by Guillaume Laflamme
Shawville
May 9, 2024
Children and their parents gathered at the Shawville Community Lodge on Thursday to build a potted floral arrangement for their mothers and learn about gardening in the process.
The event was organized by The Parents’ Voice and was hosted by Lindsay Hamilton, a longtime gardener and owner of the Homegrown Garden Center in Quyon.
“I wanted them to get a little dirty,” Hamilton said. “Plus, I wanted them to be able to get a little bit creative. Pick out a plant that maybe is of interest to them and have fun picking out the different plants and how they go . . .
together, the different colours that can go together and shapes and textures.”
Hamilton used the activity of potting a flower arrangement as an opportunity to teach the kids about soil and its components, as well as about plant structure, and the role the plant’s roots play in its overall health.
“I try to throw in a lot of education on how to actually build a beautiful planter so that the moms and the dads can take a little bit of knowledge home with them as well,” Hamilton said.
Emily McCann attended the workshop with her daughter, Ruby-Ann Fraser. With the help of Hamilton, Fraser built a potted floral arrangement of black and purple flowers, which she said are her favourite colours.
McCann believes the event was educational for both the kids and the parents.
“I know Lindsay really well, and when I saw that she was doing this for the kids, I thought it was a great opportunity,” McCann said. “She’s so great with kids. It’s amazing how she can explain things to a six-year-old so that it makes sense and makes it fun. She’s really good at what she does.”
Hamilton, whose family owns Mountainview Turf Farm, explained she became passionate about gardening when she was in university studying turfgrass science. On the weekends, she would volunteer at the campus greenhouses, tending to the plants.
After graduating, she returned to the family farm, and began building her gardening business. “I applaud The Parents’ Voice for coming up with it [the workshop]. Truthfully it was completely their idea and their initiative, and I’m just happy to be a part of it and be able to contribute to it,” Hamilton said.
“We thought that with the weather coming around, we would really like to give kids an opportunity to create something fun as a potential gift for Mother’s Day,” said Shelley Heaphy, committee member for The Parents’ Voice.
“We think it’s pretty amazing how she’s developed this side of her business, and we were happy to support it,” Heaphy said.
