HORTICULTURE IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TODAY

Horticulture is alive and doing well in Trinidad and Tobago thanks both to our great climate and to the EFFORTS OF several horticultural organizations.

Today, I will introduce you to two of these organizations and give you some news about their activities. 

THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY

Founded in 1914 and still going strong, the Horticultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago has worked assiduously over the last nine decades to make gardening the popular pastime that it now is.  Over the years, its Annual Flower Shows have brought horticulture of the highest standard to Trinidad and Tobago.

The Society’s bustling Flower Market, featuring a vast array of locally grown flowers and foliage, is located at its headquarters on Lady Chancellor Road.  It is open to the public on Wednesdays to Fridays from 6am to noon and on Saturdays from 7am to 11am

Our beautiful flowers and foliage are internationally renowned thanks to the Society’s ongoing successes at exhibitions abroad.

Locally, its Flower Arranging Group conducts work sessions once a month, ensuring a high standard of floristry in the country.  This is evidenced by the beautiful arrangements seen at the Annual Flower Shows.

With 300 members, the Society is the largest horticultural group operating in Trinidad and Tobago.  It produces a quarterly newsletter, and has monthly meetings, generally lectures AND demonstrations in the rainy season, and field trips in the dry,

For more news about the Horticultural Society, write to P.O.Box 252. Port of Spain or call 622-6423.

THE GARDEN CLUB

 The GARDEN CLUB OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO was founded in 1993 when a small group of enthusiastic home gardeners got together to share their enjoyment of gardening.

The objectives of the club are the promotion of gardening, the dissemination of horticultural knowledge and the preservation of the environment. Its logo is the beautiful indigenous Double Chaconia flower, which is unique to Trinidad and Tobago.

Its monthly meetings, usually in a garden setting, feature show benches, photo quizzes, lectures, demonstrations, and books from its well stocked library.

The Club has a limited membership of 110. but is very active.  It produces a monthly newsletter; it mounts displays; its ‘Growing Things’ column was published in the Guardian from 1993 to 1996 ;it has advised various institutions on landscaping projects; and disseminates information  on local gardening on its website.   It also awards a bursary annually to an Agricultural student at UWI, for the best paper on a horticultural topic.

To help finance its programme, the Club has produced a 2007 calendar featuring photos of beautiful local gardens, which will soon be on sale.

If you have any gardening news or tips you would like to share, or if you are having a problem in your garden, e-mail me at thehappygardner@tstt.net.tt

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