what grows, as long as it fills the space quickly and stays well within budget – you won’t find a $30 hosta in their yard. Trees and shrubs will be the “bones” of their landscape, and though they may fill in the bare spots between those woody plants with some perennials, their borders won’t boast the combination of flowering plants their parent’s garden did. In fact, you may not find any traditional plant borders at


all, but instead raised gardens that will fill this generation's desire to grow their own groceries. Edible gardening has taken garden centres by storm.


This isn’t the same backyard garden plot their baby boomer parents grew in. If they are lucky to gain a spot in a commu- nity garden, they’ll grow in the ground, but many are build- ing their own raised borders and filling them with more than beans and beets. The garden centre that gains their business has racks filled


with unusual and heirloom seeds for banana squash, purple dragon carrot and lemon cucumber. Displayed amongst the lettuce packs on their greenhouse benches are exotic edibles like Kosmic Kale and Mexican Sour Gherkins. Outside, shrub beds display hardy fruit to fill their backyard orchard, like honeyberries, romance cherries and dwarf grafted apples. So just why are they obsessed with edibles? Though dollars


play a part, gardeners are more environmentally aware than ever, and being able to control what goes into their food is important. This environmental awareness goes beyond edibles. Nurseries that traditionally stocked numerous brand names of pesticides and herbicides are turning a new leaf, seeking out organic-based controls that will appeal to this informed gardener…and the birds and the bees. Let’s not forget about the indoor garden. Tropicals are


nothing new, but you’ll likely notice your centre stocks much more than Boston fern and African violets. You’ll find exotic orchids, living walls, succulent bowls, terrariums and air plants. And you’ll not find them hastily displayed on any green-


house bench. Like successful home design stores, garden centres need to show you how to use these plants, featur- ing them within mock living rooms, popped into colourful pots. These living decorations are how the garden centres will entice self-professed non-gardeners to try their hand at growing. Now it can’t be just about plants can it? Any owner will


admit that to compete with the Big Box, their centre needs to be a destination, offering its gardeners much more than petunias and potentilla. Many plant establishments now


Container planting has caught on as urban yards have shrunk in size.


boast cafés, even restaurants, to offer you a spot to sip and savour, while enticing displays contain not only a bounty of blooms, but fashion, accessories….even something for your favourite little dachshund. Many are no longer just seasonal, but remain open year round, even offering festive displays during the holidays that can rival the biggest of shopping malls. And today, you don’t have to be IN the garden centre


to experience it. You can experience their information and inspiration with social media. They’ll answer your Facebook queries, Instagram that tasty tomato and tweet out tips on pruning. They want to connect with you, whether you’ll step into their store or not. Gardening will always be something different to each


generation of gardener...it can be a tradition, a stress reliev- er, a money saver, a way to eat healthy, a way to enhance surroundings and so much more. Though the plants, the tools and the trends may change, what hasn’t changed are the great garden centres that are there to inspire you. x Tina Burback is an avid gardener of everything edible, she is a manager at the award-winning Greenland Garden Centre located in Sherwood Park, Alberta. For more information visit greenlandgarden.com


The idea of what garden centres can be has changed dramatically, expanding into fashion – and even food. localgardener.net


Fall 2016 • 73


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