Garden Writers Association Regional Meeting Kentville, Nova Scotia 2002

 

Day 3 – Allison Magee in period costume, took us through Reaping the Harvest from Garden Clubs…plus gave us a few really neat tips on gardening while putting together a floral arrangement.  Allison told us of a special pear called the Seckel pear that was the standard of excellence in 1850 and still used as the standard today…125 years ago there were more pear varieties than apple varieties in this area.  Well, guess what, I actually found the Seckel variety of pear where I live and tried it…quite different from the norm, crisper and sweeter.   Carla Allen presented the Round Up which was great for us…we all received samples of products from the local suppliers.
Then we were off the Grand Pre Winery for wine tastings and lunch…we were treated to a talk by the owner as well as a walk around some of the vineyards…just look at those grapes…I snitched one off each of the green and purple, just to try them…they were wonderful!  See those carved pumpkins? They were on display in the tasting room, I have never seen such nice carvings.  We were all in a very relaxed mood after this and didn’t seem to mind the one time it rained, while we were at Tangled Garden . Again, I took pictures of things that caught my eye here…like that beautiful gate, the rusted flowers against that wonderful grass and building, her entrance to the garden, and on and on until the last one of those floral chairs…a great place to visit and one truly loved by their creators.
Our final stop was perfect timing, for the Irving Botanical Gardens and Environmental Sciences Research Centre has just opened the day before.  Donald Hendricks, Executive Director took us through this fascinating and very expensive building.  Totally techo oriented…each student who enrolls gets a laptop computer.  As you can see by the picture of us at the round table, they are all set up for technology… could you imagine a more wonderful place to study…look at the boardroom table…seats 40.  In the glasshouse, each room is set up to perform separate studies.  Outside we walked around the area and enjoyed the gardens…
Now, the last five pictures are of a place called Halls Harbour – Tom has told me that I better not come home without having lobster, so right after Irving , we headed off to this most breathtaking spot.  When we got there it was quiet, not many people there because as you can see the weather was threatening.  Wonder of wonders though, it never did rain while we were here…it was so quiet and all you could smell was the sea..just beautiful.  Sea and sky blending into a colour of blue with that red building, it was heaven on earth to me. Then we ate…as you can see.  I have the proof, but I guess I didn’t eat it the way you are supposed to because my bib was totally clean!  Next time!! Oh yes, I also got asked if Edmonton would host the meeting for our region next year…cautiously I said yes, because I don’t know if I can pull it off as nicely as this one…