Bit of Good News...
Our 2022 events dance card is filling up!
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With hope in our hearts for 2022, we're putting our heads together to bring our much-loved annual events to life this year.
Volunteer Orientation, Building 72: Saturday, April 9, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
Annual General Meeting: Wednesday, May 11, 7:00 p.m.
Annual Plant Sale, Neatby Building: Sunday, May 15, 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Used Book Sale, Building 72: Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Used book drop-off, Building 72 garage: Saturday, September 24, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
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Getting a head start on the
growing season
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Tuesday, March 8 This presentation will show you how to grow your own vegetables and annuals, and some quick-growing perennials, from seed. Master Gardener Rob Stuart will talk you through seed-sowing, types of soils, pots, watering, light and temperatures, and the growing and hardening off of your seedlings. As a bonus, he'll also talk about starting plants from tubers and rhizomes. |
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Gardening with native plants in Ontario |
Tuesday, April 19 Master Gardeners Candace Dressler and Fran Dennett will discuss how different plants are native to different parts of the planet. They will give examples of the different biomes on the planet and the ecoregions and districts in North America and explain how to use plant nomenclature and plant tags to help determine if a plant is native to the Ottawa area. They'll finish off with an overview of some of their favourite native plants.
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Biodiversity at the crossroads |
Tuesday, May 3 Habitat loss, climate change, and the threat of invasive plant and animal species pose a significant risk to biodiversity in North America. This lecture will offer some encouraging words of hope, and a personal story documenting how Master Gardener Julianne Labreche, working in partnership with like-minded local gardeners, is making a difference. |
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Tuesday, May 17 There's nothing quite as exciting to a gardener as seeing colourful blooms in the garden throughout the season. We can truly paint with blooms, whether we prefer a riot of colour or a more subdued palette. Master Gardener Nancy McDonald will provide tips for using garden design principles to ensure continuous colour in your garden, concentrating on perennials that live up to the expectations of Ottawa gardeners. |
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Another gardening year behind us |
Tuesday, September 13 Come fall, there is still plenty to do in the garden: planting, planning, cutting, trimming, composting, and more. So many tasks to wrap up all things gardening for another rewarding season! Master Gardener Mary Shearman Reid will guide you through putting your garden to bed. |
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Beautiful Books for Inspiration
Visit our Boutique to see our selection of books about the Farm
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Building Canada's Farm, by author and photographer Richard Hinchcliff, and author and historian Patricia Jasen, is a fresh and captivating look at the buildings located in the pastoral landscape of Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm and the storied history they so beautifully represent.
This book is illustrated with stunning photographs and filled with fascinating archival information about this unique national treasure in the heart of Canada's capital.
If architecture, science, agriculture, or history interest you, you'll find much to enjoy in the pages of this beautiful new book. Visit our Boutique to get yours!
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We prefer to think that spring and summer are ahead rather than behind us, but whatever your perspective, you can still enjoy the radiant colours of warmer days!
Blooms is a stunning book about the Central Experimental Farm's Ornamental Gardens and the fascinating stories behind their creation, and it's now on sale! This lovely book will appeal to any lover of Farm history and horticulture.
Cost is $25 plus 5% GST. Take a peek inside for a preview!
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Since its creation in 1886, the Central Experimental Farm has earned an international reputation for excellence in agricultural research. You probably know and love it as a place to pet the animals, smell the flowers, and forget about the city for a while.
But the Farm is also people, and Ottawa's Farm introduces us to the men and women who lived and worked here over the last century, along with the "farm kids" who grew up in this unique rural community.
With text by Helen Smith and beautiful photographs by Mary Bramley, Ottawa's Farm perfectly illustrates why the Central Experimental Farm is a treasure that continues to inhabit a corner of Ottawa's heart!
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Winter Road Closures at the Farm
You can enjoy the Farm in winter too!
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Please note that the following roads on the Central Experimental Farm (CEF) were closed to traffic for the winter starting Monday, December 6, 2021:
- McCooey Lane from Merivale Road to Ash Lane
- Ash Lane from McCooey Lane to the NCC Driveway
These road closures are implemented to:
- Reduce the possibility of unsafe road conditions during the winter months; and
- To reduce the environmental impact of traction aids (salt) on the research fields.
The roads will re-open to traffic in April 2022.
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We're So Social!
Stay in touch this winter
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Now more than ever we're active on social media promoting Friends activities, events, and gift ideas. Follow us for helpful gardening tips, awe-inspiring garden photos, recipes, DIY projects, general information about the goings on at the Farm, the Ornamental Gardens, and the Arboretum, and so much more. You can see what we're up to by liking our Facebook page or catching our tweets.
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Members and Supporters
We welcome your comments and suggestions on articles, events, activities, and more.
or call us at 613-230-3276.
Charitable number 118913565RR0001
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Stay Connected
Friends of the Central Experimental Farm | 613-230-3276 | Building 72, Arboretum, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, ON, K1A 0C6 | www.friendsofthefarm.ca
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