By Georgia LeBlanc
The Tilbury Horticultural Society has been dedicated to beautifying the town of Tilbury with fresh, colourful flowerbeds and greenery since 1986.
Linda Henderson is one of the original members of the Tilbury and District Horticultural Society. The society will be celebrating its’ fortieth anniversary next year. Henderson said the society was originally founded after an ad was posted in the Tilbury Times.
“In 1986, there was an ad put in the Tilbury Times asking if anyone was interested in establishing a horticultural society, and that we wanted to start one up in Tilbury,” said Henderson. “There were about seventy people who came to the meeting at the public school, and we talked about it. We decided it was a good idea at that point, so it was started.”
Henderson said the society started work when the downtown area of Tilbury was still being developed.
“The first year, members planted in ground level beds that were present when Tilbury’s streetscape was being developed,” said Henderson. “What is there now certainly is not what was there forty years ago. Our members are older and today we prefer raised beds for planting as opposed to ground level ones. Many of these original ground level beds have disappeared and have been replaced by planters.”
Despite this, Henderson said she is very satisfied with what the society has become over the years. She also said she enjoys the aspect of comradery the Horticultural Society provides.
“My favourite part about the Horticultural Society is the friends you make in a group like this,” said Henderson. “Just the fact we work together and get to see the fruits of our labor.”
As designer of the floral displays that are planted around town, Henderson said she likes to keep things fresh and different each year.
“Every year I try to change the look,” said Henderson. “We have thirty-eight hanging baskets, thirty-three planters and eight butterfly gardens.”
Henderson also said the Horticultural Society’s work isn’t limited to downtown.
“We also contribute to the surroundings at Northside Park and Memorial Park,” said Henderson. “We are constantly replacing dead and dying trees as well as native perennials which have not survived due to severe weather or mice and deer buffets. Improvements are constantly being made to each park entrance as well as inside the parks themselves.”
Henderson said when Chatham-Kent was involved in the Communities in Bloom program, Tilbury was one of the destinations visited by the judges.
“Chatham-Kent has earned several awards over the years,” said Henderson. “First, we received top honours at the local level, then at the provincial level. Finally, we were recognized at the national level. This is quite an accomplishment as the criteria is quite strict and these awards recognized our hard work.”
Along with designers and planters, there must be someone who maintains these colourful downtown displays. The man who has been responsible for this of eighteen years is Jim “The Water Guy” Bulley. Bulley said his passion for flowers and greenery first blossomed at a very young age.
“My mom, dad and grandma have always had flowers and I’ve always been a fan of trees,” said Bulley. “My dad worked in the department of highways for many years in the forest recruit, so we were always talking about trees and stuff. It’s kind of a family tradition, I guess.”
According to Bulley, the citizens of Tilbury make it very apparent they appreciate his work.
“I take great pride in my work,” said Bulley. “Everybody sees the work I do. If I’m a little late watering because I got called into work, I always get a phone call saying, ‘The flowers are looking a little wilted!’ I always say ‘Yes, I’m done work at eight o’clock. I’ll be there at eight-thirty, don’t worry!’”
Bulley also said he is often recognized by local “fans,” and recently received a hand-made token of appreciation.
“I had a really nice moment the other night,” said Bulley. “There’s a group home down past the bowling alley and one of the people who lived there was a supporter of the Horticultural Society. She came up to me with a drawing she made that said ‘Flower Power.” She said, ‘This is for you, Mister. You do a nice job.’ I thought it was very touching.”
Even though they are doing very well, Henderson said the Horticultural Society is in need of new, younger members to carry on their legacy.
“We have monthly meetings and we welcome new members,” said Henderson. “Some people are hesitant to join because they think they do not know anything about flowers. We want to dispel that because we are not experts. Existing group members can answer questions that might arise.”
Henderson said a membership is ten dollars per year. This includes a discount on live plants of twenty per cent at local nurseries and flower shops.
To join the Tilbury Horticultural Society, you can attend a meeting at the Tilbury Legion on the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. Alternatively, more information can be found at gardenontario.org/society-listing under the letter “T”.
