London this week: July 13, 2011

London Chapter this week
Add the London Chapter page and the LO events calendar to your bookmarks

Annual garden tour provides great promotion
With temperatures reaching into the high 20s, it was another beautiful day for the 3rd annual Gardens of Distinction Tour. LO London Chapter would like to thank the 10 London- and 3 St. Thomas-based participants, as well as all of those who attended the tour. Each garden displayed how a well-planned design can create a haven in your own yard.The attendees enjoyed a unique tour where they were able to discuss all aspects of the design and build with the designers and contractors who were on site. We look forward to continuing the Gardens of Distinction into its 4th year with all of the support we have received in the past.

Survey to help college with programs

Conestoga College is redesigning its existing horticulture program. With
the intent to develop a program that is industry-driven and responsive
to the needs of the sector, the college is conducting a survey of
industry professionals. The survey may be found at Conestoga. If you have any
questions, contact Joyce Irving at jirving@conestogac.on.ca.

London Chapter Golf Tournament, Sept. 9

Treat yourself to a great day on the links, support your association and
take a well-deserved break. The format is best ball scramble. Cost is
$125 per golfer, which includes golf, cart, lunch, dinner and prizes.
Dinner-only is available for $35. For further information, go to London golf.

Are you Landscape Industry Certified?

A Landscape Industry Certified test will be held at St. Clair College this fall. Sept. 30 will be the Technician Practical Test and all Certification designation written tests will be on Oct. 1. To register click here, or for more information contact Rachel Cerelli. To help prepare candidates for the test, Landscape Industry Certified pre-test day orientation will be held Sept. 9 at St.Clair College. RSVP to Rachel Cerelli.

Fanshawe College hosts written Landscape Industry Certification test
There will be a written test for all Landscape Industry Certified designations at Fanshawe College on Nov. 5. Technicians, this was created to compliment your out-of-town practical exam held in Milton on Oct. 24, or at St. Clair College on Sept. 30. Click here for more information or to register, or contact Rachel Cerellli.

LO this week
Don’t miss tomorrow’s auction!

Join us for this free event at Blue Sky Nursery in Wine Country, which includes lunch from a
well-known local caterer, fabulous silent auction items, a wine tasting
tent, a tour of the production farm, and of course top quality nursery
products at below wholesale prices. Who should attend? Landscape
contractors, retailers, ground maintenance contractors, growers, and
anyone that would like to enjoy a fantastic day of networking, food,
wine and shopping. To find out more about this Beamsville event go Industry Auction.

Be a part of the green industry’s human resources solution

Ontario’s green industry will experience a shortfall of 87,000 workers in the next 10 years. We need your knowledge and experience to address recruitment and retention challenges in our industry. Attend one of four facilitated sessions across Ontario to ensure the success of Ontario’s green industry in the next decade. Click here for locations, dates, times and register today!

Horticulture Review online

Read the latest news of interest to Landscape Ontario members in the
July edition of Horticulture Review.
This month features articles
outlining the problems associated with customers wanting cash deals, the new co-location agreement between Canada Blooms and the amazing job by Toronto Chapter members to build an outdoor sanctuary at Sick Kids Hospital, as well as our cover story on one of LO’s Honourary Life members retiring from running his successful business. Click here to read the July issue of Horticulture Review. Anyone may sign up to receive a free subscription to the
electronic version of HR.

Tony DiGiovanni honoured at Humber College convocation
On June 22, LO’s executive director was recognized by Humber College for his contributions to green industry education. At the college’s convocation ceremony, Tony DiGiovanni was presented with an honourary degree acknowledging his vision, passion and leadership within the horticulture industry. Watch a video of his address.

Support Legacy Garden at School of Horticulture
Donations and in-kind contributions are being sought to help create a garden at the Niagara Parks Commission School of Horticulture that will be a tribute to all those working in the horticulture industry. The garden plan’s official unveiling takes place at the OPA/NPC School of Horticulture 75th anniversary celebrations from August 19-21 at the School of Horticulture in Niagara Falls. More information available here.

Trial garden open house, Aug. 12
This year’s trial garden open house for the horticultural professionals will take place on the morning of Fri., Aug. 12. The
speaker program this year will follow-up on the horticultural soil talk
from last year with a research and experiential perspective on
microbial soil additives (for example: mycorrhizae). This program will
be of interest to those planting both herbaceous and woody plants.

Tours of the trial garden will immediately follow the speaker program.
Voting on your favourites will take place again. The afternoon
program will continue at the Guelph Trial Garden at the Guelph Turfgrass
Institute. Updates on turf research will take place at the Guelph site,
as well.

The public will be invited to the LO gardens on Sat.,
Aug. 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Guelph trials will be open to the
public on Wed., Aug. 17, from noon until 8 p.m.

To find out more about sponsorship opportunities available with the trial garden, contact Rodger Tschanz at rtschanz@uoguelph.ca or Kathleen Pugliese at kathleenp@landscapeontario.com.

LO wage survey needs your input
How do your pay rates compare to other Ontario green industry companies? Take LO’s wage survey to enter your pay rates, and see the 2011 averages for a range of horticultural specialties. Information may
be used for benchmarking, and also
helps in promoting the industry as a career choice. The surveys are
completely confidential; only aggregate numbers are reported. Click here to take part in the survey, and view the results here.

Photography for landscape artists

A workshop on Aug. 9 is aimed at people with little or no photographic
experience, and will help you take better photographs of your landscape
and garden centre projects. A digital camera that supports manual
settings is required to fully participate in this workshop. Also, a
laptop is required to review and edit your photos. The workshop will
take place at the LO home office in Milton, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. To
see more information, or to register, go to photography.

Green for Life Community Award: Enter your project

If you have taken part in a project to green your community, then showcase
your efforts in the Landscape Ontario Green for Life Community Award.
The winner of the award will be announced at Expo 2011 in conjunction
with the Communities in Blooms – Ontario ceremony on Thurs., Oct. 20.
For more information, or to register go to
Green for Life Award.

European contact opportunity
Johan Van Herreweghe, of JVH Nurseries in Belgium, is visiting Canadian customers, and looking to make new contacts. Nurseries
interested in making a new European connection can get in touch with Van Herreweghe now at JVH@jvh-nurseries.com, or in August, at 514-826-3272.

Advanced Green Roof Maintenance seminar, July 26
Created
to assist designers, contractors and facility managers with an important, but
often overlooked aspect of green roofs: maintenance. The seminar examines
design phase considerations; best practices for planning, budgeting, and
implementing maintenance procedures; and approaches for rehabilitating green
roofs that have been subject to maintenance neglect. The seminar will take
place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at LO home office in Milton. Participants will
receive a 100-page manual with detailed case studies. Lunch is not included. Price
for LO members is $249, and for non-members it is $299. To find out more about
the seminar go to green roofs.

Feeling hot, hot, hot

Health and Safety Ontario is ringing a warning bell for those who work
through the heat. It’s time to develop a workplace heat stress
prevention plan. Health and Safety Ontario has a comprehensive website on the subject, with helpful tips and information to get started, as well as the latest news on heat safety. To check out the page go to heat stress.

Designing and marketing creative urns, July 27
A comprehensive program for retail garden centres, designers and interior landscapers
that will demonstrate how to decipher the customer’s needs, track trends and
design magnificent urns that will keep you busy for the season. Instructors
will explore planting combinations, maintenance, decor and the strategy of
sequential sales to develop a recipe for success. Participants will learn
proper pruning practices, develop marketing programs and learn to up sell with
every design. The seminar will take place at the LO home office in Milton, from
9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $115 for members, and $192 for non-members. For
more information, or to register, go to LO seminars.

Argos offer discount to LO members
The Toronto Argonauts have created a discount offer for Landscape
Ontario members. Various price levels are available. To see more info on
the program, or to order ticks go to
Argonauts.

New Interior Technician Training Manual

A new manual for interior technicians has been written, and will be a
recommended study guide for the Landscape Industry Certified Interior
Technician (formerly CLT-I) exam. In order to secure the additional
funding to complete production of this new manual, PLANET’s Interior
Specialty Group and Landscape Ontario are seeking a show of support for
this definitive training manual for the Interior Plantscape industry. We
need your help. Please indicate your support for the production of a
new training manual for interior technicians by signing this
letter.