After a hectic growing season, everything is suddenly a bit quiet.

You’ll notice this month’s newsletter is a little late. My apologies - I’ve been searching high and low for events to include! It’s a busy month for garden club AGMs, but other regular gardening events are now winding down for winter.

I don’t begrudge any event organisers a rest, I think we all need one after getting our gardens through such a cold spring and incredibly dry summer. And the folks who have put on gardening events this year - in addition to keeping their own gardens going - deserve a round of applause!

🕰️ Now’s The Time

…let’s get stratifying!

If, like me, you filled your pockets at the local Spring seed swap, only to get home and realise most of your haul needs to be stratified - I have good news! Assuming you remembered where you put those seeds, now is the time to get them into your garden.

Most native plants, and some other perennials, need cold stratification before they’ll germinate, often between 60-90 days. Basically, they need to go through winter. But don’t go thinking you can just throw them anywhere; they have to be touching soil (some varieties should be planted below the soil). This also applies to seed balls.

Of course, direct sowing exposes the seeds to wind and wildlife too, so if you want to protect them then I recommend trying winter seed sowing. It can be done anytime in the next couple of months, so there’s no rush. Want to know more about winter sowing? Then check out the workshops in Kingston this Saturday (see below)

📅 What's Happening This Month

It’s quiet but there’s still a few interesting things happening!

If you know of an upcoming gardening event, then do let me know via the form here (or reply to this email).

5 & 6 November - BIG sale at Sun Worshipper Succulents

• at 191 Dundas St E, Belleville

• Great selection of Hoyas, Air Plants, and Succulents available

6, 13, 20 and 27 November at 1pm - Ask A Master Gardener [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

8 November at 10am-1pm - Fall Seedy Saturday

• at: Cooke’s - Portsmouth United Church, 200 Norman Rogers Drive, Kingston

• Find vegetable seeds like tomatoes, onions, leeks and peppers early! Share seeds for native plants, shrubs and trees and learn how to grow them. Climate-resilient, locally adapted seeds from the KASSI Living Seed Commons will be available by donation.

• Nathan Nesdoly (1000 Islands Master Gardeners and Little Forests Kingston) will lead two workshops about Winter Sowing 101 - at 10:30-11:30 and at 12:00-1:00. 

• Admission is by donation to support KASSI (Kingston Area Seed System Initiative), Ratinenhyen:thos and the Kenhteke Seed Sanctuary and Learning Centre

• Please bring local seeds for native plants, shrubs and trees and vegetable and flower seeds that you have saved in individual packets and label your seed packets with the variety, year harvested, number of seeds in the packet and any other information that could be helpful to other growers and seed savers. 

• Local vendors will be selling seeds, Gerry Baker will be offering advice about worm composting and starter kits, plus 1000 Island Master Gardeners, Little Forests Kingston, Gardening Kingston and the Friends of Lemoine Point will be on hand to answer your questions about all things seedy and beyond. 

• Bloom Skills Centre will have a selection of delicious light refreshments!

• Organised by: Kingston Area Seed System Initiative (KASSI)

15 November at 10am - Naturalistic Planting Design [online]

• Part 2 of a 2-part series on garden design by guest presenter Aaron Fox. Aaron will review the concepts of naturalistic planting design from his Part 1 webinar, and demonstrate how to use them to design a naturalistic plant community that provides an appropriate balance between supporting biodiversity and providing aesthetic value.

• It will provide a process participants may be able to follow while designing their own plant communities, and outlines the steps involved in that process. Participants should have a clear sense of how naturalistic planting design differs from conventional planting design, as well as what they need to consider to effectively design a naturalistic plant community.

• $5 donation

• Organised by: Blooming Boulevards

15, 20 and 22 November at various times - Outdoor Winter Arrangement [workshop]

• at: Connon’s Trenton, 956A Old Highway 2

• Join us and create your own outdoor winter arrangement. Led by one of our designers you'll receive instruction and all of the materials necessary to complete a beautiful arrangement that will last all winter!

• You will need to bring your own pruners/secateurs. Gloves are recommended 

• $65 fee

• Organised by: Connon’s Nurseries

Wednesdays at 10am - Walking in the Woods

• FREE guided forest walks, at North Potter's Creek Conservation Area (Nov 5) and Beaver Meadow Conservation Area (Nov 12)

• Please bring everything you will need on the walk including water, sunscreen, bugspray, weather appropriate clothing, etc.

• Organised by Quinte Conservation

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

🌱 Meet Your Local Garden Club

We’re now in AGM season, when garden clubs in our region are heading towards their winter break. Most will end the year with a potluck, offering a great opportunity to discuss the year’s events, celebrate successes and share ideas for 2026 with the incoming board.

Now is a good time to become a member of your local garden club. Or, if you’re already a member, consider joining the board! Speaking from personal experience, it feels great to be part of a team that brings gardening joy to your local community.

Finally, if you know something about gardening that you’d love to share with others, get in touch with garden clubs to offer a talk or a workshop. Boards are always on the lookout for new and interesting event ideas!

I’ve listed local club details below, so you can get in touch about their AGM, membership, or speaker opportunities.

Note: AGMs are often for members only, so do get in touch with the club before attending if you aren’t a member yet.

Ameliasburgh Garden Club - meet at: Ameliasburgh Town Hall

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

Belleville Garden Club - meet at: Eastside Community Baptist Church

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

Brighton Garden Club - meet at: King Edward Park Arena Community Centre

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

County Garden Club - meet at: Rotary Hall, Picton Fairgrounds

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

Lennox & Addington Garden Club - meet at: St.Patrick’s Parish Hall, Napanee

• Contact by email or join their Facebook group

Stirling & District Horticultural Society - meet at: St. Andrews Church

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

Trenton Garden Club - meet at: Batawa Community Centre

• Contact by email or join their Facebook group

Tweed Horticultural Society - meet at: Tweed Public Library

• Contact by email or follow their Facebook page

Got a suggestion for the next newsletter?

(or reply to this email)

P.S. I’m still happy to take leaves from your garden! So, if you’ve got fallen leaves that you want to get rid of, please get in touch by replying to this email. Bagged leaves are preferred, but if you’re in the PEC/Quinte area and unable to collect them up then feel free to get in touch anyway.

Thanks for reading!

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