March 18, 2024

A Case for Camassias – with Janelle Gardner

Janelle is a gardener, a Comox Valley Horticultural Society volunteer, and a storyteller.

While visiting gardens in the UK on a spring holiday, Janelle was puzzled by just how common the statuesque spires of blue camassia were in the manicured landscapes of England. Why are these beautiful bulbs, native to our region, so incredibly popular in UK garden design while they are a relative rarity in our gardens and natural landscapes on Vancouver Island? The answer to this question turned out to be a story of our colonial history, including settlers’ relationships with indigenous peoples, agriculture and land development, the transcontinental movement of plants, and indigenous cultivation and food systems.

This talk is not only about gardens on other continents and eras, but also about our future, and why we should all have a place for camassias in our gardens.

Aside from being our General Meeting, this is also our Spring-A-Friend and Member Plant Sale meeting!

This will be a ‘hybrid’ in-person and Zoom meeting:

1. All ZOOM meetings will begin at 7:00 pm.
2. All IN-PERSON meetings: doors will open at 6:30 pm, meetings start at 7:15 pm.
3. In-person meetings (presentation only) may also be accessible by ZOOM from your home.

HOW TO ATTEND:

All current CVHS members will receive a Zoom invitation before this meeting.

IN-PERSON Meeting: Doors will open at 6:30 pm, meeting starts at 7:15 pm.

NOT A MEMBER?

If you are not a CVHS member and would like to join us you are in luck.  This month is ‘Spring a Friend’, so you can attend our in-person meeting for free.  Just show up at the door!  If you would like to attend via Zoom, please send an email request to info@comoxvalleyhortsociety.ca no later than Friday, March 15, 2024, at 5:00 pm for an invitation to the Zoom meeting.

Please join us!