Multiple Missions in the Merry Month of May

Spring is a busy time for all gardeners but this year the tempo has suddenly picked up in the Chester area. Not only are members of the Chester and Chester Basin garden clubs fine-tuning their preparations for the NSAGC Annual Convention (June 3 and 4), but the Chester club is also preparing for its annual Gardener's Sale on May 28,  and looking ahead to its Annual Flower Show and Tea (July 28), while members also try to catch up on the tasks required in their own gardens!

Perhaps the prolonged cool damp weather has been useful in keeping local gardeners from venturing out of doors and thus allowing them to focus on preparations for the big Club events. The good news is that the sun has finally made a few rare appearances in the area at last. The grass is Kelly green, daffodils and Solomon Seal have shot up almost overnight, and the forsythia shrubs are bursting forth with colour.

As for the Chester club's first mission in May - the Gardener's Sale, a very important fund-raiser for the club - members are being encouraged to attend the general meeting on Monday, May 16, when they will be provided with tips on ways to contribute to the Sale. Herb Fraser will demonstrate best practices in potting up perennials, and experienced gardeners Myra and Sylvia will join him on a panel to answer questions about a variety of gardening issues raised by  the members themselves. 

The second mission in May concerns the completion of arrangements for the NSAGC Convention, which of course takes place at the beginning of June. The organizing committee has been working for months  and has been delighted with the positive response of the speakers, the vendors, the registrants, and the personnel at the hotel. The program is packed with educational talks and there will be ample opportunity to visit the vendors' displays, both indoors and outdoors. 

A third mission that is demanding the time and attention of club members is the forward planning for its annual Flower Show and Tea, scheduled for July 28. A committee has been working on the definitions and descriptions of the various entry categories, designing the program, and polishing up the trophies, as well as sorting out the roles of volunteers needed for both the show and the tea. More information on the Flower Show and Tea will be available after the Convention has been wound up.

And if all that activity wasn't enough, on May 8, after its long hiatus in winter storage, a few friends of the Chester Club managed to re-install the armillary sphere in its proper locaton on the Parade Square Garden. Spring has sprung!