Stop bagging your leaves. Start building habitat.

Before you tidy up your garden this fall, ask yourself: who's living in there? Luna moth cocoons disguised as dead leaves. Bumblebee queens buried just under the soil. Bees nesting inside your stems.

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Join Certified Master Gardener Kirsten McCarthy for an interactive talk where you help build a live "winter yard" — leaf litter, brush piles, snags and all — and learn how a little mess = a lot of life.

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This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "October".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

Date to be announced early October.  

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2026/27 Pricing structure:

• $30 single membership

• $50 household membership (2 people)

• $10 guest event fee

This informative session will help participants develop a stronger understanding of pruning and build practical skills they can apply when caring for trees, shrubs, and other woody ornamentals. 

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Sean James, of Sean James Consulting & Design, will explain the science behind pruning, including how plants respond to cuts, why cut placement matters, and how proper technique supports healthy healing and long-term plant structure. Participants will learn what to avoid, how to recognize when pruning is needed, and how to make thoughtful decisions about removing dead, damaged, crowded, or poorly placed growth.

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The session will also cover important considerations such as the best timing for pruning, how much growth can safely be removed, and how pruning needs may change as plants mature from young specimens into established or aging shrubs and trees. In addition, participants will gain insight into plant health, including how to notice possible disease issues and manage them appropriately.

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Specialty pruning approaches, including pollarding and coppicing, will also be introduced so attendees can better understand when these methods may be useful. Overall, this session is designed to give gardeners,homeowners, and anyone who cares for woody plants the confidence to prune with greater purpose, accuracy, and care.

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This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "November". Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

A private workshop at Graham and Brooks, exclusively for members of the Dundas Horticultural Society. Please book only if you are part of this group.

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We will construct a Winter Planter in a 10” pot insert using fresh greens with a Holiday flare, but something that will go well into the New Year outside on your porch, balcony or at your entrance.

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This workshop is held at our 64 Hatt Street store location. Spaces are limited. 

The Fine Print:

* Refundable up to two weeks before event. 
* Up to one week before the event- a credit note will be issued. Less than one week, no credit or refunds.

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​Register Here​

Let's all dig in to some holiday cheer!  Details to come.

Mike Parrish is President of the Hamilton Dahlia Society, a national community of more than 260 members across Canada and the United States. He has been growing dahlias for over 20 years and enjoys sharing his knowledge as a senior judge with the American Dahlia Society and as the local Judging Chair. He was also the only Canadian representative on the committee that developed the Society’s online judging curriculum and is a member of the Canadian Chrysanthemum and Dahlia Society. Each year, Mike exhibits at five shows across southern Ontario and has earned top honours at major U.S. competitions, including the American Dahlia Society National Show. He lives in Dundas with his partner and works as a pediatric anesthesiologist at McMaster Children’s Hospital. For Mike, growing dahlias is a rewarding way to spend time in nature outside the operating room.

This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "January".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

Join us for a hands-on workshop featuring practical tips and techniques for successful winter sowing. Sara will discuss native plants, explain cultivars and selections, and demonstrate the tools and methods we use to start seeds.
Each participant will seed a tray of 26 plugs to take home for winter sowing. Tea, coffee, and treats will be provided. Depending on the stage of Northland Nursery's seedlings, the workshop may also include a walk through the heated frames to see new plants in progress.

Cost: $25 per person

Details to come.

This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "February".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

Duane Hewitt is a molecular biologist who brings together his scientific background, farming roots, and interest in natural health through Forest Fruits Mushrooms in the Hamilton area. He earned a Bachelor of Science from McMaster University and a Master of Science from the University of Calgary, then built a career in biotechnology and pharmaceuticals that included research work in academic and corporate settings in the northeastern United States and Canada. His later move into project management, product development, and natural products helped shape his belief that food can play an important role in health and well-being.

Forest Fruits Mushrooms began by offering gourmet mushrooms at local farmers’ markets in communities such as Dundas, Hamilton, and Burlington. Over time, the business expanded into medicinal mushroom tinctures, including products such as lion’s mane and reishi, connecting local food production with the growing interest in functional foods and wellness.
 

Through his products and public talks, Hewitt helps people better understand mushrooms as food, wellness ingredients, and important organisms in natural recycling systems. His story shows how science, agriculture, and community education can come together in a small local business with a distinctive purpose.

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This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "March".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

Join us for a special talk with Jessica Mahler of The Movement on the health and longevity benefits of gardening, along with practical tips for preventing common gardening-related injuries. Jessica brings a strong background in physical therapy, kinesiology, and strength and conditioning, and as an avid gardener herself, she offers a knowledgeable and relatable perspective on how to enjoy gardening safely for years to come.

This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "April".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

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Details to come.

Dr. Mike Dixon is a University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph and Director of the Controlled Environment Systems Research Facility. His research focuses on growing plants in controlled environments, where factors such as light, temperature, water, and air quality can be carefully managed. This work is important because it helps scientists understand how plants can support human life in places where normal farming is not possible.

Dixon’s research also explores plant-based life support systems, which could help provide food, oxygen, and cleaner air for future space missions. Through this work, he connects plant science with the challenges of long-term human space exploration.

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This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "May".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.

In Yardwork: A Biography of an Urban Place, Daniel Coleman explores how people develop meaningful connections to the places where they live, using Dundas as an example.

Drawing on his experience of moving to Hamilton to work at McMaster University, Coleman reflects on how a place becomes home and questions whether a newcomer can understand it as deeply as communities that have cared for it across generations.

He begins with his own backyard in Dundas (University Gardens) near the Niagara Escarpment, but expands his focus to the larger history of Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour. As he observes the plants, animals, water, and changes in the local environment, he also considers the impact of human choices on the land.

Through the inclusion of Six Nations history and viewpoints, Coleman shows that a yard is more than private property; it is connected to culture, nature, memory, and people’s responsibility to the land.

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This event is free for members. Non-members pay $10. Payment can only be made by e-transfer to dundashort@gmail.com.  In the comment line of your e-transfer please put your name and "June".  Cash, credit card and cheques not accepted.