Celebrating Canadian gardening

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This article was published 26/06/2017 (3120 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Shelmerdine Garden Centre in Headingley was one of five Manitoba gardens to be recognized in a Canada 150 event.

The Canadian Garden Council and the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association have awarded 150 ‘Canada 150 Garden Experience’ designations to highlight the role of gardening and gardens in communities across Canada.

“Canada has a long-standing garden culture,” Alexander Reford, Canadian Garden Council president, said in a news release. “From First Nations gardens that were here long before settlers arrived, to the enormous variety of gardens that every culture has brought to this country since Confederation, gardens — from modest kitchen and community gardens to celebrated botanical and public gardens —have played a role in defining and developing our Canadian aesthetic and quality of life.”

Canada Garden Council operations and marketing manager Carol Cowan said recipients were selected from nominations by over 100 Canadian garden and landscape industry champions, who were asked to choose their favourite five provincial and five national (outside of their home province)  gardens or garden experiences. The nominations were then tallied by a seasoned jury.

The final top 150 nominations were designated as a Canada 150 Garden Experience – worthy of celebrating during Canada’s sesquicentennial year.

Cowan said that Shelmerdine was selected because they are the complete destination garden centre experience — plants (from the usual to the unusual), garden accessories, lifestyle and fashion, events and a lovely café.  

‘It’s a true honor to be recognized as one of the top 150 Garden Experiences in Canada,” Shelmerdine owner Nicole Bent said. “As a garden center, we strive to contribute to happy and healthy lifestyles, and to the well-being of our community. So we’re elated to be esteemed for our work and our passion by the Canadian Garden Council and the Canadian Nursery and Landscape Association as part of Canada’s 150th celebration. “

Each recipient received a certificate of acknowledgement, signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Reford and Canadian Nursery Landscape Association president.

— Staff