Brian Minter: B.C. Home and Garden Show a great source of ideas
Credit to Author: Tracey Tufnail| Date: Fri, 14 Feb 2020 19:00:26 +0000
With the less-than-pleasant winter weather we’ve been experiencing, any thoughts of outdoor living would be a welcome escape. Well, the B.C. Home and Garden Show at B.C. Place is coming up February 19 to 23, and it might just do the trick to lift those winter doldrums.
I always look forward to speaking at the show, but it also gives me a chance to check out some of the professionally designed landscapes, horticultural booths, new styles of greenhouses, innovative growing ideas, unique outdoor patio displays and all the novel garden accessories.
It truly is a show about both indoor and outdoor living. There’s always an eclectic collection of interesting products and the latest trends, from art and new kitchen styles to the latest sleeping comforts and what’s new in food preparation. You’ll also find more environmentally friendly heating and cooling units and improved fixtures that offer greater efficiency of home water usage.
Experts, who are knowledgeable about virtually everything we use and do in and around our homes, will be presenting very timely and informative seminars. For example, on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. at the Main Stage, the Homebuilders’ Association of Vancouver is sponsoring a panel discussion by construction and renovation pros on the topic of indoor/outdoor living, with the main focus on the outdoor living aspect.
My passion for plants is, of course, connected to outdoor living and so, I’m most interested in what’s happening in the gardening world.
The seminars being given at The Vancouver Sun Gardeners Stage will tackle some of today’s most important gardening issues. Most of us are interested in being more environmentally sensitive in our gardening practices. Lisa Giroday from Victory Gardens will be presenting on ecolandscaping. Her focus will be on making the most of your usable land — a subject from which we can all benefit.
Janis Matson of Shoreline Landscape Design will be speaking on drought tolerant gardening. It may not seem relevant now, given our excessive rainfall, but when we get into the hot summer months and water restrictions, this concern becomes very important.
West Coast Seeds is really expanding their presence in Canada, and they are helping many folks learn more about having success with seeds. Alex Augustyniak will be discussing growing food twelve months of the year in a Canadian climate for the 100-Foot Diet. ’m sure folks on the Prairies might chuckle at that. However, here on the West Coast, it’s surprising how successful a winter garden can be, and it is a concept that is garnering a lot of interest.
Carissa Kasper from Seed & Nourish will be giving a seminar titled Seasons of Growth: The Future Garden. As our climate changes, so will our gardening practices, and the gardens of the future may look quite different than today’s gardens. Carissa will tell us what to expect in the years ahead.
The B.C. Home and Garden Show takes place from Feb. 19 to 23 at B.C. Place in Vancouver.
As we become more creative by using our outdoor patios as gardening spaces, you might want to take in Earth, Wind and Fire: Creating a Natural Patio Setting being presented by Reinier Van de Poll of Van de Poll Garden Design.
During her presentation of Countertop Gardens, Shelley Levis of Sow and Dipity will enlighten us on the new trends in countertop growing.
I truly love the changes I’m seeing in indoor gardening. It’s a trend being driven by the Millennial generation. Leanne Johnson from GardenWorks will explain in her presentation Plant Parenting how tending to plants and including them in our homes make us happier and healthier.
Early last year, I spent an interesting week in Holland and Germany on a horticultural tour which ended in Essen, Germany at IPM, the world’s largest horticultural show. I learned a great deal about how Europeans are changing the nature of gardening. For my seminars at the show, I’m excited to share the hot new trends I saw during my tour.
This year there is also a new garden feature called GROW! Experts from West Coast Seeds, Master Gardeners of Vancouver and Victory Gardens will help educate show goers, through the means of this interactive, informative and experiential feature, on what, when, where and how to plant.
And don’t go home empty-handed! Art’s Nursery in Langley will feature Art’s Garden Market where you can shop and purchase some funky plants.
Although gardening is not the major part of the Home Show, it has a significant presence. As always, the B.C. Nursery and Landscape Association will have a booth manned by industry folks who will answer your questions and provide great advice.
Perhaps the weather, being what it is, will give you a little more incentive to explore this year’s B.C. Home and Garden Show where I know you will discover some terrific new outdoor living ideas to be enjoyed this coming spring, summer and fall.