April Society General Meeting – Speaker: Dr. Joe Shorthouse

Join us for our next public meeting at the Parkside Centre on Durham Street in Sudbury. Doors open at 1:15 pm for socializing and light refreshments. The meeting at 2 pm will feature our guest speaker, Dr. Joe D. Shorthouse entitled “Purple lilacs – Sudbury’s welcome to spring”

Read articles by Dr. Joe D. Shorthouse on our blog

This presentation celebrates the contributions made by lilac shrubs to gardens in the City of Greater Sudbury. Lilacs were introduced to Sudbury from eastern Europe and thrive here because they require cold winter temperatures for their buds to mature. They are loved for their purple flowers with rich fragrance and are said to symbolize success and royalty. The presentation will be richly illustrated with close-up photographs of the flowers, pollinating insects, and examples of shrubs from the Sudbury area and Manitoulin Island. Hints on growing lilacs will also be provided.

Joe Shorthouse in a retired professor of entomology and environmental biology at Laurentian University where he taught, and researched the biology of wild roses and lowbush blueberry. He is a graduate of the Universities of Alberta and Saskatchewan, has written two books, and authored several hundred scientific papers, magazine and newspaper articles. He has written 16 front page Accent articles for the Sudbury Star, about 50 feature articles for The Manitoulin Expositor, and has been invited to lecture on his discoveries around the world including South Africa, Turkey, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, and Israel, as well as all provinces and 7 states in the United States. He and his wife Marilyn have together walked through thick patches of wild roses and gardens in all parts of Canada for 52 years taking pictures used in presentations to nature, service and garden clubs, guests of cruise ships, and after dinner entertainment at conferences.

Dr. Joe Shorthouse