The leaders in advancing ornamental horticulture

As the presentation of the 2020 award had to be cancelled because of the pandemic, the jury made up for the missed year by presenting the award to two individuals in a virtual ceremony held on May 28.

Named the 2021 award winner, Marc Légaré, has contributed to the advancement of ornamental horticulture in Quebec for over 44 years, including 31 as a nursery advisor to the IQDHO, the Centre d'expertise en horticulture ornamentale du Québec.

Maurice Beauchamp was named the award winner for 2020 and is a graduate of the school of the Jardin botanique de Montréal, where he had a 33-year-long career. A horticulture student at the Jardin botanique in the early 1950s, he climbed the ladder from gardener to foreperson to assistant superintendent, chief arboriculturist and then superintendent.

2021 Recipient: Marc Légaré

A true walking encyclopedia and unparalleled scientific communicator, Marc Légaré is ever willing to share his knowledge, crisscrossing Québec to pass on his know-how to all those involved in nursery production.

Over the years, professionals of the cultivated plant production chain have benefited from his expertise in all phases of their work, from planning to phytoprotection.

Always keen to learn more about the latest developments in his area of expertise, Légaré has also played an active role in a wide variety of projects. He writes popular science articles and develops workshops, training courses and lectures. He has also sat on numerous committees and taken part in different projects, including developing BNQ nursery standards, putting together guides on various aspects of plant production (through the nursery workshop of the CPVQ, now the CRAAQ), assessing the phytosanitary condition of Montréal green spaces and making recommendations on plants suited for shorelines and buffer strips. Active in the Service de veille phytosanitaire (SVP, or phytosanitary monitoring service) since 1996, Marc keeps towns and cities, maintenance departments, garden centres and green spaces informed about phytosanitary infestations.

This senior nursery advisor, now a mentor, is an inspiration to the next generation, who dream of following in his footsteps at the IQDHO. Marc Légaré is a leading light of Québec's ornamental horticultural industry and is widely recognized by his peers and the industry as one of the people who has done the most to advance nursery production in Québec. He even has a larch conifer named after him, the Larix laricina "Marc Légaré" at the Jardin Scullion, which is the result of a genetic selection he made and rescued in extremis through multiple grafts.

2020 Recipient: Maurice Beauchamp

A leader who has devoted over 33 years of his career to the Jardin botanique de Montréal, Maurice Beauchamp has acquired extensive horticultural and administrative knowledge and experience along the way that have enabled him to play a major role in horticultural development, among both professionals and amateurs, both here and abroad.

In Québec, he brilliantly carried out the major "Villes, Villages et Campagnes fleuris" project. He was chosen to head it up by former Québec Minister of Agriculture Jean Garon in order to breathe new life into it and raise the profile of landscape architects. The contests are still run today under the names "Maisons Fleuries" and "Les Fleurons."

Beauchamp has also sat on the International Association of Horticultural Producers (AIPH) and the International Horticultural Association (IHA) and served as president of the Fédération des sociétés d'horticulture et d'écologie du Québec. He led the federation from 1985 to 1990, bringing together within it a record number of small companies.

Driven by a desire to provide opportunities for exchange and interaction between horticultural enthusiasts, Maurice promoted the holding of annual conventions in various municipalities across Québec, including Montréal, Québec City, Chicoutimi, Trois-Rivičres, Sherbrooke, Granby and Mont-Laurier.

The Henry Teuscher Award past and present

The Henry Teuscher Award was founded in 1999. A visionary and passionate botanist and landscape architect, Henry Teuscher (1891-1984) designed the Jardin botanique de Montréal. He worked closely with Brother Marie-Victorin and was also responsible for designing several of the exhibition greenhouses and assembling some of the garden's main plant collections.

Past recipients of the award include:

Danielle Dagenais (2019), André Poliquin (2018), Yves Gagnon (2017), Bertrand Dumont (2016), Claude Vallée (2015), Albert Mondor (2014), Isabelle Dupras (2013), Francis H. Cabot (2012, posthumously), Hélčne Leclerc (2011), Jacques-André Rioux (2010), Elsie Reford and Alexander Reford (2009), Jean-Claude Vigor (2008), Émile Jacqmain (2007), Fred Oehmichen (2006), Daniel A. Séguin (2005), Gaëtan Hamel (2004), Milan B. Havlin (2003), Henri and Camille Perron (2002), Wilfrid Meloche (2001), Roger Van den Hende (2000) and Tony Huber (1999).

The great little gardening weekend

From May 28 to 30, the Jardin botanique invited gardeners to take part in a revamped version of The Great Little Gardening Weekend.

With some 30 exhibitors and a special focus on  ecological transition, this annual event included sessions with experts on urban farming, buying locally, gardening without pesticides, composting, putting in green spaces, community science, protecting biodiversity and sustainable development.

Also on the program: boosting biodiversity with the My Space for Life Garden program, community science with Mission Monarch, urban farming with Cultiver Montréal and a guided tour of the phytotechnology stations at the Jardin botanique.

Source and Photo Courtesy of Greenhouse Canada

Source: Greenhouse Canada