Do you remember that great gardening program "Canadian Gardener"? What a wonderful, informative show! My Mom, Keith and I used to watch the program faithfully each week, and I can still see the smile of delight on my sweet Mom's face as we settled in the living room, cups of steaming tea and snacks on the coffee table, and heard those first strains of the flute music that announced the beginning of the show.
Host David Tarrant had many interesting gardening guests, but a regular on the "Grapevine" segment of the show was Mrs. Lois Hole. You may know her as the author of many gardening books, and probably even have some in your own collection. I did a little research about Lois, and I'll tell you some of the fascinating things I learned.
Lois Elsa Hole (nee Veregin) was born in Buchanan in January, 1929. When she was a teenager, her family moved to Edmonton. She met an ag student at the University of Alberta, Ted Hole, and they fell in love, married, and bought a farm in St.Albert, Alberta. They began growing vegetables and had a market garden, a venture that eventually became a family business, Hole's Greenhouses and Gardens. Their sons later also joined the business.
Lois wrote six gardening books, and they are great, down-to-earth (pardon the pun!) practical books about gardening on the prairies. Lois knew about wet Canadian springs, freak snowstorms, early frosts, scorching summers, and all the other challenges that make Canadian gardening so interesting. Her books present us with plants that we know and love, and introduce us to new things that we might like to try. Lois' segments on "Canadian Gardener" were always a delight: it was as if you were talking to a neighbor about how your garden was doing. She was a practical, kind, adventurous, determined gardener, and had a wealth of information to share. If you are looking for a solid gardening book to add to your collection, any of Lois' books would be perfect. She grew up "just down the road" from us, so we know that she was a prairie gardener!
Not only was she an avid gardener, but she was also the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta from 2000- 2005, and was active in the support of libraries, the arts, and education. In spite of all this, and all the various prestigious awards that she received, she was "at heart a gardener". Sadly, she passed away in 2005. But she left a legacy with her many fans of appreciation and wonderment at all the garden has to offer.
The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be holding their next meeting on Wednesday, March 21 at 7:00 p.m. at SIGN, North Street. We'll be having not one but two expert speakers! Glen Tymiak and Frank Woloschuk will be speaking to us about "Planning, Planting, and Growing in a Greenhouse". Both of these enthusiastic gardeners have wonderful greenhouses, so I know that we will need to have our notebooks ready to write down a wealth of information! Even if you don't have a greenhouse yourself, there will still be lots of practical information about growing plants - there is always something new to learn! So mark that date down, Wednesday, March 21.
The days are getting longer; so while we're still in "hibernation" mode, curl up with a good gardening book, get some ideas for this spring, and have a good week!
