July certainly tested my drought-tolerant plants to their absolute limit.

I’m not the most consistent gardener when it comes to watering my plants. I’d love to say I have a schedule, but instead I lean more towards the tough love approach - with varying degrees of success. Needless to say, “drought-tolerant” plants feature abundantly in my garden, but even they have suffered this past month with so little rain.

While I’ve lost a few plants this summer, I have to share one standout star: the grey-headed coneflower. This native, pollinator favourite has survived full sun and heat, in an area far from the hose (and therefore even less likely to get watered), dropping only a few small stems when it had to. If you’re looking for a tough plant, look no further than grey-headed coneflower.

Hopefully your garden has fared better than mine. Fingers crossed for some consistent rain this month!

🕰️ Now’s The Time

…to relax.

Watch your garden grow a little.

Dry some flowers to enjoy in the depths of winter.

Take a deep breath and marvel that there are things living in a space you’ve made.

And if that’s not productive enough, then you could also make a list of your plants that are living up to their “drought-tolerant” label - it’ll come in handy when you’re planning for next year. Unfortunately, we are going to see more summer droughts like this.

Now is also a good time to pick up bargains at the garden centres and nurseries, as many of them are heavily discounting to offload this year’s stock.

📅 What's Happening This Month

There may be fewer garden club events in the summer, but with Fair season fast approaching, there’s plenty of opportunities to be rewarded for all your hard work in the garden.

1. August 1-4 - Napanee Fair

   • at: 170 York Street, Napanee

   • Show off your vegetables, flowers or floral arrangements!

   • Organised by: Lennox & Addington Agricultural Society

2. August 7, 14, 21, 28 - Ask A Master Gardener - 1pm [online]

   • Zoom presentation followed by a Q&A. Regular themes include edible gardening, garden fundamentals, and bird friendly gardening. A different topic covered every Thursday.

   • Sign up to the free newsletter to get the topic and Zoom link.

   • Organised by: 1000 Islands Master Gardeners

3. August 7 - Learn about Watershed - 2-4pm

   • at: Brighton Library

   • Join Lower Trent Conservation to learn what a watershed is and explore the exciting elements that make up the Lower Trent watershed. Through a collection of hands-on activities and demonstrations, including the interactive AR sandbox! Learn how the water ways and the land interact together and the many roles of Lower Trent Conservation within the watershed!

   • Organised by Lower Trent Conservation

4. August 8 - Learn About Wetlands - 10:30-12:30

   • at: Stirling Library

   • Through hands-on activities, participants will discover how wetlands filter water, provide habitat for wildlife, and help prevent erosion. The program includes a water filter experiment, turtle models, and guides to explore wetland species, as well as a felt board activity featuring wetland wildlife for hands-on exploration. Additionally, there will be an erosion control demonstration.

   • Organised by Lower Trent Conservation

5. August 8 - Plants and Pollinators - 10:30-12:30

   • at: Stirling Library

   • Through interactive learning and presentation, community members will learn about the different parts of plants, various native pollinator species, their habitat, how pollination occurs, and the benefits to our ecosystem. Community members will create their own pollinator seed balls.

   • Organised by Lower Trent Conservation

6. August 9 - Annual Flower & Vegetable Show - 2-4pm

   • at: King Edward Park Arena Community Centre, Brighton

   • Beautiful exhibits of colourful flowers, floral designs, tropical potted plants and vegetables.

   • Admission $3, includes refreshments and door prizes

   • Organised by Brighton Garden Club

7. August 9 - Front Yard Garden Tour - 10am-2pm

   • in: Kingston (outside the usual range for this newsletter, but I’m making an exception this one time!)

   • Free tour of 10 remarkable biodiverse front yard gardens, featuring a ditch garden, raised food crop beds, woodland gardens, a permaculture food forest and pollinator gardens.

   • Wonderful opportunity to learn from homeowners and Master Gardeners who will be at each site to answer questions and provide advice on a wide variety of garden styles, purposes, and methods.

   • Post-tour workshop on designing and planting a pocket forest and sunny pocket meadow, for $10.

   • Organised by Brighton Garden Club

8. August 9-10 and 16-17 - Sunflower Festival

   • at: Wynn Farms, Napanee

   • Sunflower fields, Pick-your-own bouquet and sunflower. bouncy castle, sand pit, face painting, and more.

9. August 14 - Planning and Planting a Rain Garden - 7-8pm [online]

   • Want to create a beautiful, eco-friendly rain garden but don’t know where to start? This webinar will guide you through every step — from choosing a location and testing your soil to selecting plants and building your garden. Perfect for beginners, no green thumb required!

   • Organised by Rain Ready Ottawa/EnviroCentre

10. August 15-17 - Stirling Agricultural Society Homecraft - Horticultural Division Show and Competition (submit entries on 14th)

    • at: Stirling Arena

    • 2025 Theme: Sunflower and Sunshine. See Homecraft division for details and prize information

11. August 23 - Garden Tour

    • at: Ameliasburgh Town Hall, Ameliasburgh

    • Tour of Ameliasburgh Historic Gardens, and club picnic

    • Organised by Ameliasburgh Garden Club

12. August 23 - Understanding Your Soil - 10am [online]

    • Learn about your soil's health and how it helps keep your plants thriving. Includes a DIY soil texture test!

    • Organised by Blooming Boulevards

13. August 23 - Flower & Vegetable Show + demonstration - 2pm

    • at: Batawa Community Centre

    • Competition categories will be listed online. Free Admission to the show and tea from 2-4 pm.

    • Ikebana speaker and demonstration at 4 pm. Guests: $10. Proudly sponsored by Earth & Bloom, Trenton.

    • Organised by Trenton Garden Club

14. August 27 - Bloom & Learn Gardening Series- Seed Saving - 6.15-7.30pm [online]

    • Part of the Bloom & Learn Gardening Series, this session will equip you with the knowledge and inspiration to start collecting and storing your own seeds. Discover the benefits of seed saving, how to select the best seeds, and proper storage techniques to ensure a successful future garden.

    • Organised by Sustainable Ajax

Guest fees may apply and events sometimes change or get cancelled, so do check the details prior to making plans.

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