Girl Guides Planting Friendship Tulip Garden In Manitouwadge
Members of the 1st Manitouwadge Sparks Brownie Guide Unit and their leaders with Marlene Turner (back row far right) and volunteer gardener (back row 3rd from left). Photo OntarioNewsNorth.com 2015
MANITOUWADGE, ON – In October, thanks in part to mild autumn weather, members of the 1st Manitouwadge Sparks-Brownie-Guide Unit had the opportunity to participate in a national initiative celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Canadian-Dutch Friendship Garden. The girls were invited to participate in the initiative by local gardener Marlene Turner.
Marlene was chosen, among 140 other groups and individuals representing gardens across Canada, to receive 700 tulip bulbs having won a contest in her favourite gardening magazine. She was especially surprised to win having submitted her application the evening prior to the contest close in memory of her friends, long-time residents of Manitouwadge Tim and Betty Bakker (the couple had immigrated to Northern Ontario from Texel Netherlands and loved planting bulbs, their favourites were daffodils).
When Marlene received the bulbs, she was responsible for coordinating their planting and so was appreciative of the generosity of Dennis Narbonne, Owner/Operator of Manitouwadge Home Hardware, who donated necessary topsoil and sheep manure for the endeavor. In addition to the Girl Guides, Marlene also shared the bulbs and her expertise with students from Ecole Publique Franco-Manitou who planted in the Manitouwadge Memorial Community Garden across from the school [CLICK HERE for photos – article in French].
Marlene, and a volunteer, visited their Girl Guides to help them plant the bulbs in the flowerbeds outside their regular meeting place on Adjala Ave. Prior to planting, Marlene explained to the girls that the Friendship Tulip Garden program is supported by the Canadian Garden Council which had received more than 400 applications. She explained to the participating Sparks, Brownies and Guides that the red and white tulip bulbs they were planted were among 700 being planted in Manitouwadge gardens and flowerbeds all to be enjoyed by everyone in their community, once they bloom next Spring. Continued below slideshow…
Symbolic link to a Friendship Tulip Garden in Nation’s Capital
The local flowerbeds and gardens involved in this initiative including, the Manitouwadge Memorial Community Garden and the Bethany Pentecostal flowerbeds (meeting place of the Manitouwadge Sparks, Brownies and Guides), and the other 139 gardens planted across the country, are symbolically linked to the 70th Anniversary Dutch-Canadian Friendship Tulip Garden also planted this fall in Ottawa by the National Capital Commission and showcased during the 2016 Canadian Tulip Festival.
On behalf of all those who will enjoy the tulips as they bloom in Manitouwadge this Spring, OntarioNewsNorth.com thanks Marlene Turner for her community spirit and for having submitted a winning Friendship Tulip Garden application. In addition to Marlene, those that made this heartwarming program possible include: Canadian Garden Council, Vesey’s Bulbs, Canada Post, National Capital Commission, Canadian Tulip Festival, Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, Garden Making magazine, Chimpanzee, Baxter Travel Media, Enterprise Canada, Gardens BC, Québec Gardens’ Association and the Ontario Garden Tourism Coalition.
The gardens and flowerbeds planted in Manitouwadge may be included in those featured in the 2016 edition of Canada’s Garden Route, www.CanadasGardenRoute.ca
