MANITOULIN—The Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and Assiginack Horticultural Society are the lucky recipients of one of 150, ‘150th Celebration Gardens’ being distributed across Canada—by the Canadian Garden Council in collaboration with Vesey’s Bulbs of PEI—in celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial in 2017. Containing 1,000 tulip bulbs, the international symbol of friendship and an enduring symbol of Canada’s national ethos of kindness and hospitality, the 150th Celebration Garden is a terrific way to say “Happy Birthday” to Our Home and Native Land.
“We feel very fortunate,” said Peggy Simon, executive director of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation, and May Mervyn, co-president of the Assiginack Horticultural Society, “to have received one of these Gardens as we understand that Canadian Garden Council, the organization behind the 150th Celebration Garden program, received more than 400 applications.” The gardens, consisting of 500 red and 500 white tulip bulbs, generously donated by Vesey’s Bulbs of PEI, will be planted on Thursday, October 6 at 6 pm to 8 pm in front of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation’s Peace Pole and 3 Fires Tree and in Manitowaning, the Public Planting Ceremony will take place on Friday, October 14 at 2 pm in front of the Assiginack Public Library. Everyone, from seniors to school children and the public, is invited to attend the planting ceremony as our community makes preparations to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday next year.
The two Manitoulin gardens, and the other 148 gardens planted across the country, will be symbolically linked to a Flagship 150th Celebration Garden Promenade, consisting of 25,000 tulips also donated by Vesey’s, to be planted this fall and boom next spring adjacent to Niagara Falls, one of the great natural wonders of the world, and one of Canada’s largest gateways for visitors to our country.
The gardens will also be featured on Canada’s Garden Route, www.canadasgardenroute.ca
Ojibwe Cultural Foundation and Mnidoo Mnising Anishinabek Kinoomage-Gamig (MMAK) and would like to thank Peggy Simon for submitting the winning ‘150th Celebration Garden.’ Assiginack Horticultural Society also gave its thanks to society member Alison Greenhill for submitting its application, as all those that made this heartwarming program possible: Canadian Garden Council, Vesey’s Bulbs, Canada Post, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, Niagara Parks Commission, GardenMaking magazine, Landscape Ontario, Ontario Garden Council, Baxter Travel Media, Enterprise Canada, Gardens BC, Quebec Gardens’ Association and VIA Rail Canada.
OCF will also hold two planting ceremonies during this Thursday, October 6. To include the children in the MMAK program, OCF will have the first planting at 12:30 pm to 2 pm and second one in the evening for the community at 6 pm to 8 pm with Assiginack Horticultural Society’s to follow on Friday, October 14 at 2 pm at Assiginack Public School.
