Events

2026 General Meetings: List of Speakers & Events

Guests are welcome for a $5 guest fee. All meetings start at 7pm. With the exception of the January and February ZOOM meetings, we meet at the Peterborough Lions Centre at 347 Burnham Street near the Hunter Street bridge in downtown Peterborough.

January 28: ZOOM with Drew Monkman  “The Impact of Climate Change on Nature in the Kawarthas”. This presentation explains how climate change is already affecting wildlife in the Kawarthas and central Ontario. It covers themes such as population changes, arrival of new species, changes in the dates of events (e.g., flowering, bird arrival), extreme weather events as well as what changes we can expect in the future. I also touch on why climate change is so difficult for humans to react to.

​February 25: ZOOM with Robert Pavlis  “Understanding Soil”.  Robert discusses the basic components of soil and what makes good soil. The importance of microbes in building  soil structure and how gardeners can improve this. He will talk about some common soil myths and ways to add nutrients to the garden.  Finally,  we will have a look at a new topic in gardening – the rhizosphere. This is a thin layer around roots that will change the way you think about soil.

In-Person Meetings

March 25: Vern Bastable from Lower Trent Conservation “Trees and Shrubs”. Vern will share his  vast and practical knowledge on new and favourite trees and shrubs.

​April 22:  Pam Clarke “Xeriscaping”.  Pam will introduce us to some techniques that reduce the need for irrigation.

April 25:  A Day for Gardeners presented by the Peterborough Master Gardeners.  Hosted at Westdale United Church, 1509 Sherbrooke St., Peterborough. Tickets are required for this event.​

May 27:  Joey Azzarello “Pond Gardens”. Joey of Clearwater Creations will talk about pond gardens,  their design and construction, plant materials and challenges.

May 27:  Flower Show

June ??:   PHS Bus Trip:  date and destination to be determined

June 24: “Ask me Anything” Panel of Experts, topics: Perennials, Pests, and Pollinators, presented by Local Master Gardeners and Tim Hobbs of True North Gardens.  The panel will provide presentations and answer your questions.  

​September 23:  Dave Ellis “Wildlife Photography”.  Dave publishes a weekly column in The Peterborough Examiner. He’ll share some of his shots and the stories behind them.

September 23: Flower Show

​October 28:  Jessica York from The Branch Ranch “Demonstration of Seasonal Décor”.  Jessica will teach us about working with willow, watch and learn while she puts together some seasonal décor.

November 25: MJ Pilgrim “Christmas Trivia”.  A fun-filled interactive evening with Past President and Master Gardener MJ Pilgrim where we will laugh and learn.

November 25: Following our speaker, is our Annual General Meeting and Christmas giving table.  As this is our last meeting of the year, we invite our members to bring a festive ambience to this meeting including bringing holiday baking.

2025 General Meetings: List of Speakers & Events

Guests are welcome for a $5 guest fee. All meetings start at 7pm. With the exception of the January and February ZOOM meetings, we meet at the Peterborough Lions Centre at 347 Burnham Street near the Hunter Street bridge in downtown Peterborough.

January 22: ZOOM with Niki Jabbour – Veggie Garden Remix. Shake up your veggie garden by growing unique and global crops. This focuses on a wide variety of veggies that are lesser known but thrive in our region.​

​February 26: ZOOM with Anna Leggatt – Gardening During Climate Change. Lowering Your Garden’s Carbon Footprint – this presentation will explore how carbon is stored and how we can reduce our own carbon footprint, including some plant suggestions to cope with a changing climate. ​

​March 26: Darryl Cheng – An Engineer’s Approach to House Plants. Darryl is the creator of the incredibly popular blog and Instagram account, House Plant Journal, with over half a million followers. Darryl’s passion for plants and his engineering approach have turned him into one of the most trusted resources of the internet houseplant world. ​

​April 23: Jennifer Guertin – Supporting Pollinators Through the Seasons. Ninety percent of flowering plants need pollinators to reproduce. Find out how important they are to our ecosystems and how we can help them in our gardens.

April 26:  A Day for Gardeners presented by the Peterborough Master Gardeners.  Hosted at Westdale United Church, 1509 Sherbrooke St., Peterborough. Tickets are required for this event.​

May 28: Lorraine Johnson – Edible City: Adventures in Urban Food Production & Edible Native Plants. Explores diverse, inspiring and unusual ways to grow food in our urban environments and focuses on the little-known native plants that are beautiful, ecologically valuable and edible.​

June 11:  PHS Bus Trip to Haliburton & Minden — includes the Haliburton Sculpture Garden, Abbey Gardens, lunch at a private garden, the Minden River Walk and a stop at Haliburton Micromeadows.

​June 25: “Ask Me Anything” Panel of Experts (tbd)​

September 24: MJ Pilgrim – Fall is Bulb Planting Time. Bulbs, Corms, Rhizomes & Tubers–how do these garden elements differ? When should you plant? Dealing with squirrels and other pests. Forcing bulbs for more petal power!​

​October 22: Suzanne Catty – Potions & Lotions from the Garden. Although the 2025 harvest is over, this talk will take you through a herbalists garden discovering the plants you can grow for home health and wellness care.  We will look at well-known, and easy to grow traditionals like lavender and lemon balm but also the amazing properties of Canadian natives like bee balm and goldenrod that are so important in protecting biodiversity. We will look at extraction and preservations methods and recipes for turning nature’s bounty into beautiful products for you and your family.​

 November 26: Silvia Strobl – Winter Tree Identification. When the leaves are gone, how do we know “what tree is that?” In this presentation you will learn which features can be used to identify local area native trees in winter. You will learn to hone your powers of observation and how to use resources like a dichotomous key to identify the diversity of trees around us.​

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2024 General Meetings: List of Speakers & Events

January 24: Sean James via ZOOM “An Appetite for Gardening: Incorporating Edibles”
seanjames-consulting.ca

February 28:  Paul Gellatly via ZOOM “Tropical Treasures” thetattooedgardener.ca

March 27:  Anna Mizyn, “Ornamental Grasses” annasperennials.com IN PERSON at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street near the Hunter Street Bridge.

April 24:  GreenUp / Laura Keresztesi “Rain Gardens”  greenup.on.ca  IN PERSON at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street near the Hunter Street Bridge.

May 22:  Tim Hobbs, True North Daylilies, “Growing and Hybridizing Daylilies” truenorthdaylilies.com IN PERSON at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street near the Hunter Street Bridge.  Flower Show!

May 24 @5pm: Plant Sale, Westdale United Church also Peterborough Master Gardeners Seedling Sale

June Bus Trip – Tuesday June 11, 2024: Anna’s Perennials, Hosta Hideaway Leaksdale, Lucy Maud Montgomery Manse for lunch, Hedgerow Farm for Peony Pick Your Own!

June 26:  Ryan Vieira “Composting Techniques: Vermi-composting, bokashi composting, compost teas” little-worm-farm.square.site at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street. 7pm.

September 25:  MJ Pilgrim “The Dirt on Soap & Home Remedies” gardenontario.org/speakers at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street.  Flower Show! 7pm.

October 30: James Kamstra “Moths, the Butterflies of the Night” at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street, 7pm.

November 27:  Vikki Whitney “Winter Floral Design” griffinsgreenhouses.com at the Peterborough Lions Centre, 347 Burnham Street, 7pm.