There wasn鈥檛 an empty chair to be found at the Jasper Activity Centre for Mark Cullen鈥檚 gardening presentation, May 31.
Considered one of Canada鈥檚 most renowned gardeners, the presentation was a special treat for the town after it snagged an achievement award during the 2015 International Communities in Bloom competition.
鈥淭he award is a way of saying thank you to all the people who have made a contribution to making Jasper a beautiful community,鈥� Cullen said. 鈥淎 lot of it has got to do with flowers and trees and maintaining a public landscape, but it鈥檚 also to do with celebrating the opportunities that Jasper has to come together under the common banner of a greener and more beautiful environment.鈥�
Cullen also gave a nod of recognition to the Jasper Community Garden.
鈥淲hat a great thing to be greeted by as you鈥檙e coming into town,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou guys really have something special. This is a community that knows beauty.鈥�
The evening got underway with Cullen sharing a few jokes and stories. Once the crowd was warmed up, Cullen got to the root of the night basing his talk around his latest book The New Canadian Garden.
Cullen co-wrote the book with a young environmentalist named Marette Sharp. He said working with her allowed him to look at gardening in a different light.
鈥淭his is my 21st book and it鈥檚 so much different than my first book. In this book I really acknowledge the changes that are happening in the gardening world,鈥� Cullen said. 聽鈥淭his is a very exciting time in gardening and I think this book reflects a lot of the qualities that are present in Jasper.鈥�
One of the biggest trends happening in gardens across Canada, said Cullen, is the age of your average gardener. He said each year he鈥檚 noticing people digging into the hobby at a younger age.
He also said the motivation behind the craft is changing.
According to Cullen, about 30 years ago many people were busy planting colourful petunias and marigolds, however, today鈥檚 gardeners are more likely to be fussing over tomatoes, carrots and herbs.
鈥淵oung people today want to have access to good quality produce and they want to have control over the use of chemicals on their food,鈥� Cullen said. 鈥淎nd the same group of people are very keenly aware of the environment and the impact they have.鈥�
To see your garden flourish, Cullen said one of the most important things to do is soil preparation by using organic matter like compost and manure. He also urged the crowd to stop sanitizing their gardens鈥攎eaning stop pruning so much, let some weeds live and welcome all sorts of insects.
鈥淚 talk a lot about insect hotels and attracting native bees to your yard, and how to attract honey bees, hummingbirds, songbirds and butterflies,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he best way to do that is to increase your biodiversity in your yard and the best way to do that is to include a water feature.鈥�
After the presentation, Cullen opened the floor to questions. Many asked about rerouting options, invasive species and fertilizers.
The expert gardener finished his visit in Jasper by sticking around for a book signing.
鈥淚 love introducing people to the joys of gardening,鈥� Cullen said. 鈥淲e imagine a lot of hurdles between ourselves and success in the garden, but I like to say there are no such things as mistakes in the garden, only composting opportunities.鈥�
Kayla Byrne
[email protected]
