Gloria Beck Encourages Canadians To “Live The Garden Life”

Gloria Beck is encouraging Canadian landscape and horticulture professionals to get behind the Year of the Garden 2022. The owner of Parkland Garden Centre in Red Deer, Atla. says if the profession rallies around the initiative, it could really grow public awareness about the environmental and lifestyle benefits of plants and gardens.

What is the Year of the Garden 2022? Beck: Year of the Garden 2022 is an opportunity to celebrate and recognize the Centennial of Canada’s ornamental horticulture sector marked by the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association’s 100th anniversary.

It gives us an opportunity to celebrate, engage, educate and inspire Canadians to include gardens and gardening in our lives. After the difficulty of the pandemic, it gives reason to celebrate the recovery by hosting or attending events in private or public gardens, growing more food, or just relaxing in gardens and nature around us. Gardening has such a positive impact on the quality of our lives, which helps with our physical and mental well being.

Gardening brings people together. Never before have we needed an activity that the majority of people embrace in one way or another regardless of other beliefs. People take such pride in their accomplishments of gardening and enjoy the calmness that nature brings us.

Year of the Garden 2022 is a year-long campaign inviting Canadians to:

• Celebrate how plants, gardens and gardening have and continue to contribute to the development and growth of Canada. • Honour Canada’s rich horticulture and garden heritage. • Recognize today’s vibrant garden culture. • Create legacies for a sustainable future. • Bring gardening into schools. Why are you supporting the initiative? One of the reasons Parkland Garden Centre is supporting the Year of the Garden is because of the positive impact it has on us as individuals, communities and for our environment. Being outdoors is so good for our health. I have seen firsthand the health benefits of so many people as they share their stories at the garden centre. Education is a huge component of this celebration, whether it be experiencing a new site, attending workshops or discovering the benefits to one’s health.

Horticulture has changed immensely over the years and we have so much to celebrate with so many new plants and opportunities for our gardens. We see customers trying out new plants, challenging their neighbours to do the same. There is excitement in gardening and we feel it with our customers as they share their secrets and successes.

Year of the Garden gives people the opportunity to challenge one another, and help beautify businesses, beautify neglected areas and assist with educating new gardeners (plant parents).

“Gardening brings people together. Never before have we needed an activity that the majority of people embrace in one way or another regardless of other beliefs.”

The younger people are interested; we need to help them along with good information. They want to grow their own food not only in summer but year-round.

Another reason it is important to our business is that we have just come through two difficult years of a pandemic. We need to celebrate. Parkland looks forward to hosting numerous activities this year to celebrate 100 years of horticulture.! Whether it be Music in the Garden, Back to the Roots Days with our Indigenous friends, workshops, markets or festivals, we will be celebrating atn Parkland Gardens.

Like many municipalities across Canada, Red Deer and Red Deer County have both signed the Proclamation to be part of this year-round celebration. Over 70 cities across Canada are now part of this initiative. We’re the first country in the world to designate a YEAR OF THE GARDEN!

Parkland started the year with our famous “Year of the Garden Ice Sculptures.” Parkland has had these masterpieces created for 30 years now and we will continue with activities throughout the year.

How can people get involved? The theme for Year of the Garden is “Live the Garden Life,” so some activities Canadians are invited to take part in are:

• Plant RED and show your

Canadian garden pride. • Follow the weekly Therapeutic

Garden Invitations. • Visit a public garden. • Discover our garden heritage. • Check out the Year of the Garden website for activities hosted by your local municipality, by your favourite garden centre, or taking place all across Canada. • Host a celebration in the garden or in nature.

Gloria Beck is the co-chair of the Year of the Garden Advisory Council Board for the Canadian Garden Council. Reprinted with permission by Landscape Trades. More than 50 varieties:

Pine Spruce Elm Poplar Ash Birch Oak Flowering Crab …and more.

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