Cultivating Canadian Garden Culture | Ottawa Citizens

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Over 1,000 local Garden Heroes are honored for their community initiatives. Thousands of Canadians proudly display their festive garden certificates every day, and 150 municipalities across the country have officially declared his 2022 the Year of the Garden.

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But there’s still time to attend the first celebration of its kind, organized to mark the 100th anniversary of Canada’s ornamental horticulture sector this year.

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“If you’re proud of what you’ve accomplished and how your garden has helped you this year, you can still sign up,” said Michel Gautier, Executive Director of the Garden Council of Canada, for more information livethegardenlife. See gardenscanada.ca. This site is also home to Canada’s Garden Route. This is an interactive map of gardens and garden experiences across the country.

“Visiting a garden in the summer is one thing, but visiting in the fall can be an entirely different experience.” , invites people to travel the Garden Route of Canada to visit the gardens.”

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Intended to commemorate Canada’s rich garden heritage, the Year of the Gardens focuses more on engagement rather than events. The goal is to bring together horticultural societies, horticultural clubs, community groups, horticultural professionals and the general public to recognize the important role horticulture plays in our lives, including reducing stress and improving health.

In the two years leading up to the centenary in 2022, gardening was already gaining popularity as people spent more time at home. Public gardens also gained renewed interest as they were seen as places where it was safe to visit outdoors. The goal is to maintain this momentum through continued efforts to keep people connected, he said.

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“There are a lot of new ‘roots’ in the ground now, and all of these new roots need to be watered and fertilized to stick with our garden experience and culture,” he says. I got

One of the 100th anniversary legacy projects is the first Garden Hall of Fame, which will officially launch later this year. Organizers have identified 100 notable garden moments that shaped Canada. The first inductees are those who have contributed to the development of the country’s rich garden culture.

Another commitment is to have a Garden for Every School in Canada by 2025 so that students can learn and benefit from hands-on garden experiences. The idea is to create a web-based resource that promotes and supports existing school-based programs and makes it easier for other schools to participate.

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Older generations were devoted to growing beautiful flowers, but up-and-coming gardeners are more focused on protecting the environment, including allowing native species to thrive, Gautier explains. The call to “live the garden life” is to recognize that shift in thinking.

“It used to be a backyard and a front garden, but that was it,” he says, noting that gardens are now on rooftops, balconies, indoor living walls, or even in pots.

“Now young people see the plants in their gardens in a completely different way and for different reasons. need to do it.