December Showers Bring...January Flowers?

Canton Garden Club reconvened for 2025 at the breathtaking home of Kathy Demesa, with herself as hostess, joined by Stacey Irwin, Margo Burnside, and Elaine Gager. Members enjoyed refreshments and browsed the vast art collection before gathering to discuss club business. 

Notably, as always, Keep Canton Beautiful has put in heroic effort beautifying town spaces. This committee, led by Kathy Ozborn and Andre Hines, has tracked an incredible number of projects these last few months. At Liberty and Union, the sign has been repainted, and 250 daffodil bulbs have been planted. 400 more bulbs have been added to the depot and 100 more will go in at the square. Many bulbs also went in at Rogers Park. Keep Canton Beautiful also continues work on the pavilion across from the Co-op. We encourage everyone to go visit to see the improvements of the first phase of renovation. With Parks and Rec, KCB has worked to prune trees and repair the lamps at the 22 on-ramp. 

So many ongoing projects! They will also plant bulbs with children next month. Would you like to participate and Keep Canton Beautiful? We are looking for plant donations for the pollinator beds at the depot.* The club will also begin to work on the pots in the square, then keep your eye out for the Great Canton Clean-Up on March 22nd! We hope to see you out having fun and tidying the streets with us. On other business, the Garden Club voted to rejoin Garden Clubs of America as one of the oldest, longest-running affiliates in Mississippi, and we also began very preliminary work on this year’s Upstairs Downtown.

Beyond giggling over snacks or getting to work, we all appreciate what a learning opportunity Canton Garden Club offers. Dana Nowell of Twelve2 Flower Farm gave a riveting presentation on cut-flower farming for this month’s program. Dana moved here with her Mississippi-born husband from California 18 years ago. They had five children here, and for years dreamed of running a business together while saving money and living a traditional suburban life. Finally, after nearly two decades, they found 20 perfect acres outside of Canton. Dana’s family felt so blessed and overwhelmed by this gift, and wanted to find a way to share it with the community. Her husband drew strength from two Bible verses: Hebrews 12:2 and Romans 12:2, and these focused lines eventually set the tone and the name for their farm: Twelve2 Farm. For several years they grew vegetables and raised livestock, until their eldest daughter requested some flowers. Over the last few years, and after a transformative symposium, the farm has become not just a cut-flower fiesta, but also a destination for photos, weddings, and more. 

Dana taught us about soil blocking, a heritage method for starting seeds; chicken and rabbit tractors for tilling; and the importance of leaf mulch. Twelve2 takes a low-plastic, organic approach, and still grows rows and rows of beautiful flowers. While they continue as a presence at the Old Jail Farmer’s Market in the summer, they have opened their operation as a U-Pick flower farm, as well as providing monthly bouquet subscriptions. In the coming year they hope to add more community events, field trips, and classes to get people of all ages outside to learn something new. Visit their website at www.twelve2farm.com to shop and learn more. Next month, Felder Rushing will give the Club garden program at the Sacred Heart Parish Center. 

*Contact [email protected] with questions.