Nobleton Notes
Lions have lots of activities planned for Nobleton in the coming weeks
By Angie Maccarone (905) 859-5174 Nobleton Lions

Plans are now under way for upcoming events, starting with the annual Victoria Day Parade to be held May 19.

Immediately prior to the parade is the Purina Walk for Dog Guides, sponsored in part by the Nobleton Lions Club, in support of the Oakville School for Dog Guides. Dogs are trained to assist blind, deaf and persons with special needs. You may have seen our very own Bev Berger with her dog guide around town. They are graduates of the Oakville School.

Registration for the walk starts at 10 a.m. May 19 at the Nobleton Arena, with the leisurely walk starting at 11, and ending by joining the parade route for a total distance of about five kilometres. Bring your pooch out for a walk for a good cause, and join in the day's activities. For more information, call (905) 859- 0855, or e-mail baberger@sympatico.ca

Next up is the Lions annual Fund-raising Gala, being held June 14, with a new early-bird draw May 19. To be eligible for the early-bird, tickets must be purchased by May 16, so be sure to get your ticket early. Featured is a hot roast beef dinner, musical entertainment and the silent auction this year will be far bigger. Tickets are out now.

Lastly, watch this space for information on this years Lion's Charity Golf Tournament.

If there are any questions regarding the preceding, please contact Ray Castator at (905) 859-4138, or Joe Tasca at (905) 859-0877.

Mother's Day at St. Paul's

Our Prayer Group meets tonight (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m.

The Thursday morning men's study group is taking a break for a while, however, the Thursday morning ladies' study group continues as usual at 9:30 a.m. tomorrow.

Join us this Sunday (May 11), Mother's Day, at 9:45 a.m. as we welcome Rev. Winston Newman to the pulpit. Nursery care (for children five years of age and younger) is available during the service and Sunday school for all ages follows at 11 a.m. Please note there will be no Sunday school or nursery care offered May 18 due to the Victoria Day long weekend.

Also, mark your calendars for our Communion service May 25.

The Women's Missionary Society will meet May 13 at 1 p.m. and the ladies' Tuesday afternoon study will continue at 1:30 p.m. For more information about any of our activities or events, please contact the church office at (905) 859- 0843 or visit our Web site at www.stpaulsnobleton.ca

Horticulture

"Tra la! It's May, the merry month of May. That lovely month when ev'ryone goes blissfully astray . . ."

We can't go astray in choosing forsythia as one of the essential shrubs for the garden. It greets merry May with branches covered in bright yellow star-like flowers that would have no doubt turned heads, even in far off Camelot.

Forsythias originated in northern China and Korea with the exception of one variety, f. europaea, which is native to the Balkans. Robert Fortune, an 18th century plant hunter, introduced the Asian type to Britain, where it was named for William Forsyth, the director of the Chelsea Physic Garden and the creator of England's first man-made rock garden. The shrubs we have now were developed from these Eurasian ancestors.

In order to get bushes with more flowers, larger flowers, longer lasting flowers, etc. breeders over the years bred out some of the plant's hardiness. This meant that forsythias were on the very edge of their hardiness range in our area. During particularly cold winters, especially when snow was late coming while the shrub managed to survive, oftenthe flowerbuds were killed by freezing temperatures and/or cold winds. Only the branches under snow cover would produce bloom (bushes in sheltered city gardens or wind protected corners, where micro climates occur, fared better).

About 25 years ago, Canadian horticulturalists came to the rescue with Northern Gold, a very hardy shrub developed by crossing southern forsythias from places where winters are milder with cold resistant Korean forsythias and adding genes from the tough Balkan forsythias. This new cultivar gets flower buds that are much more tolerant of our cold winters from Alberta to the Maritimes. Subsequently, other cold winter tolerant cultivars, including Meadowlark and New Hampshire Gold, have been introduced.

Forsythias are easy to grow and care for. They like a sunny place in average soil. In fact they will adapt to a wide range of soils (not soggy or desert dry), but they do appreciate compost or composted cattle manure worked carefully in around them. They are generally quite tolerant of being transplanted in spring or fall, as long as they are well watered at the time. Ordinary forsythias grow fast and will quickly fill in a space. They can grow six to eight feet high and 10 feet wide. Smaller varieties grow about four feet high and six feet across, while there was a recent Korean dwarf introduced that stands just two and a half feet tall.

You can have one forsythia specimen, a group of them or a whole line and you can prune them or let them grow naturally, only taking out the dead wood. By the by, if you prune, do it as soon as the flowers have faded and remember they bloom on the old wood. If you need to prune severely, not to worry. The shrub should survive and bloom again in a couple of years or so.

Now I ask, what is there not to like about forsythias the harbingers of merry May?

Biggest turn-out ever

St. Mary's 10th annual Dinner/Dance was held April 19.

There were 260 people in attendance. The total amount raised, including donations, was $65,145, total expenses were $12,507.02, leaving a total deposited for the St. Mary Building Fund of $52,637.98.

A big "thank you" goes to the Dinner/Dance committee for a successful fund-raising event.

St. Mary Building Fund

As of May 1, the bank account balance is $3,029, the investment account has $790,856, and outstanding pledges and commitments come to $176,833. Expenses, including consulting firms, come to $71,516, leaving a total balance of $1,042,234.

Although the target has been reached, we continue to collect the funds in order to lower the amount of money we need when asking for a loan, which has to be repaid. VISA is accepted for pledges as well.

To make donations, please call the Parish office or speak to Fr. Paul at (905) 939-2256.

We appreciate your efforts for church-building fund.