The Ontario Horticultural Association (OHA) is a horticultural

Horticulture

Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...

 organization in Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It was established in 1906 by the Government of Ontario, via an Act in the Ontario Legislature, which split the Agricultural and Horticultural Societies into the Ontario Agricultural Fairs Association and the OHA.

The OHA consists of 19 Districts and 277 autonomous local societies; its executive council has representatives from each district. As of 2009, the OHA counts over 30,000 members.

Activities

The OHA, directly or through local horticultural societies, promotes education about horticulture and greater community involvement in local beautification. It achieves this by various means:

• environmental preservation and restoration;
• a quarterly society newsletter;
• support of Ontario Fall Fairs, and the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair;
• supporting and hosting horticultural shows and educational exhibits;
• supporting a Master Gardener program; and
• holding an annual convention.

It also encourages and promotes horticultural youth groups.