Flower shows are a great way to see the best and beautiful of our gardens, and I’ll tell you about two of them that are coming up next month! If you are planning to be in Kamsack on Friday, August 11, you can take in the Saskatchewan Horticultural Association’s 73 Annual Provincial Show, 2:00 to 6:00 Pm at the OCC hall, hosted by the Kamsack Horticultural Society.
And meanwhile, here at home, Tuesday, August 15 is the date of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Display Show from 1:00 PM till 5:00 PM at St. Gerard’s Parish Complex, 125 Third Avenue North, Yorkton. It’s a wonderful show! Bring a friend, enjoy coffee and dainties, and spend a relaxing summer afternoon!
A very dear friend of ours, who is a wonderful local historian as well as a fine gardener, passed on a very interesting article to me from January 29, 2000. The article was written by the late, great Ruth Shaw, a bright and shining beacon of community involvement in Yorkton. This article talked about the history of gardening and horticulture in Yorkton.
As you know, our local horticultural society formed in September of 1906, holding their first flower show at City Hall on September 7. No doubt events of this kind were happening through the province, because in 1927 in Regina, a planning meeting was held to form a provincial horticulture organization. In March of 1931, the Yorkton horticulture society was given a charter, bringing the number of societies in Saskatchewan to 13.
It must have been a fascinating time! In her article, Ruth wrote, “As a teacher in a one room school in Southern Saskatchewan during the ‘dirty thirties’, I remember a carload of vegetables arriving at the Parry railroad station from gardeners in Yorkton, a wonderful gift as all the crops and gardens were destroyed by grasshoppers. Ever since then Yorkton gardeners have held a special place in my heart.”
Bless you, Ruth! She concluded her article by saying this: “Due to the efforts of past and present members of the Yorkton Horticultural Society, Yorkton citizens enjoy parks, green spaces and attractive home and public building grounds. Members in the past have fought to maintain the green spaces in spite of developers who sought to construct homes and buildings in these choice areas of the city.” Years ago, “green spaces” were not a common concern, so those early gardeners were years ahead of their time!
Now here’s a factoid: did you know that Yorkton has “active” and “passive” parks? Active parks contain facilities for use by Yorkton residents and guests, and there are 16 of them! Passive parks are also special: according to the City website, “These passive park spaces do not have any playground or sport equipment and are designed to enhance the community through the beauty of green space.” And there are about 16 of these. It’s also beautiful to see other “green” gems around the city, such as the spot beside City Hall and the lovely little park on Betts, perfect for sitting down for a moment to enjoy nature! Plus, there are eleven sports fields!
The early aims of the provincial horticultural society were, in part: “for every home: fruit and vegetable gardens, trees, shrubs and flowers; for every school and public building: trees, shrubs, and flowers; for the province: trees and shrubs along highways, parks and playgrounds in all urban centre, better varieties of plants.” What great vision, the fruits of which we are enjoying now.
Have a great week! Visit us at yorktonhort.ca
