Green thumb finally gets her due

News

97-year-old gardener nabs provincial horticultural award

Posted By Barbara Simpson — Delhi News-Record

Updated 1 month ago

Evelyn Barham, a life member of the Delhi & District Horticultural Society, takes some time to smell the flowers. The 97-year-old green thumb has been honoured with the Honour Roll award by the Ontario Horticultural Association. (Barbara Simpson Delhi News-Record)

Green runs in the Barham blood.

Just ask Evelyn Barham of the Delhi & District Horticultural Society about the exact moment she realized her then five-year-old daughter caught the family's gardening bug. The Barhams were visiting a Norwich gardening shop when their daughter Mae requested her own gardening project.

The clerk offered up some "big seed for little fingers" free of charge. The Barhams set aside some land for her to plant, assigning her the responsibility of simply plucking away at the "little weeds." Now a grown up Mae Leonard is known in Otterville for her lavish gardens.

It is through stories like these that Barham shares her joy for gardening. The 97-year-old has extolled her passion for planting through the community. She was one of the pillars of the early Delhi & District Horticultural Society, serving as secretary for a 15-year period. Her work with the local society is now being recognized by the Ontario Horticultural Association.

Barham has been selected for the Honour Roll award by the association. It is bestowed on a member of an OHA society who "made a contribution at the community, district or association level in the development of horticultural practices," a press release states.

The award is a two-page layout that will honour Barham. It will be placed in the yearbook of the association, showcasing Barham's contributions to her local gardening community.

"She has probably given 30 years or so to the local society," said Ken Fink, past president of the OHA.

Barham was asked to dig up some photos from her glory gardening days. That proved to be a problem for the local society's former secretary.

"Well, I didn't have many pictures of myself," she quipped. "I was always taking the pictures."

Her foray into gardening wasn't much of a choice, she said. She grew up in Saskatchewan.

"My parents were homesteaders when there wasn't much but wildlife and Indians," she recalled, adding that her family later relocated to Ontario — it was a "heaven to come here."

Barham would later marry her husband John, setting up a farm together outside of Delhi. They grew tomatoes, corn, strawberries, and even cucumbers for local pickle factories. Their passion rubbed off on their daughter Mae.

When Barham caught wind that local residents were reforming a horticultural society, she eagerly joined up in the early 1980s. This would the local community's second try at a horticultural society.

"Apparently, during the First World War, there was a strong organization, but when war broke out, like so many things, it dissolved," she explained.

Serving as secretary, she was in charge of lining up guest speakers. She tried to recruit green thumbs from the 26 member organizations of the district.

While age has forced Barham to take a less active role in the local society now, she has been recognized with a much-coveted lifetime membership. She still keeps some calla lilies and daisies on her front lawn.

"I love roses," she added, surveying her yard. "I use to have three beautiful roses out here."

Barbara Simpson

519-426-3528, ext. 112

bsimpson@bowesnet.com