November 15, 2008
Skids of plant material and products raised over $24,000 at the annual LO Growers Auction on September 25, at Mori Nurseries in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Proceeds from the auction are used to fund industry research and horticultural scholarships.

Prior to the start of the live auction, attendees were given tours of the Mori site, and then treated to a delicious lunch. After lunch, the Growers Group took time to provide a brief overview of the many industry projects it is working on in co-operation with local colleges, universities and the Horticultural Research Institute of Ontario (HRIO) and Vineland Research Station to benefit all nursery growers.

With many industry experts and innovators in attendance at the auction, it provided the perfect opportunity for judging plant material entered into the LO Growers Awards of Excellence Program. All plant material was then auctioned off as part of the annual event, with winners recognized for their achievements.

Landscape Ontario thanks the judges who volunteered their time and expertise for this year’s Growers Awards Program: Jen Llewellyn, chair, University of Guelph; Chris Graham and Luba Taylor of BritAli Gardens; Len Mancini, Holland Park Garden Gallery; Rodger Tschanz, University of Guelph and Glen Lumis. The Landscape Ontario Growers Commodity Group also thanks Mori Nurseries for hosting the auction.

And thanks go to the following companies for the generous donations of plant material, product and cash to the auction: Blue Sky Nursery, Braun Nursery, Brookdale Treeeland Nurseries, Canadale Nurseries, Connon Nurseries - AVK Holdings, Connon Nurseries - NVK Holdings, Downham Nurseries, Gro-Bark (Ontario), Ground Covers Unlimited, J.C. Bakker and Sons, JM Peters Nurseries, Kord Products, Langendoen Nurseries, Maple Leaf Nurseries, Mori Nurseries, Moristar Perennials, Plant Products, M. Putzer Hornby Nursery, Riverbend Nursery, Sheridan Nurseries, Somerville Nurseries, Source ID, Sylvite Agri Services, Timm Enterprises, V. Kraus Nurseries, Willowbrook Nurseries and Winkelmolen Nursery.
Next year’s Growers Auction will be hosted by Somerville Nurseries in Alliston.

Captions:
Buyers check out the lots of superior plant material donated to the auction before bidding begins.

Bill Mori (left) accepts a plaque from Bart Brusse, LO Growers’ Group co-chair, thanking Mori Nurseries for hosting the annual Growers Research Auction.

On the morning nursery tours, visitors got a sneak peek of some new plant varieties for 2009 and an overview of the Mori facility.