Garden

Celebrate at the New Westminster Plant a Row | Grow a Row Party

This is the must-attend garden party of the year, where knowledge, refreshments and prizes can be found at every turn

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Claude LeDoux hosts the garden party of the season – and you are invited!

Come out to a special spring garden party for the New Westminster Plant a Row • Grow a Row

To celebrate growing food for our own families and also for those in need, the New Westminster Plant a Row • Grow a Row team is throwing a big party and everyone’s invited.

I’m definitely planning to be there for what is always an inspiring and genuinely fun time – and I hope that you will come too. In its 14th year, this big bash has become a springtime ritual for many seasoned gardeners and is an incredible learning opportunity for any new green thumb.

“Our party is for learning, laughing and enjoying the spreading of horticultural knowledge,” says Claude LeDoux, New Westminster’s charismatic Parks Horticulture Manager, who hosts the evening.

A Night of Surprises at the New Westminster Plant a Row • Grow a Row Party

Kicked off by that amazing ambassador of gardening, Brian Minter, the evening provides a wealth of garden tips and insight, with lots of good surprises:

Surprise #1

There is no charge to attend this event, although a donation of non-perishable food for the Food Bank would be gratefully received.

Surprise #2

In addition to light refreshments, goodies will be given out, including the invaluable Gardening Guide from West Coast Seeds.

Plus, some lucky winners will take home a complimentary subscription to BC Home & Garden magazine, a gift certificate from GardenWorks, a gift from West Coast Seeds, or one of several exciting new books on organic gardening from Harbour Publishing, including The Zero-Mile Diet Cookbook by Carolyn Herriot, Edible Landscaping: Urban Food Gardens That Look Great by Senga Lindsay, Sow Simple: Green and Easy Projects to Make Your Garden Awesome by Christina Symons and John Gillespie, and A Year at Killara Farm by Christine Allen with illustrations by Michael Kluckner.

Surprise #3

For a no-charge event, the lineup of garden experts donating their time to share their knowledge over the evening is surprisingly impressive, to say the least:

  • Brian Minter: National spokesperson for Plant a Row • Grow a Row and president of Minter Gardens.
  • Sharon Hanna:  Author of the national bestseller The Book of Kale: The Easy-to-Grow Superfood, talking about – you guessed it – kale, the easy-to-grow superfood, along with the many yummy ways you can enjoy it.
  • Conway Lum: A longtime GardenWise columnist famous for his uncanny ability to identify any and all plant and pest problems, Lum will speak on the many sweet reasons to grow honeyberries in your garden.
  • Mike Lascelle: GardenWise writer and author of several books, on unexpectedly edible flowers and leaves.
  • Pasquale Porico: Porico will chat about what you can do to support mason bees and how to bring these incredible pollinators into your own garden space.
  • June Hewlo: Hewlo from Lee Valley on their latest and greatest garden gadgets, along with some oldies but goodies no self-respecting gardener should be without.

So come out and join the fun: Thursday, March 14, at 6 pm at St. Thomas More Collegiate, 7450 12th Avenue, Burnaby (just off Kingsway near the Burnaby/New Westminster border). To find out more about the evening or learn how to get involved, call St. Thomas More Collegiate at 604-521-1801 or go to growarow.org for information about the national program.