Beeton Seed Library

FROM OUR LIBRARY TO YOUR GARDEN

NTPL Seedy Saturday Schedule

Opening Remarks

• 10:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks

Speaker Sessions:

• 10:30 Light: Most Important, Least Understood, Darryl Cheng
• 11:30  Growing the Romantics, Christine March, Simcoe County Master Gardener
• 1:00    Top Five Garden Mistakes, Christine March, Simcoe County Master Gardener
• 2:00   Starting and Saving Seeds, Beeton Horticultural Society, Liza Williams
• 3:00   Floral Arrangement, Darlene Rupke, Petal Academy

Vendor Tables:

10:00 am – 3:00 pm

• Beeton Horticultural Society, Bake Table
• NTPL Seed Catalogue Table
• Petal Academy
• Seeds of Diversity Table
• Porch and Patio Gifts & Decor
• Julia Ruhl, Dahlia Tubers
• Becky’s Stain Glass and Fairy Doors

Seedy Saturday 2025 Speaker Sessions List & Bios:

10:30 Light: Most Important, Least Understood, Darryl Cheng

Daryl is the author of the best-selling houseplant book, ‘The New Plant Parent’, and passionate advocate for indoor gardening. He has a growing community of plant enthusiasts, with a significant following on Instagram @houseplantjournal (over 600k followers), where he shares tips, inspiration, and advice on caring for houseplants.

Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.

11:30 Growing the Romantics, Christine March, Simcoe County Master Gardener

As a child in Vancouver Christine was in awe of her grandmother’s small but bountiful backyard garden, but she didn’t know a petunia from a pansy until well into adulthood. One fall, thinking it would be nice to have fresh-cut flowers in the house, she planted a small selection of tulip bulbs in her Toronto backyard. She was hooked; an avid home gardener was born.

In a previous life, Christine worked alongside some of Toronto’s best floral and horticultural designers and formalized her gardening knowledge when she joined the Toronto Master Gardeners in 2009. Christine transferred to the Simcoe County Master Gardeners after she and her husband moved to Creemore in 2017.

Christine is a member of numerous gardening organizations and currently sits on the Board of the Creemore Horticultural Society.

She enjoys the challenges of maintaining her Zone 5b perennial garden alongside her husband Ron, but nothing brings Christine more joy than working in the garden with her two young grandsons.

Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.

1:00 pm Top Five Garden Mistakes, Christine March, Simcoe County Master Gardener

As a child in Vancouver Christine was in awe of her grandmother’s small but bountiful backyard garden, but she didn’t know a petunia from a pansy until well into adulthood. One fall, thinking it would be nice to have fresh-cut flowers in the house, she planted a small selection of tulip bulbs in her Toronto backyard. She was hooked; an avid home gardener was born.

In a previous life, Christine worked alongside some of Toronto’s best floral and horticultural designers and formalized her gardening knowledge when she joined the Toronto Master Gardeners in 2009. Christine transferred to the Simcoe County Master Gardeners after she and her husband moved to Creemore in 2017.

Christine is a member of numerous gardening organizations and currently sits on the Board of the Creemore Horticultural Society.

She enjoys the challenges of maintaining her Zone 5b perennial garden alongside her husband Ron, but nothing brings Christine more joy than working in the garden with her two young grandsons.

Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.

2:00 Starting and Saving Seeds, Liza Williams

Liza is a small-scale grower right here in New Tecumseth. Liza and her husband Mike grow seasonal vegetables without the use of harmful sprays. They also raise laying hens which provide eggs. If you drive by the Williams’ home you will often see chickens, turkeys and ducks roaming free and way in the back you will find their pastured pigs enjoying a mud bath or tilling the ground. Liza also volunteers as the president of the Beeton Horticultural Society which meets monthly to share and learn everything gardening.

Maximum 20 registrants, drop-ins welcome space allowing.

3:00: Tulip Floral Arrangement Workshop, Darlene Rupke

Join us for an interactive workshop in creating with tulips. Learn the Dutch inspired European handtied bouquet and take home a lovely bouquet ready for your vase!

Learn tips and techniques for using tulips in design and best practices for care and maintenance as a cut flower.

Petal Academy will lead us.

Registration required, maximum 15 registrants.

Ages 16+

Darlene Rupke (CAFA – Canadian Academy of Floral Art), founder & teacher of all things floral at Petal Academy. Darlene Rupke has been passionate about flowers since childhood when she cut all her mother’s tulips! She studied at Humber College where she graduated with honours from the retail floristry program in 1994. She has trained in the Netherlands, NYC and California. At the age of 25 she was one of Canada’s youngest to achieve the CAFA recognition. Her passion for design, strategic thinking and creativity gives her an innovative approach to up-and-coming industry trends. Her talents have been recognized by local celebrities, industry magazines, Style at Home magazine, local charities and corporations such as Mackenzie Investments, RBC and Magna International. She is also an accredited Judge for Skills Canada. Her entrepreneurial adventures began in 2005 when she opened Seasons Floral Studio. After 15 years in retail, she sold her studio and founded Petal Academy in 2020. This was a pivotal move to floral subscription programs and online education and to share the joy of flowers to households everywhere! Her mission is to empower individuals to “Be Fearless with Flowers”. Darlene is a budding bloom grower and gardener and is proud to use as much local and Canadian grown blooms as possible.

How to Borrow Seeds

1. 2024 Seeds are available through the following methods:
   • Self-Serve: visit the Beeton Seed Library (D. A. Jones Branch).
   • Order: place an order at any branch or contacting us by phone/email and your seeds will be delivered to the branch pickup location of your choice.
2. Additional seeds/varieties can be accessed through self-service by visiting the Beeton Seed Library and browsing the collection. These seeds may include previous inventory and/or seeds obtained through return/donation.

HOW TO RETURN/DONATE HARVESTED SEEDS:

NOTE: We accept harvested seeds at any time of year & have FREE seed-saving envelopes available from the Beeton Seed Library!

1. Drop your (fully dried) seeds off at the Beeton Seed Library and/or any NTPL branch and our staff will be happy to package them!
2. Please include the following information with your donation:
• Your name
• Seed name &  variety
• Location of harvest (town)
• Year harvested
• Planting season: spring | summer | fall | winter (indoor start)
• Sun requirements: full sun | part sun | part shade | full shade
• Any other information you feel would help a fellow gardener (height, flower colour, etc.)

HOW TO DONATE NON-HARVESTED SEEDS:

We welcome seed donations of all kinds.  We prioritize seeds that are GMO-free, organic, heirloom, and/or open-pollinated. 

To donate non-harvested seeds, please follow the same instructions for harvested seeds (see above).

Beeton Seed Library is located at the D.A. Jones Branch

WE HAVE

2025 SEEDS