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 four in-person talks. Each talk in the series will begin at 12:00pm (with the exception of May 27) and last for approximately 45 minutes, leaving 15 minutes for questions. Staff and faculty are welcome to bring their own lunch to the events.

• May 27 1:00 – 2:00PM: Gardening Basics with Claire McCaughey

With the beginning of Spring, many people are excited about buying new plants or planting seedlings they started from seed themselves. To ensure success with your plants and garden, it is important to master the basics of gardening. Paying attention to the basics is the best way to have healthy, well-grown plants. This presentation is about the basics, essential to gardening success whether you are a novice gardener or an experienced one. The basics include among others the following topics: soil and soil conditions, watering, soil amendments and fertilization, pests and diseases, and plant selection and planting.

• June 12, 12:00 – 1:00PM: The Edible Garden with Rebecca Last-Guenette          

This presentation discusses incorporating edibles, into your landscape. A discussion of perennial and ornamental edibles.

• July 8, 12:00 – 1:00PM: Gardening with Wildlife with Rebecca Last-Guenette

There is both joy and challenge in gardening for wildlife. Gardening for wildlife requires different approaches and strategies — even a different mind-set! — from regular gardening. This talk addresses the characteristics of plants and garden design that will help you create a wildlife-friendly garden, strategies for including food, shelter, and water, and practices that will encourage birds and beneficial insects to make their home in your garden. Resources specific to the Ottawa area are discussed. Rebecca concludes with a brief overview of the process for certifying your garden as wildlife habitat, or as a monarch way-station, and encourage the audience to consider joining the growing army of Citizen Scientists who are helping us better understand how people are changing the natural world.

• August 7, 12:00 – 1:00PM: Climate Change & Your Garden with Rebecca Last-Guenette

Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. This talk provides a brief explanation of what climate change is and an update on the current situation, including how climate change is already impacting our weather, water, plants, food and wildlife. For each of these topics, Rebecca suggests the positive measures that gardeners can take to begin climate-proofing their gardens. The talk ends with suggested resources and a list for further reading.

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.