Gardening Speaker Series
Presented by Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton (MGOC), this speaker series is the perfect opportunity for members of Carleton’s faculty & staff community to learn from a local Master Gardener, acquire new gardening skills and knowledge, and connect with fellow gardeners across campus.
Gardening Speaker Series
This series will consist of five in-person talks. Each talk in the series will begin at 12:00pm and last for approximately 45 minutes, leaving 15 minutes for questions. Staff and faculty are welcome to bring their own lunch to the events.
| 2026 Gardening Speaker Series |
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| May 28, 2026: Hey! You! Over here!! Attracting and supporting pollinators Presenter: Judith Cox How to set up your environment to encourage pollinators and what to do to keep them around Location: Tory Building, Room 446 |
| June 11, 2026: High Performance; Low Maintenance Presenter: Lee Ann Smith This talk explains what makes a plant high performance, what low maintenance means, and recommends plants that meet these criteria. It provides an overall approach as well as a “top tip” for how to assess an existing garden and redesign it to get the most performance with the least amount of maintenance. Location: Tory Building, Room 240 |
| June 25, 2026: Why we love annuals – How to use them in your garden Presenter: Claire Leduc From small and sweet to big and bold, annuals with their wide variety of shapes and colours can add personality and character to any garden. Many of them play the useful role of attracting pollinators while others offer a unique twist to your dinner plate, not to mention their role in making stunning containers and baskets. The presentation will help you feel confident in adding and caring for a wide range of annuals in your garden. Location: Tory Building, Room 446 |
| July 16, 2026: The Urban Potager Presenter: Odette McIntyre Think rainbows of color in the saladier and beyond. Crisp lettuces, asian greens, sweet tomatoes and blooms. In this presentation you will learn how to create an attractive living space full of vegetables, ornamentals, herbs and structures in an urban setting where space is a constraint. Grow beautiful blooms, unique veggies and greens to enhance your table and thrill your guests. Find out about vertical gardening, best practices, found objects and more. An exciting, wide-ranging, transforming way to look at your garden. Location: Tory Building, Room 202 |
| August 6 2026: Fall, final garden fling! Presenter: Nancy McDonald What to plant, store, move or divide, the importance of top-dressing, garden clean up while leaving some seed heads for overwintering birds and winter interest. Location: Tory Building, Room 202 |
2026 Gardening Speaker Series Registration
About Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton:
Master Gardeners is first and foremost a volunteer service organization with a mandate to offer free, authoritative, and unbiased gardening advice to the public. Our experienced gardeners have studied horticulture and plant science. We continue to upgrade our skills every year through technical training. With this training and education, we provide year-round unbiased horticultural advice and expertise to home gardeners, across Algonquin land/Ottawa. In recognition of the Algonquin People as the traditional stewards of the land, we encourage good gardening practices. Our Ottawa group is part of the Master Gardeners of Ontario, Inc., through which we derive our legal standing and charitable status.