Cobourg Garden Club announces date for annual flower show and tea
Flower Garden by Norikio Yamamoto. Free Use Domain. Upsplash
By: Cecilia Nasmith, Northumberland 89.7 FM News
Cobourg
Mark Aug. 9 on your calendar for the 2025 Cobourg Garden Club Summer Flower Show and Tea.
Held from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Cobourg Public Library, this free event is open to members and visitors – a well-attended and popular celebration of all things garden-related with classes for annuals, perennials, fruits and vegetables, house plants, design, preserves and photography.
Last summer's show had more than 200 entries, with some 80 visitors enjoying the displays, along with the afternoon tea and baked goodies also provided by members.
The Design section of the 2025 show has the theme Celebrating Cobourg's Beach, with classes titled Driftwood, Water Garden and Beach Umbrella. The Photography classes are Sandcastles and A Planter. Club members always have a creative way of interpreting these types of topics.
One challenge they will face is this year's long winter, with its early-April ice storm. At the club's annual plant sale in May, it was evident that a number of perennials were breaking ground somewhat later than in other years.
The Cobourg Garden Club (originally called the Cobourg Horticultural Society) was founded in February 1859 by a group of men, and has been in operation since. Early activities and shows were regularly recorded in local newspapers, and the annual flower show and exhibition was a highlight of the summer.
Five hundred people attended their first Flower Show in July 1859, at a time when the population of Cobourg was about 5,000 – a significant turn-out. The three categories of Flowers, Fruits and Vegetables provided an opportunity for new residents to learn what varieties might produce the best yield, which was critical information for these early settlers.
The Cobourg Garden Club holds flower shows in May, August and December. Other activities include a popular annual plant sale on the Victoria Day long weekend, as well as speakers at their monthly meetings – to be held, as of September, at the Salvation Army facility on Ballantine Street.
The club schedules garden tours (sometimes in association with neighbouring societies) and, for years, has presented an annual scholarship to a Cobourg high-school graduate pursuing post-secondary education in horticulture or related studies.
Among the community projects undertaken by the club over the years are the Edwin Haynes Memorial Rose Garden in Victoria Park and their work on the grounds of the Golden Plough Lodge, Northumberland Hills Hospital and the Five Corners Garden for the enjoyment of residents and visitors (which features a little free library of horticultural books).
For more information, call Flower Show Convenor Sarah Holland at 905-349-3710 or visit www.cobourggardenclub.ca
