Town & Country Garden Centre: Sponsor, Designer, Builder

We are a family owned and operated garden centre, located just outside the River District, a concession South of Creamery Hill. Our retail garden centre is open for business from the end of April until the beginning of July and we offer all kinds of plant material. We have a fantastic selection of perennials, ornamental grasses, annuals, baskets & planters, vegetables & fruits as well as flowering shrubs! Our family took over 23 years ago and have been growing with our customers' requests since the beginning. In more recent years, native plants and pollinating plants have become a popular genre of plant material and we are always trying to bring in the best options for our customers.

We love the area and community we have grown in and try to support where we can. This new event in the River District intrigued us as an innovative way for us to spread the knowledge of who we are, where we are located, and some of what we offer. We hope this Bloom event grows and is a successful way to “dress up” the downtown core in the spring and inspire others to get into gardening!

Alissa Angel, RIS, Advisor, Sun Life: Sponsor, Builder

Thanks for checking out our Bloom exhibit! My name is Alissa Angel, I’m a Sun Life Advisor professionally but I love to volunteer in our fantastic community. Currently I’m the Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for the Women’s Centre Grey Bruce and I was super excited to get involved in this project. The turquoise barbeque was a “COVID project” and served as potting bench in my home garden. I was excited to hear that Shelby from Town & Country was going to utilitze it as a planter! So many ideas for one thrifted piece of “junk.” In my spare time, I love camping with my husband and son and our 3 dogs, its busy but relaxing! I hope you enjoy the display as I know Town & Country put a lot of thought into the design and our shelter staff are keeping it watered and tidy!

Women's Centre of Grey Bruce: Caretaker and Benefactor

Brief Bio & Why We Got Involved
The Women’s Centre is a safer place for women, children, and youth in Grey Bruce. We are innovative, caring leaders in providing secure shelter, crisis intervention, safety planning, counselling, family court support, and transitional services for women, children, and youth affected by violence and abuse. We work hard to support or clients as they build sustainable lives free from abuse and violence.

As a local non-profit, we are consistently blown away by the generosity of our community. For 41 years, the Grey Bruce community has helped us keep our doors open, expand programming, and provide support to meet the growing needs of women, children, and youth. When our friends at Town & Country Garden Centre and Sunlife asked us to be part of River District Blooms, we were excited to lend a hand to the installation in any way possible. Taking care of our community is what we do best. As Caretakers of “Everything But the Kitchen Sink”, we are excited to see our plants bloom. Thank You to Town & Country Garden Centre and Sunlife for partnering with us, and for their generous donation of edible plants to The Women’s Centre’s Emergency Violence Against Women Shelter.

The Women’s Centre Grey Bruce

Website: www.thewomenscentre.org
Instagram: @twcgreybruce
Facebook: @twcgreybruce
Linkedin: @twcgreybruce
Twitter: @twcgreybruce

Media Contact: Krystal Stukas, Fund Development and Communications Manager krystals@thewomenscentre.org

List of plants:

Amelanchier Grandiflora- Serviceberry ‘Autumn Brilliance’
- This particular variety is a hybrid of two serviceberries native to North America.
- Delicate white flowers in the early Spring and vibrant red-orange leaves in the Fall. Full
sun-part shade flowering tree. Low maintenance and tolerant to most soil types adn
grows to 15’-20’ tall.
- Fruits in late June with edible fruit. Berries resemble a blueberry in taste and may be
used in james, jellies and pies.

Sambuscus - Elderberry
- Native to a large area of North America
- Sun loving and tolerant to most areas, this shrub can grow 6’ tall and wide.
- Promoted as a dietary supplement for colds, flus and other conditions. Although the
cooked berries are edible and beneficial, the uncooked berries and other parts of the
plants are poisonous.
- Many love the white flowers on this shrub for the fragrance and use in dried mixes for a
relaxing scent.

Lonicera Caerulea- Honeyberry
- Native to many cooler parts of the world including North America.
- Extremely cold tolerant. Growing well in partial shade to a mature size of 4’-5’. They
produce fragrant flowers and fruit earlier than most small fruits. Their fruit is a unique
oval shape and blue in colour. Ripe fruit have a complex flavour of blueberry-raspberry
mixed with a hint of black currant.
- Many don’t realize Honeyberry and Haskap Berry are the same plant. Haskap comes
from the Japanese cultivars, while Honeyberry comes from the European cultivars and
originally part of the Honeysuckle family.
Allium - Ornamental Onion
- Characterized as a herb Native to Canada, due to the onion or garlic fragrance from the
stems, they are often referred to as Canada’s Onion, Canadian Garlic or Wild garlic.
There are many different varieties available but the variety used in this display is
‘Millenium’ and grows 18” tall and 12” wide. They produce large purple ball shaped
flowers roughly 2” in diameter.
-Not only are the Allium safe to eat, you can eat all pieces of the plant.
-With the garlicky-onion flavour they work best in dressings or salads and can be used
as an onion replacement in recipes.

Begonia - Tuberous
- These annual tuberous plants produce large vibrant flowers and prefer to be grown in
partial shade. Most people grow them in their containers or planters but they also add
colour in shady flower beds for the spring and summer months.
- The flowers are edible on these plants and have a citrusy, slightly sour flavour and a light
crisp texture. With the amazing colours these flowers come in, they would make a
fantastic addition to cakes/cupcakes, salads or themed drinks.

Impatiens Walleriana- ‘Bizzy Lizzy’, ‘Impatient’
- Smaller flowers than a begonia, but also loving the shade, these annuals brighten any
dark space with mat-like, mounding growth habit. Excellent for edging or in containers.
Many different vibrant colours to choose from.
- The petals from the flowers are edible and have a sweet taste. They are a perfect
addition to any salad or drink.

Tagetes Erecta- Marigold
- This very tough & tolerant annual will grow almost anywhere. While many have smaller
round flowers, usually in shades of yellow , orange and red, the variety used in the
display is a larger variety. Growing to 2’ tall, with large flower heads.
- The petals and leaves are edible and can be blanched or raw, fresh or dried for a sweet
or savory flavour.
- Marigolds are often planted amongst vegetable plants to deter bugs and common pests
within an edible garden.

Lavendula- Lavender
- A clump forming perennial that only reaches just over a foot tall and about 24” wide. Sun loving
and drought tolerant.
-Some varieties are hardy for our area and some are not, so be mindful of this when purchasing.
The fragrance ‘lavender’; is ever popular for many different reasons. Some include calming
effects and others are for bug repelling.
-The flowers and the stems can both be consumed and have a bitter, yet pleasant flavour. While
all lavender plants are edible, the English Lavender is best to be used as culinary lavender. The
English Lavender has less of an oil, making the flavour more palatable and sweeter.

Dianthus-Carnations
- Being a smaller perennial, growing roughly 12’ tall and wide, these plants make excellent
border plants. They bloom continually throughout the spring and summer seasons. This
is ideal for harvesting!
- Most Dianthus have a pleasant-spicy, clove-like flavour, especially the fragrant varieties,
and are an excellent addition to many cakes, salads, soups or punch bowls.