Diversity By Design!

gillnurseryLife in The Garden1 Comment

An International Landscape Conference Worth Traveling 3,000 Miles to Experience!

That’s right, last week I flew 3,000 miles round trip to Toronto, Canada to meet with 137 landscape design colleagues from the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Saudi Arabia. We bonded with a “full mist” experience at Niagara Falls, wearing our Canadian red rain ponchos.

Then we promptly dried off and got down to business exploring the Niagara Botanical Gardens. I re-discovered old garden favorites such as amaranthus, copper plant, and strawberry fields gomphrena re-imagined in an unusual tapestry of hot summer colors. The plants were alive with birds, butterflies, and bees!

 

Over the next two days we toured 15 gardens of all sizes and styles. One of my favorites is a tiny 4 year old garden showcasing diversity through materials. The materials came from far and wide, contributing to the result… lumber from a barn in southwest Ontario, a reclaimed mask from New York city, ledge rock from a church in Cambridge, building stone from north eastern Pennsylvania, windows from the home that previously existed on the site and even perennials from the designer’s mom’s  garden that were ‘just the right item for that corner’.

 

Fast forward to the Toronto Botanical Garden where Paul Zammit (renowned garden container designer) told me the benefits of using parsley in garden containers. That’s right, PARSLEY!! I’ll share the “why” and “how tos” with you at my Garden Talk, Saturday September 29th, 10 am, Gill’s, 2810 Airline Road!

 

-Kathy

One Comment on “Diversity By Design!”

  1. Kathy, all the pictures are beautiful. sorry was not able to make your talk sat. with other obligations. what is the deal with parsley?

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