'Year of the Garden' to promote garden culture in Canada

"The Year of the Garden is this centennial celebration of our garden culture," explains Michel Gauthier, executive director of the Canadian Garden Council.

The non-profit association had begun planning for the Year of the Garden prior to COVID. Now with the gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions, their timing turned out to be more apt than they could have imagined.

"[This] is an opportunity to profile to government how important this industry is and the role that it plays," Gauthier says. "When we speak about gardens and gardening today, it's not what it was 10 [or] 15 years ago. It's changing."

The practice has had widespread appeal, attracting those interested in healthy eating and minimizing environmental impact. The result is a sector that has made a profound impact on the nation's economy and the quality of life in Canada. According to Statistics Canada, sales in ornamental products for the home and garden rose 9.5 percent in 2020 compared to the previous year.

With the many new and young gardeners who took up the hobby during COVID, now is the time to water these "young roots," says Gauthier. "If there's one sector that's benefited from COVID, it's the ornamental horticulture sector. We saw more people gardening….and there's demand for more product."

To celebrate, Gauthier says they're inviting gardeners to plant "red" to "honour front-line workers and to show their gardening pride." Members of the public can also sign up their gardens as Celebration Gardens and to "Live the Garden Life." "Maybe they want to redo their garden, their backyard and turn it into a garden sanctuary," he says. Whatever the goal, he anticipates that this will motivate consumers to spend more time with plants. Celebration Gardens will appear on a map of Canada, and their owners will receive a certificate commemorating their participation.

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Source: Greenhouse Canada