By Thomas Smith
Carolyn Langdon has been coordinator for Haliburton County Master Gardeners for the past four years.
“I’ve been involved with the organization for 13 years now. Over half the life of the organization. It’s been wonderful,” said Langdon. “I heard of it through word of mouth. When you have a passion or interest in gardening and nature, you hear about things in the community. It just came about that it was a good organization to join.”
The Haliburton County Master Gardeners are a group of passionate volunteers who are local experts in gardening. They are experts in taking up the challenge of gardening on the Canadian Shield. Originally, Master Gardeners of Ontario was created by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and OMAFRA to meet the needs of home gardeners. Haliburton County master Gardeners frequently provide events in which the public may attend to gain information on gardening and renaturalizing their gardens. They also offer a consultation service in which you can have Master Gardeners visit your property where they will assess your land and provide recommendations to suit your needs including waterfront assessments and solving erosion problems. Assessments are done through donation with $50 per hour being recommended for their services and expertise.
The Haliburton County Master Gardeners currently has 16 members. The group is considered small under the umbrella organization Master Gardeners of Ontario. Master gardeners study horticulture extensively and continually learn through training.
“We have two categories in which we work. One is gardening for food security. We provide advice. On Sunday May 2 we provided a workshop at the Minden Community Gardens. They were set up by the Minden Community Food Bank. We organized an exchange of seedlings, people could exchange them for others. There was a demonstration on how to properly transplant seedlings into the garden,” said Langdon.
With around 35 people attending, Langdon says it was a very successful event.
“The other thing the organization does is gardening in harmony with nature. This is such a good goal for an organization in such a natural setting. The Haliburton Highlands have over 600 lakes and numerous rivers. It is natural for people to take a natural approach to their properties.”
This May, the Haliburton County Master Gardeners have published a guidebook titled Guidebook to Ecological Landscaping in the Highlands. The book offers tips on renaturalizing your property, how to keep it naturalized, increasing biodiversity, and embracing the local landscape into your garden plans.
“We are very proud of the publication because it is based on all original writing and it is based on our experience and information,” said Langdon. “Information that property owners can get nowhere else.”
The book was written collaboratively by members of the Haliburton County master Gardeners.
“We have different skills and experiences,” said Langdon. The group also copyrighted the book and got an ISBN number.
“It is an information product, and we just want it available publicly,” said Langdon.
“Many plants are not natural and pose a challenge in the Highlands.”
The Haliburton County Master Gardeners are responsible for the self-guided tour called “Stepping into Nature”. This self-guided multimedia tour along the Minden boardwalk explores local fauna and flora that call Minden home. Information about plants, insect information, gardening tips, and audio stories are included.
Now that the Minden Boardwalk has been repaired and restored, the Haliburton County master Gardeners hope to extend the self-guided tour. There is also talk about a self-guided tour in Wilberforce.
“We are contributing and benefiting the environment,” said Langdon. “Natural plants improve water quality of our lakes and our wetlands. They are really important to the environment.”
Langdon says that bloodroot, wild columbine, bellwort and bunchberry are highly recommended for gardens in Haliburton County.
The Guide to Ecological Landscaping in the Haliburton Highlands is available at the local libraries and can be purchased at Rail’s End Gallery, County Rose Garden Centre, Grounded Gardens at the Lucas House, Abbey Gardens, Rising Thymes, and Pine Reflection Garden Centre. The guidebook costs $10 tax included.