Cornwall ON – This year as part of the Communities In Bloom program the City will be visited by two prominent figures in horticultural society, one of HGTV’s One Garden Two Looks co-hosts Ms. Charlie Dobbin and former Communities In Bloom Chair Ms. Marie Huxter.
“The Cornwall – A Community In Bloom Committee is looking forward to meeting our judges this year. They will bring a wealth of information not only about horticulture but about community beautification and environmental programs. ” said Gaye Adams Chair of Cornwall – A Community In Bloom. “We’ll be receiving their official feedback this fall after their visit to competing communities. From the judges’ visit we’ll see what Cornwall excels in as well as interesting projects we can take up as a community for the coming year.”
Ms. Dobbin and Ms. Huxter will be arriving to Cornwall on July 19th for a two day tour of the City. They will be evaluating our community on eight sets of criteria and will be comparing our results to that of other participating cities of our size within Ontario. Criteria are community involvement, tidiness, environmental awareness, landscaped areas, floral displays, turf and grounds, natural and cultural heritage conservation and tree and urban forest management
During their visit they will be touring some of the City’s most beautiful privately owned gardens, explore the bike path, visit our waterfront as well as parks and playgrounds.
About Ms. Charlie Dobbin
Ms. Dobbin is a well-known horticulturist and landscape designer with professional gardening experience world-wide. During her 18 year career in retail, she gave many seminars and demonstrations, wrote and edited articles for newspaper and magazines, had her own radio show, and made guest appearances on over a hundred television programs. In May 2002, Charlie started her own consulting company, ‘Garden Solutions by Charlie Dobbin’. She also hosted ‘Room to Grow’, a 2 hour interactive radio show on CHML-Hamilton (900 AM), for 3 years – until March 2006. Currently Charlie co-hosts HGTV-show ‘One Garden Two Looks’ and can be seen delivering practical and entertaining gardening tips on City TV, CHTV and The Weather Network.
About Ms. Marie Huxter
Marie lives in Whitby, Ontario where she has been the Chair of the Communities in Bloom committee for 2005 and 2006. She was employed at Osler, Hoskin, and Harcourt, Barristers and Solicitors in Toronto but has been enjoying retirement since 2004. Marie enjoys gardening, horticulture, travelling and reading. She is very active in a number of groups, including: the Brooklin Horticultural Society, Oshawa Garden Club, Oshawa Valley Botanical Gardens Task Force, and the Durham Region Master Gardeners. Marie has also taken many non-credit courses over the years at the civic garden centre (now Toronto Botanical Gardens) and language courses in France. Marie believes that the CiB program increases a community’s civic pride and community involvement.
About Communities In Bloom
Communities in Bloom is a beautification program that provides information and education, and awards Bloom Ratings for achievement in the areas of floral displays, landscapes, turf, urban forestry, community involvement, heritage, conservation, environmental awareness and tidiness.
This volunteer-based non-profit effort fosters civic pride, environmental responsibility and beautification through community participation and a friendly challenge between communities.
To find out more information on Communities in Bloom in Ontario you can visit cibontario.ca.
