WELLINGTON COUNTY – The Canadian Garden Council has proclaimed 2022 to be the Year of the Garden and that means a summer of garden tours, public education events and sharing gardening wisdom.
Originally designated to mark the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, the celebration has taken on new meaning as the pandemic lessens and the world opens up again.
“We want people to live the garden life, and that’s the good life,” said Michel Gauthier, executive director of the Canadian Garden Council. “That’s always been our goal.”
Gauthier said his team started working on plans to mark the special anniversary in 2019 and they, like the rest of us, were shut down when the pandemic began.
“Then, as we saw the reaction gardening was having through the pandemic, we thought we’d better get back on track,” he said.
And so he and his team have been working to pull together and promote the Year of the Garden and it officially launched in March on the first day of spring.
There are three goals to the proclamation: to celebrate Canada’s garden and horticultural heritage; to celebrate the garden culture and welcome new gardeners to the scene; and to create a gardening legacy.
“It’s easy to be part of it,” Gauthier said. “There are so many gardeners out there – 83 per cent of households have gardens.”
The formation of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association in 1922 signaled a change in horticulture practices across the country and the coming together of various local and provincial organizations marked the beginning of establishing best practices for landscapers, horticulture training and certification programs and ways to deal with horticultural problems in a uniform way.
“It really advanced ornamental horticulture,” Gauthier said. “Before that there was no national body.”
There are many ways landscaping companies, garden centres, garden clubs, green thumbs and newbies to gardening can participate in the Year of the Garden. And it starts by visiting https://livethegardenlife.gardenscanada.ca.
There you’ll find the list of destinations and events, which is really a listing of garden tours and flower shows being held across the country. If your garden club is planning a tour, it’s easy to have it listed on the website. Then visitors to the area, as well as locals, can join a tour and even plan a trip around garden tours.
Other ways to participate include:
– sign up your garden as a celebration garden. That doesn’t mean you have to open your gate to strangers. But it does give you a dot on the map of Canada and you’ll be joining thousands, if not millions, of other Canadians who are celebrating their own gardens this year;
– get involved in a legacy project. That can be installing gardens at schools, community gardens, tree-planting projects, or commemorative gardens;
– nominate a garden hero. That’s someone who has made or is making a difference in the local gardening scene. The winners will be announced during Garden Days, June 11 to 19, and be featured on the webpage and celebrated by their peers locally. They’ll also receive a Year of the Garden 2022 Canadian Garden Hero certificate of recognition; and
– perhaps the easiest way to participate is to plant red. Whether it’s carnations or tomatoes or a red maple, red pays tribute to frontline workers and shouts out your national pride.
There are also resources and how-to’s on the website for gardeners and a directory of garden-minded businesses. And if you don’t already know the therapeutic benefits of gardening, horticultural therapists will be issuing gardening challenges throughout the season – simple gardening things to do to improve your mental health.
So feel the sun on your face, the dirt under your nails, and reap the benefits of living the garden life, Gauthier says.
“Gardening is good for mental and physical health and it’s good for the environment,” he said. “We want to make sure all levels of government realize how good this is for Canadians and for the country.”
Locally, the Guelph-Wellington Master Gardeners (GWMG) are already on board.
They’ll be offering a series of free online garden talks by local experts on the second Wednesday of each month, educational programs at the Guelph Public Library, demonstration workshops, and a photo contest and garden showcase on social media.
To learn more about the GWMG Year of the Garden initiative and register for events, visit https://www.gwmastergardeners.ca/year-of-the-garden-2022.
“The Year of the Garden 2022 legacy will likely be a simple one for many individuals,” Gauthier said.
“To learn to live the garden life is a rewarding one of participating in a healthy activity, reaping the benefits of eating healthier food and enjoying the pleasures of nicer surroundings.”
He added, “The legacy for Canada has a broader impact: an improved, sustainable quality of life for Canadians through positive climate action, significant health and well-being improvements and positive economic growth.”
