If you have recently joined the Club the information on this page is for you!

WELCOME TO THE COWICHAN VALLEY GARDEN CLUB

Founded in 1953 under the name Valley Garden Club

Welcome to the Cowichan Valley Garden Club.  We are a group of diverse and interesting people sharing a common interest – the love of gardening.      
 
MONTHLY MEETING
Monthly Meeting:
  • meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month, September through June
  • effective March 8, 2023  we meet at the Duncan United Church Hall, 246 Ingram Street, Duncan
  • until February 2023 we met at St. John’s Church Hall, 486 Jubilee Street, Duncan
  • during the COVID-19 pandemic we met on Zoom, and resumed in-person meetings in April 2022
  • meetings include a business meeting, guest speakers on a variety of topics, gardening tips, a Parlour Show, raffle, Plant Sale table  and a wonderful tea with time to exchange ideas with fellow gardeners   
  • meetings start at 7:00 pm but most members arrive early to shop at the Plant Sale table, buy raffle tickets and socialize
Guest Speakers – Each meeting begins with a guest speaker who shares his or her garden expertise, techniques, hints and experiences and travels to other parts of the plant world.
Parlour Shows –  A mini flower show is held each month as part of regular meetings.   All members are encouraged to participate.  Classes range from floral arrangements showcasing flowers in season, cut branches of ornamental shrubs, flowers and leaves.   These shows are an excellent way to display the products of our gardens.  Have you grown something especially lovely, unusual or unknown?  Enter it in the ‘Anything Goes’ class.
Judges are chosen from the members present.  Points are awarded for entries in the Parlour Show with prizes awarded in December of each year.
Plant Sale – Plants and related garden items donated by members can be bought for good prices at our Plant Sale.   All proceeds go to the Club for interests such as bus tours, workshops and guest speakers.
Raffles – There is a monthly raffle of garden related prizes.  
Open Gardens and Garden Tours –  Some members open their gardens for viewing by other members and the Club arranges an annual bus tour to interesting gardens in other areas.
Workshops – Our Club offers workshops of interest to members.  There is normally just a minimal charge for these. Past workshops have included pruning, tool sharpening, flower arranging and pest control.
Spring Flower Show & Tea  – The Club holds a Spring Flower Show and Tea in May.  This is open to the public to enter and attend and often includes workshops and/or speakers as well as door prizes donated by generous local sponsors.
Spring Plant Sale –  The Spring Plant Sale is held in April and is the Club’s major fundraiser.  
Cowichan Exhibition – The Chairperson and other volunteers for the Cowichan Exhibition’s flower and produce shows in September are volunteers from the Club.   Many members enter classes.
TEAMS
Teams – The members of the Cowichan Valley Garden Club are divided into 10 teams, each with a Team Leader.  With the continued cooperation of all team members we operate a large club very effectively.
Team Duties –
Once a year, each team has duties for two consecutive monthly meetings.  Team Leaders notify their members about their upcoming duties.
  • First month of duties:    The set-up team brings plants and runs a Plant Sale, and buys good-quality raffle prizes and sells raffle tickets before the meeting and during break.   If our hired set-up people cannot attend, the set-up team sets up and takes down the tables and chairs before and after the meeting.   They sweep and tidy the church hall after the meeting is over.  
  • Second month of duties:   The tea team brings snacks, makes and serves tea and cleans up the kitchen after the meeting is over. 
Membership Application:   Interested in joining a diverse and interesting group?    Please click on the link for the Membership form:  Membership form 2024-2025   
Please sign the Membership form and submit it with your dues at a meeting or:
By cheque payable to the Cowichan Valley Garden Club and mailed to:
Cowichan Valley Garden Club,
PO Box 917, Duncan BC V9L 3Y2
or:     By E-transfer and email your form to:  cowichangardenclub2@gmail.com
Annual Dues – $20.00 per person.   
Name Tags – Name tags showing membership with the Cowichan Valley Garden Club can be purchased.    We ask members to wear their name tag to club events.
Website – The club has a website www.cowichanvalleygardenclub.com which is continually updated.  Check here for coming events including notice of monthly meetings, garden tips and hints, photographs of members’ gardens, the membership application form and club history.  The website includes a secure Members Only section to protect members’ email addresses and phone numbers from the general public.   Here you can find Minutes of monthly Club meetings, a list of Open Gardens and upcoming Club workshops, team contact information and duty months.  The Members Only section is password protected and to avoid missing out on anything, we strongly encourage members to request a user name and password to access this section by emailing info@cowichanvalleygardenclub.com.

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