Gardening in Calgary – Series of Garden Talks for 2025

Join Janet Melrose, Calgary’s Cottage Gardener for a fun, interactive gardening series at the Dalhousie Community Association!

Gardening can provide an opportunity for you to “grow, nurture and bloom” (Janet Melrose). Janet’s vast experience, great stories and great tips about gardening in Calgary will make you want to get out there and apply some great ideas into your own gardens (no matter the size of your garden or your experience level).

Location and Timing:

Each session is 2 hours long and will run from 6:30-8:30pm at the Dalhousie Community Association. The details for each topic are provided below:

  1. May 22 – Annual Flowers and Edible – Containers and More
  2. June 19 – Trees and Shrubs of Calgary – The Framework of the Garden
  3. August 7 – Perennial Gardening – Function and Habitat in the Garden
  4. September 11 – Herbs – for All Seasons and Reasons

Details:

You can sign up for the full series or select the individual sessions you want to attend. Each session will be informal (which is what makes Janet’s style so natural and awesome) and will include demos and examples.

Costs: (coming soon)

Full Session Package: $$ (pre-purchase online at least 2 days prior to the 1st session) 

Individual Sessions: $$ per session (pre-purchase online at least 2 days prior to the event) or $$ (at the door)

Garden Sessions Open Soon

#1:  May 22 – Annual Flowers and Edibles – Containers and More

  • Annual flowers and edibles for Calgary that thrive in our climate, survive the weather, and flourish
  • Designing with annual flowers and edibles
    • Containers
    • Borders
    • Raised beds
    • Hanging baskets
    • Vertically
  • Adding tropical plants/houseplants into the mix as well as herbaceous perennials
  • Care of annual flowers and edibles
  • Saving seed and possibly overwintering.

#3:  August 7 – Perennial Gardening – Function and Habitat in the Garden

  • Functions of herbaceous perennials in the garden
  • Designing with herbaceous perennials- new naturalistic movement
  • Native versus exotic species for the garden
  • Care of herbaceous perennials
  • Overwintering herbaceous perennials
  • Propagating herbaceous perennials

#2: June 19 – Trees and Shrubs for Calgary – The Framework of the Garden

  • Functions of trees and shrubs in the urban garden
  • Choosing trees and shrubs to match their function in the garden
  • Selecting trees and shrubs
  • Planting of trees and shrubs
  • Care over the first few years
  • Training and pruning

#4: September 11 – Herbs – for All Seasons and Reasons

  • Herbs and spices through the ages
  • Properties of herbs and spices
  • What are the different types of herbs
  • What herbs grow well in Calgary – outdoors and indoors
  • Where to grow herbs – design solutions
  • Bringing in herbs for winter
  • Harvesting, storing and preserving herbs

Using gardening to ‘grow’: our community, community garden & build knowledge of gardening in Calgary.