January 11, 2021
To say these are unprecedented times is an understatement.
In the early days of the COVID virus when the 2020 show was cancelled we were reeling under “what if” and “what now” and it took some time to comprehend how fast our world was changing and for us to take it all in.

In the late summer months, Sandy Spremo our show co-ordinator, Claire Sullivan our treasurer and I spent dozens of hours working on creating a proposal to meet the requirements of a new financial incentive designed to help charitable organizations like ours, recover and move forward. We submitted our proposal to the Ontario Trillium Foundation, outlining several projects; including an outdoor garden show/event, complete with tents, all while meeting current pandemic protocol best we could predict. We also planned for virtual membership meetings, and online photo competitions with fundraising potential..

Unfortunately, we were only one of thousands applying for the same dollars and were unsuccessful so we now we moving forward working to create new plans for 2022. With restrictions tightening and the virus loosening, neither the college nor we are planning any events for 2021. We will not host our traditional show until we are certain that our volunteers, vendors and our visitors will all be safe in these pandemic times, no matter how much we miss the excitement of our last 20 years .

It is a difficult time for all of us who are used to gearing up for a spring show – but let’s keep in touch and share creative ways to make our future in gardening even better and more exciting. Those of you who write, paint, walk, read, dream and scheme about gardening,… please keep going. Our world may have cancelled many things, but gardening is not one of them… Let’s work together and find new ways to keep growing.

Cauleen Viscoff,  Chair, Peterborough Garden Show: 2021