The Stratford Garden Festival this weekend in Stratford, Ontario, is a remarkable local community fundraiser for the Ontario Lung Association that brings out thousands of people who enjoy “earthly delights,” which is this year’s theme. Started in 2001, the festival has netted more than $920,000 “to support lung health” and organizers hope that the 2017 event puts the cumulative total over $1 million.
There’s a mix of vendors and displays, most with a gardening focus, as well as a lineup of 20 speakers over four days. The show is at the Stratford Rotary Centre. More info is at StratfordGardenFestival.com.
The show was started by Deedee Herman and Mary Hill, along with local landscapers and members of the arts community in Stratford (home of one of North America’s finest repertory companies, The Stratford Festival).
Among the vendors at the show:
- Earth Bound Gardens, based in the South Bruce Peninsula.
- HortusTV, the web-based garden TV show service.
- Irrigatia, which sells garden irrigating kits.
- Rogers Custom Greenhouses, manufacturers of residential and commercial greenhouses.
- Advanced Compost, an award-winning improvement on traditional cow manure from farmers in Baden, Ontario.
- Anything Grows Seed Co. with a selection of heirloom, organic and unusual seed varieties.
- Eastcliff Farms, with iron structures and trellises.
- Artwork by local artists Marc Bauer-Maison, Lucinda Jones and Kathryn Robinson.
I love the Stratford Garden Show. I have gone many years now and I love seeing all the vendors and the landscape displays. I especially love the great speakers that are present every year. The wealth of knowledge these speakers have and their generosity in passing this onto the audience is very well taken as shown by the crowds at these seminars.
Hello Becky,
My wife and I were at the Stratford show and heard your presentation. We enjoyed the whole affair. The size is manageable and the vendors very helpful and the talks informative. we are part of the Belle River & District Hort Society and had a nice chat with the ladies from the Stratford HS. The drive up and down was ok (Snow is ok in early March in Canada). Just wanted you to know.
Regards, Paul