Nostalgia Pac NW gardening David Tarrant it’s a chilly windy wet Pac NW day and we wrap up to go outside to view our autumn gardens I was thinking about my gardening roots - so to speak - and who we’ve been inspired by Here’s one - I can’t recall if I ever met David Tarrant tho I may have at Van Dusen Garden show - another bygone The main connection for the masses was fantastic old tv show - I have linked a sample of it below - called Canadian Gardener I recall it was either Sat or Sun morning and a show we spouse types could both agree upon ! I liked the music and his accent and the easy yet informative interviews — Mr Tarrant always seemed enthusiastic and supportive of the gardeners he visited And the Blue Poppies! There used to be quite a garden of them in Sechelt (a gentleman named Bill) I wonder where the production crew are these days - are they gardening (just a curious question) QUESTION - who inspired you to garden? Or look at gardens or create outdoor art or appreciate local farm food ? Meanwhile - Here is a sample of the fantastic old Canadian Gardener tv show circa 1996
There were so many people to inspire budding gardeners in the time of David Tarrant. He was one of the most influential for sure but there were countless others who I came to know in the 1990s when I took the Master Gardener course at Van Dusen Gardens. That was truly the heyday of gardening on the Lower Mainland. Many of those who I admired were very knowledgeable volunteers from Van Dusen, landscape architects, specialty garden clubs, garden centres and nurseries from Vancouver to the Fraser Valley. Literally hundreds of enthusiastic gardeners and garden afficinados. For me though, I think I was born with a predisposition to gardening. Even as a 5 year old, I was stealing plants from neighbours' gardens (bluebells). My family soon corrected my criminal ways and enabled my innate love of gardening. I feel my love of gardens was not so much inspired as reinforced.
I hope I'm not barging in on this thread, but I wanted to add the person who in England inspired my wife and I into growing and creating our garden. His Gardeners World program every week was a not to be missed by us half hour on a Friday evening. The person I'm talking about is Percy Thrower. His dulcet tones and enthusiasm made us want to get out in the garden all weekend. Sadly Percy died in 1988 but others took the mantle and continued to inspire. I name a few in Geoff Hamilton, Alan Titchmarsh and of course Roy Lancaster ( Maple Society president). Unfortunately today's TV gardening presenters are more interested in smiling at the camera than passing knowledge, so Gardeners World is rarely watched by us. But I must give a shout out to one good gardening programme in the UK, called 'The Beechgrove Garden'. It has excellent presenters who want to talk about plants. The presenter who retired from this in 2019 is a Jim McColl. Now he is in the mold of Percy Thrower IMO. From March to October we don't miss an episode. Here is the Wiki link to the great Percy Thrower. Percy Thrower - Wikipedia
I was thinking about gardening as children — our UK parent was loyal to CBC radio - and had it on all day —- a weekend morning on the farm was a bit slower and so we listened to Bernard Moore — I can still hear the theme music in my head “up the path, up the path, etc etc” His pleasing soft accent was Yorkshire or Lancashire perhaps? Here is a bio from ABC Bookworld website “Bernard Moore was a well-known gardening expert in B.C. during the 1970s. As a professional horticulturalist, he was involved in greenhouse production, nursery stock production and landscape gardening. He made more than 700 television appearances and 2,400 radio programmes for CBC as a gardening consultant. He became a garden writer for the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and taught horticulture at Langara and Douglas Colleges. He published Pruning With Bernard Moore (Intermedia, 1980, 1981), Vegetable Gardening with Bernard Moore (Intermedia) and Landscaping with Bernard Moore (Intermedia) illustrated by Hubert Keeven. Moore Bernard - ABC BookWorld
I asked @Georgia Strait if this thread was to be specifically for the Pacific Northwest, where the thread was originally posted. The reply was So I've interpreted "How's It Growing" to include how has your interest bloomed, and you're all invited to contribute, wherever you are. I don't do any outdoor gardening, except on my balcony, and I have what I thought was a lot of houseplants, but I see that's relative. My houseplant interest started with courses taught by Margaret Coxon, who worked at that wonderful plant place on Arbutus at 10th or 11th, and then courses taught by David Tarrant (who just does not do forums for some reason). My current interest in plants started here on the forums, which the system says I came across in 2002, so thanks to Daniel Mosquin for that. It took the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival and UBCBG's Douglas Justice to get me really hooked.
I don't remember ever watching any TV shows about gardening, perhaps because there weren't many such shows here in BC in the 1950s and 1960s and perhaps because my family didn't even own a TV until 1958. From what I can tell, my parents relied most on "The Pacific Gardener" by AR Willlis but they had already been gardening their acre and a half in Burnaby for 12 years by the time it was published in 1964. I think, like me, they were not so much inspired by some particular person or persons but by the possibilities of creating a beautiful space and providing food for their family.
This book - we could do with a practical dose of this despite the overwhelming info in internet world ie - look at his preface “how far apart to space peas” —- likely the answer to that along with when to plant (not peas but generally) along the Salish Sea has not changed fr old farm neighbor advice handed down to our parents by older settlers in the same farm zone Here you go Margot - I think this might be a relative’s copy The inside cover note says “please return to the pond” —- we could make up a garden mystery fiction book I admire the flexibility of gardener on front cover — I would tip over! And name of author of foreword - I wonder who that was. Edit - correct spelling - forward means foreword ... learn something every day without spell checking technology don’t we? :)
MV Chesnut, aka Ches Chesnut, was a leading authority in the BC gardening world for many years during my childhood. He wrote a gardening column in the Vancouver Sun as his daughter, Helen Chesnut, has in local papers since. HELEN CHESNUT - Authors I have 2 copies of The Pacific Gardener (1964 and 1975), which I keep more for sentimental reasons than for reference but there's lots of good basic information that still holds true today. (And much that has evolved in the past almost 60 years.) It was notable because it was written specifically for the Pacific Northwest.
Again - a bit chilly and wet (rain) to go outside the other day - plus thé sometimes dark days of solstice season - I sorted out some treasured garden magazines from RHS et al Including “Gardens West” Well that ended up as « keep » Especially for us Cdn Pac NW people - this magazine is like a skinny coffee table book with very few ads And the ads are useful (hardscape / plantscape etc locally sourced in Canada) And all the garden tours ! I wonder what happened to Gardens West — I sure appreciated it and - the other day - in re-reading the articles and viewing photos, still do a few years later ... it has stood the test of time.
Mine was awakened by years of living in big cities after growing up in the boonies. I'd give a lot to grow some potatoes, raspberries and a pear tree again...
I hope you will have the chance to grow things outdoors again and maybe enjoy growing houseplants or herbs indoors until that day comes.
Hello @Georgia Strait. I meant to reply to your post about Gardens West when you posted your comment 2 months ago. I know quite a bit about the magazine because my friend, Anne Marrison, was one of the regular contributors. It had been started in 1987 by Dorothy Horton and bankrupted in 2014 by her son, David Mulroney, who took over publishing when she retired a year earlier. Gardeners across Canada were shocked and disappointed. Even now, you can find back issues for sale at many garden club meetings, still in demand because they are full of timely garden advice and beautiful photographs. Like my friend, Dorothy was a perfectionist. Another magazine catering to west coast growers had been publishing even longer than Gardens West. It started (I think) on Vancouver Island and first called 'Island Grower' I believe and then "Coastal Grower' and then 'GardenWise'. I don't know when it ceased publication. As we know, many magazines have struggled these past many years. It's a shame not to have a magazine that caters to coastal BC gardeners anymore. I wonder how Sunset magazine and Horticulture magazine from the US are faring? https://canadianmags.blogspot.com/2014/10/gardens-west-suddenly-ceases.html Beloved garden columnist Anne Marrison dies - Vancouver Is Awesome (be sure to read last column).
I see on your public bio (upper left hand side of your post) - you are located around the 51st parallel which for us in BC is Revelstoke BC just west of the backbone of North America - the Rocky Mountain range. So I imagine your climate is like Kelowna BC So many things to grow ! Even on a balcony if your rules and structural engineering say ok Do you have garden shows on tv? Are there plant stores to visit for summer patio flowers and tomato plants etc Are there farms in the surrounding rural areas? I ask because I do not know much about your part of the planet And I am curious. Garden diplomacy :)
I think your climate will make things a little difficult but not impossible. I have linked this to a very active member @Sulev from Estonia who is very successful in difficult conditions. When he reads this he may well offer some advice if you need it. 'There is always a way to garden'.
@Acerholic - I am not as successful as it may seem based on my postings. I have many experiences of failing. Concerning gardening in Russia, my experiences are pretty worthless, as there is much more continental climate than here. Of course - annual plants can be grown pretty similarly, but we usually don't have such heat waves in summer, and we have pretty good relationship with rain even on the most warmest month of the year. I have visited Russia couple of times, but only Leningrad (St. Petersburg), and crossed the border with Pskov region in the SE Estonia, where the road to Saatse crosses the border twice. Saratov is almost 1900 km away from me, that is more than Denmark and almost the same distance as from Tallinn to London.
Good afternoon Sulev, my geography needs some updating,Lol. But as far as gardening experience in difficult conditions I didn't know of anyone else in that part of the world to suggest with experience in difficult conditions to @McP82 for a bit of advice. After reading your post, I will look at the map before suggesting again. Good to hear from you. D
