Volunteering

As a member you are welcome to lend a helping hand in a project or activity that is of interest to you. You may sign-up to assist with any projects at our in-person meetings, or by using our Contact Us page.

Monthly Meeting Program

The Club’s program committee contributes to the planning of meetings, workshops and events and the coordination of speakers and topics. Members are encouraged to contribute ideas for programs.

Newsletter

The first edition of our Club’s online newsletter appeared in Summer 2020. Issued seasonally, the newsletter presents current gardening trends and events, gardening tips, recipes and colourful photographs.

Photo Galleries

Members are welcome to submit their photos of gardens and related activities for the Photo Galleries. Please contact us by email and attach your photo files along with brief captions. Thank you.

Village Planting

The flower barrels and five iron planters on Main Street are maintained by Club volunteers. In the spring they renew the soil, plant the annuals, and supervise the placement of the barrels by Loyalist Township workers. The flower beds at Schell’s Market, Bath Museum and Post Office are also planted and maintained by the Club. Throughout the summer, a local resident waters the barrels, and Club members weed and maintain the flowers. The barrels are stored by Loyalist Township in winter.

Denys Mailhiot Memorial Garden

The Bath Gardening Club supports the care and upkeep of the Denys Mailhiot Memorial Garden on the west end of Main Street.

Many of those who pass by the memorial garden along the bridge did not know Mr. Mailhiot. Denys was a Renaissance man of immense ability, vision and talent. He was a painter, photographer, and a passionate gardener. He won awards for interior design, choreography, acting and singing.

Denys was one of the first members of the Bath Community Revitalization Committee (BCRC). He cared deeply about beauty and our Village. It was his hope that funds raised by BCRC for physical improvement would cover the cost of beautifying the appearance of the bridge over the brook at the western entrance to Bath. Just a few months before his death of multiple myeloma in 2010, Denys bought and planted all the Spirea shrubs along the north side of the bridge. After his death, to honour him, his friends and admirers contributed funds to BCRC, now entrusted by the Bath Gardening Club, to develop this garden for the public in his memory.

Bath Sunday Market

Located at Loyalist Park on Main Street, the Sunday Market operates from early May to mid-October. Vendor information is posted on our website in early spring.

Plant Sale

A plant sale in Centennial Park is usually planned for spring, offering an excellent selection of annuals, perennials, seedlings, dish gardens, herbs, vegetables and houseplants. Also available is the Club’s special blend of fertilizer. The plant sale is very popular and it is a great way to expand the variety of plants in your garden at very reasonable cost. Occasionally the Club organizes a fall plant sale.

Fertilizer Sale

The Bath Gardening Club is famous for its unique blend of fertilizer, known as Fritz Mix. Each spring a team mixes the ingredients and bags the fertilizer. Orders are taken in advance.

Canada Day Parade

Club members volunteer to design, build and enter a BGC float in the Bath Canada Day Parade. The Club has received awards for its elaborately decorated and colourful floats.

Bugtel Insect Hotel

The Club built an “Insect Hotel” on property owned by Loyalist Township behind the outdoor classroom at the Bath Public School. It was constructed entirely of recycled materials. The main structure is made of discarded wood pallets donated by Kaitlin Group and Schell’s Market. Other natural materials provide “rooms” in the “hotel.”

When the structure was completed in the summer of 2017, students of Bath Public School were asked to give it a name. The Grade One class of Mrs. Hay dubbed it “The Bath Bugtel”. A descriptive plaque explains the story of the Bugtel. A pollinator garden that surrounds the Bugtel is weeded and watered by Club volunteers.

About Insect Hotels

Did you know that an average garden can hold about 2,000 species of insects? By providing the right habitat, we can greatly increase the numbers of beneficial insects in the garden. Bumblebees and solitary bees are declining, so that by providing homes for them we can contribute to their conservation.

Dead wood is essential for wood boring beetles and it also supports many fungi. Crevices under the bark hold centipedes and woodlice. In the Bugtel are hollow bamboo tubes and logs with drilled holes in which solitary bees can over-winter. The female bee lays eggs at the end of the hollow tube, then seals the tube with a plug of mud. In the spring the eggs hatch and larvae emerge from their safe winter hiding place.

Frogs, who eat slugs and other garden pests, need water, and therefore the “bug hotel” was built in a spot where water is available. Straw, hay, loose bark and dry leaves provide a frost-free space for centipedes, millipedes and spiders. These insects break down the material to compost, an essential part of a garden recycling system. Adult ladybugs, who are aphid munchers, need dry sticks in which to hide over the winter.

Winter Decorations along Main Street

The Club volunteers place decorative festive greenery in the planters along Main Street and at the Post Office, and provide evergreen wreaths that Loyalist Township places on the lamp posts.

Carol Singing

Usually in December the Club hosts an evening of carol singing in Centennial Park for the community. Hot chocolate and goodies are served, and carollers are encouraged to bring donations for the Bath Food Bank.