Profile of an O.H.S. Member- Jo van Ingen van Schenau

Jo van Ingen van Schenau's roots run deep in the O.H.S. In the late seventies, she was President of an indoor gardeners group for six years and got involved with the Society in organizing, participating in and chairing the annual Indoor Garden shows. Jo sat on the Board of Directors of the Society for years. She also took the necessary training to became a qualified senior judge and has been judging shows all over Ontario for many years. Although a recent heart attack has limited her judging activities, Jo still attends Society meetings regularly. In 1982, the Society presented Jo with a Horticultural Service Certificate for her contributions.

As one might guess from her name, Jo was born and spent the early part of her life in Holland, but moved in 1952 to what was then called the Union of South Africa. She lived there for six years but did not do much gardening, as she was kept quite busy raising her family. Jo's career has taken some twists and turns. She studied in Amsterdam and became a physical education teacher and did massage and physiotherapy.

She and her family came to Ottawa in 1958 and in 1959 moved into the house where she and her husband Sibo continue to reside. When they arrived, much of the area surrounding their property, a lovely part of the city close to south Merivale and Country Place, was farmland. Jo did volunteer work with Carleton University's Biology Department on a part-time basis for eight years. There, she was involved in maintaining the university's herbarium, the collections of dried flowers. She and Sibo enjoy traveling and have on display in their home photos of many of the countries they have visited, as well as the plants that Jo has grown.

Indoor gardening continues to be Jo's passion - she specializes in flowering indoor plants of all kinds. She is particularly noted as an expert on gesniards. Her home is bright and airy has many large windows and lots of space on windowsills for her plants. Her husband Sibo, who is a civil engineer, helps out quite a bit with the plant collection. He built a small greenhouse onto the back of the house, providing the perfect environment for many of the more tropical indoor plants that Jo owns. She finds that gardening not only keeps her busy in her free time but also offers a truly satisfying pastime. Jo can trace some of her plants back thirty years.

In the warmer weather, Jo takes all of her plants outdoors as her home is in a heavily treed area and is shaded from spring to fall. A number of the plants are placed out on the patio and others are spread throughout the property. While there are quite a few daffodils on the property in the spring, Jo finds that, notwithstanding her Dutch origin, tulips are just too difficult to keep with the hungry and persistent squirrel population in her area.

Visiting with Jo and seeing her home and impressive plant collection, it doesn't take long to realize that she is a devoted and passionate indoor gardener as well as a dedicated volunteer.

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