Memory Garden: (Fancyvan) Carol Vanvelzer, 4 by joannabanana

joannabanana wrote:
I met Carol thru the Calgary Horticultural Society. Carol was the moderator for the Calgary Hort online forum, as well as a very dedicated volunteer for the society for many years. In addition to volunteering at the Hort Society, she also volunteered at the above mentioned Historical Site: Loughheed House. A great place to stroll thru the site gardens and also to have tea in the dining room.

Carol retired from the Alberta Children's Hospital quite a few years ago. In addition to gardening, she was very involved with the Sheltie Rescue program. A few years ago, she called me when I was on a out-of-town business trip. I ended up with a four legged passenger for the 3 hour ride home. I was happy to help out.

In early January, Carol always hosted a cookie exchange party. We would gather, eat cookies, have a few laughs and go home with many treats.

In 2007, Carol had decided to host a gathering at her house with a few people that posted a lot on the Calgary Hort forum. We called ourselves the "fooly" group since our 1st gathering at Carol's was on April Fools. This year Carol hosted and we had a great time. We enjoyed visiting each other's gardens and sharing our gardening passion. This was the year that Carol got a new Russian Olive tree (picture 1).

In 2008, Carol hosted the 1st Dave's Garden gathering. It was a great day and pleasure to meet other DG members from as far away as Edmonton. (picture 3) In 2009 we had another DG gathering (picture 4)

Carol loved her peonies as mentioned on other posts. She was a member of the Canadian Peony Society and volunteered at many events with that group. Her peonies are gorgeous. A few years ago, Carol had recruited a few of us to help out in her garden when she won a Garden Competition. I teased her that she had way more Veronica than Peonies, but that was end of July, so the peonies were just finishing. The year before, we were pruning some of her roses & shrubs. She wanted me to rip out her Mockorange since it had not really put on a show for a few years...she didn't want it to affect her competition the next year. I convinced her the whack it to the ground and we would look at it in early spring. It was gorgeous the year of the competition and has been since.

Carol enjoyed attending workshops too. About 5 years ago a group of us planted up a ball of hens & chicks. Carol's turned out the best and it looked great in her garden. ( picture 5).

Carol doesn't have any family near Calgary, but she sure has a lot of friends. Her health had taken a turn for the worse about 4 weeks ago. I think it surprised her as much as others. She had garden design changed planned, new plants (perennials & annuals) that needed to be planted and wanted some roses to be moved. That was 2 weeks ago and she went into the hospice a few days later.

Carol was a huge influence on me for gardening. We shared many tips and it was always fun to spend time with Carol. It was Carol that introduced Dave's Gardening to me. I will miss her dearly.

Joanne



This message was edited Jun 20, 2012 3:59 PM