Learn more about the first National Tree Day
2022 ANNUAL FLOWER SHOW WINNERS
Best Bloom
Margaret Murphy for her Clematis bloom
Best Arrangement
Heather Sinopoli for her design, "Together We Grow"
Judge's Choice
Dorothy Barrett fpr her habanera peppers
Winners in categories
Jennifer James, Heather Sinopoli, Marion Booth, Margaret Murphy, Chandrea Ramlogan, Doreen Whyte, Eve Cluderay, Dorothy Barrett, Philippe Mesley, Betty Campbell, Jenny Harper, Julia Fenn
Check out the Toronto Garden Contest Winners!
Toronto Residential, Commerical, and Community Gardens
Photos of the five winners and lists of where you can find the winning gardens in each category.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Donna Lewis
Paul Gellatly
Paul Gellatly
Donna Lewis is a gardener at a private estate in Aurora of Frank and Elfriede Stronach. In 2005 swans were purchased under the impression that they would scare the Canada geese away.
Donna completed the Ontario Master Naturalist and Amphibian and Reptile Survey courses, learning what the swans need in a healthy environment. Donna is an advocate and spokesperson for the swans and wetlands they are dependant o
Paul Gellatly
Paul Gellatly
Paul Gellatly
Paul is a life-long horticulturalist who is also known as The Tattooed Gardener! He is affiliated with the Toronto Botanical Gardens as the former Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Zoo and the former Curatorial Gardener managing one of Canada's largest tropical plant collections. Paul has been featured on Podcasts, radio shows, and in print. He was recently featured on the new television documentary series 'Visionary Gardeners'.
Membership Perks
Field Trips
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Participate in tours of
horticultural sites
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Direct access to growers!
Plant Sales
Bulbs & Poinsettias
Plant Sales
Take part in plant sales at RHS and local clubs.
Expert Guest Speakers at monthly meetings
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Volunteers, friendship and community-based
Connect with the Ontario Horticultural Association
Volunteers, friendship and community-based
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Joanna Blanchard
Joanna Blanchard was introduced to horticulture and gardening almost from birth. Her father was a botany professor and her mother a plant pathologist, so the talk at the dinner table was often about plants! Time moved on and when she married and move from the UK to Canada her passion for gardening flourished. Joanna is a past coordinator of the Toronto Master Gardeners and Co-President of the Leaside Garden Society, and when she has spare time, Joanna also loves to travel and visit beautiful gardens from around the world. We are thrilled to have Joanna share images and stories about her visit to the Gardens of Giverny that inspired the painting of impressionist Claude Monet.
ABOUT OUR SPEAKERS
Charlie Dobbin
Charlie Dobbin is a well-known horticulturist and landscape designer with professional gardening experience world-wide. In May 2002 Charlie started her own landscape design and horticultural consulting company, ‘Garden Solutions by Charlie Dobbin’. Currently Charlie hosts the Garden Show on AM740 every Saturday at 9am. Her latest TV venture is ‘Healing Gardens’, broadcast on Vision TV, and can be seen at https://www.visiontv.ca/shows/healing-gardens/.When she’s not providing garden advice to clients, Charlie can be seen delivering practical and entertaining gardening tips on a variety of television stations. She has diverse experience including: 18 years in retail Garden Centres, cohosted the HGTV-show ‘One Garden Two Looks’, Horticultural Director for Canada Blooms, The Flower and Garden Festival for 12 years, and volunteer judging for Communities in Bloom – Ontario.
NOV. 8, 2023 - Meeting Format TBA*
Succulent Gardens with Molly
Molly is the plant and nature-obsessed maker behind Canadian Succulents.
It all started about 5 years ago, when Molly and her sister began collecting succulents. Fascinated by the bright colour variations, symmetry, and resilience of these plants, they began gathering and propagating succulents. Molly shares that she is "so grateful for the chance to direct all my energy to creating and sharing our succulent designs with our customers, and I hope these plants bring you as much joy and warmth as they bring me."
PHOTO CONTEST THEME: Art in the Garden
FLOWER SHOW CATEGORIES: Lest We Forget, a Design using Grasses and/or Seed Pods, Potted Plant
(Visit the Floral Design page and download the Monthly Flower Show PDF for details)
*We will announce if the meeting will be Zoom only, in-person only, or a hybrid of Zoom and in-person.
About Us
January 2024 - Gardens of the Bloomsbury Group
An area of central London where a group of creatives met from 1905 to 1930
This presentation by Duncan and Claudia Wood, a retired couple, with a passion for travel and visiting gardens and markets. They are enthusiastic but amateur gardeners who tend 4 gardens in Toronto: their own shady garden in the Beach, their allotment garden near the Leslie Spit and as volunteers at the Main St. Library and the Beach Community Edible Garden. They were members of the Beach Garden Society for many years and served on the Board for ten years.
This is a ZOOM ONLY meeting
PHOTO CONTEST THEME: WELCOME WINTER – AN OUTDOOR URN OR PLANTER ARRANGEMENT.
Photo Credit New York Times, 2017
September 11, 2024- Building Diversity with Native Plants (a
Presented by Paul LaPorte
Paul LaPorte is the owner of Ephemeral Ark Nursery (specializing in native woodland species) and consultant on ecological gardening and design. Living in the Greenbelt of the GTA, he has taken the opportunity to steward and study numerous native plant communities within multiple ecotypes and varied microclimates. Paul maintains a strong knowledge of Ontario native plant species and their communities and fosters them in his own gardens. He is the current chair of the Ontario Native Plant Growers Association, a past member of Kawartha Conservation's BlueScape Steering Committee, the past President of the North American Native Plant Society and the past Vice Chair of the Scugog Environmental Advisory Committee. He has had the pleasure of presenting for numerous organizations on the importance of native plants to our ecology.
PHOTO CONTEST AND FLOWER SHOW CATEGORIES BELOW!
GUESTS & NEW MEMBERS ARE WELCOME! We will be holding meetings in a variety of formats including Zoom only, in-person only, or hybrid meetings (over Zoom and in-person) for the safety and comfort of our members. To participate as a guest, email us at info@riverdalehorticultural.ca by 12:00 pm the day of a presentation.
SEPTEMBER 10, 2025
Growing Garlic with Shawn Stevens - HYBRID meeting in-person and Zoom
Shawn Stevens is the head farmer at Good Day Garlic, where he and his son—proudly known as the (CGO) Chief Garlic Officer—grow a wide range of organic garlic varieties with care and dedication. Rooted in a deep respect for nature, Shawn also brings his passion for sustainability into the classroom as an elementary school educator. He teaches students about indoor and outdoor growing techniques, water conservation, food security, and the importance of Indigenous practices in agriculture. Located in Sutton, Ontario—just an hour north of Toronto—Good Day Garlic is more than a farm; it’s a community-driven effort to cultivate healthy food and inspire the next generation of growers.
PHOTO CONTEST: Truth and Reconciliation
FLOWER SHOW CATEGORIES:
1 entry per class, up to a total of 3 entries
1. A vase of fall flowers, 3 or more varieties, may contain their own foliage
2. 3 kinds of grasses in a vase
3. A sample of homegrown fruits and/or vegetables displayed on a plate
4. A design showing movement
(Visit the Floral Design page and download the Monthly Flower Show PDF for details)