Speakers-2014

GROWING INDOOR PLANTS

Jan 21ST 2014: Chris Janko

Chris Janko works for GardenWorks as the Tropical House and Indoor Plants Manager. Chris’ garden has been featured on private garden tours and in the Vancouver Sun. Chris has also made appearances on GlobalNews in the gardening segment. Chris and his partners’ home in Burnaby contains many successfully-grown indoor plants, as well as a tropical greenhouse where many unusual carnivorous plants, orchids, tillandsia, edibles, and other exotics are kept.

ROOTS 101

Feb 18TH 2014: Egan Davis

Egan Davis is an award-winning gardener with a lifelong passion for horticulture. His diverse background includes garden design, landscape construction, botanical garden operations and greenhouse and nursery production. He managed collections at VanDusen Botanical Garden and was the foreman at Park & Tilford Gardens. Through his outreach activities such as television, radio, print and lectures at conferences and garden clubs, Egan has been a strong advocate for the horticulture industry. By serving on the board of directors of HortEd BC, Egan has been involved with developing industry standards and policies. He has been a leader in the industry for many years by participating in senior roles at BC Landscape and Nursery Association events. Egan has taught horticulture in botanical garden, college and university settings and he brings the same passion and infectious enthusiasm for gardening to his teaching. When Egan is not teaching or working in the garden, he loves to explore the natural world by hiking and travelling to exotic ecological destinations.

HEAVENLY HOSTAS

Mar 18TH, 2014: Pam Erikson

Pam Erikson is an award-winning daylily hybridizer, photographer, instructor and lecturer from Langley, B.C. Canada. In 1991, Pam became the first American Hemerocallis Society judge in Canada. Pam was named Hybridizer of the Year by the Canadian Hemerocallis Society in 2005, and to date has introduced 76 new cultivars to the world market.

Pam started the first Canadian daylily club in the country in affiliation with the AHS and is still its President to this day. The Erickson family invite gardeners from around the world to tour their 1 -acre display gardens in July at peak bloom time and are members of the Circle Farm Tour program through Tourism Langley. The garden has seen bus tours from Australia, Japan, England and the United States – in addition to thousands of local gardening enthusiasts and several gardening television and radio shows from around the country.

Pam travels extensively in the fall and winter months, giving presentations to introduce new gardeners to her favorite plants and traveling to many destinations to acquire new and rare varieties! She has also been involved in event planning for many years in her capacity as Vice-President of the Canadian Hemerocallis Society, Vice-President of the Annual Canadian-American Daylily Symposium in Niagara Falls each March, Regional President of AHS Region 8 for Washington and Oregon and was Chair of the VanDusen Flower and Garden Show in Vancouver for many years.

In recent years, Pam has collaborated on several books dedicated to daylilies; was a contributing author to ‘A Grower’s Choice’ (Raincoast Books 2001); is a member of the Garden Writers of America and writes regularly for numerous publications across North America and has been featured on TV and radio shows. Check out her web site: Click here.

ALL ABOUT RHODODENDRONS

Apr 15TH, 2014: Les Clay

Les Clay is the President of the Azalea and Rhododendron Society's Vancouver chapter, nursery owner and gardening educator.

Les Clay will be covering some of his favourite Rhododendrons and Azaleas, including new varieties to look out for, along with their care and culture. He will also touch on planting recommendations for Rhododendrons in different niches in the garden. Bring your questions! Bring samples of flowering rhodies and azaleas for the show and share table.

SIZZLING SUCCULENTS

May 20TH 2014: Gary Lewis

Gary’s popular talks have become regular highlights of garden group meetings throughout BC, Washington and Oregon. He has also recently spoken in Belgium, Holland and Boston, MA. Gary gives up to 15 talks a year and is a regular speaker at the BC Home and Garden Show, public and professional shows and conferences.

In 2012 Gary was nominated for Communicator of the Year by the BCLandscape and Nursery Association and his specialty nursery, Phoenix Perennials in Richmond, won the “Growing Gardeners” category of the Canadian Garden Centre of the Year Awards. Don't miss this talk!

Drama, Structure and Intrigue with Succulent Foliage and Flowers –

Gary will introduce you to the fascinating world of succulents for the garden. He will show you a variety of hardy and non-hardy plants including Agave, Echeveria,

Aeonium, Yucca, Dasylirion, Sempervivum, cacti, Delosperma, Sedum and more. He will discuss their geographical origins, their biology, their value in design and how to grow them in the garden and in containers. This talk is not Power Point-based but is a “show and tell” style talk in which Gary will bring a diversity of plants to enhance the presentation.

Gary supports our club by donating plants to our Annual Plant Sale. Here is an article in on the GreenHouseCanada website: http://www.greenhousecanada.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2064&Itemid=153

HARDSCAPING

Jun 17TH 2014: Barry Belec

Hardscaping is that important aspect of structure in the the garden: pathways, patios, raised beds using stacking modular "rocks" or the use of large boulders to create focal points, are all examples. In its many different forms, hardscaping can be thought of as the "frame" for your garden vignettes of plantings.

I started gardening at the age of 3. I accompanied my parents and much older sisters in the vegetable plot which was the centre of almost all family discourse. Being French, beauty is measured most sweetly through the stomach. My second oldest sister used to amuse me by making the flowers in her border speak to me; I was completely seduced by them. I won my first international hort award for growing hand pollinated large flowering long stemmed sweet peas. A small start, but a rewarding one. By my teens I worked voluntarily at an Alpine nursery learning the finer arts of plant propagation. I served on the executive of the B.C. Rock garden and alpine garden club, which at that time was the second largest horticultural society in the world. I became involved at Vandusen and helped to establish UBC Botanical. While teaching in Britain I completed my horticultural Science and Arts certificate. I have managed a number of local nurseries, meadow sweet, Rainforest west coast. I have been designing and installing gardens for over 30 years.

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES

Sept 16ST 2014: Ewan McKenzie

Ewan has been a Horticulturalist for over 35 year. He studied in Scotland and worked at Speyside Heather Centre in the Highlands of Scotland for 18 years, where he gained experience in all aspects of horticulture. Ewan moved to Canada in 1994 and worked for Heritage Perennials (Valleybrook Gardens) where he developed a passion for perennials and Ornamental grasses. In 2004 he helped set up Exemplar Horticulture Ltd.; a whole sale nursery, situated in the historic Mt. Lehman area of Abbotsford, supplying quality Ornamental grasses and drought tolerant perennials to many garden centers across B.C. and Alberta.

Ewan will be talking about the many desirable attributes that ornamental grasses bring to the garden. He will discuss the many types of ornamental grasses, some of the best performing varieties, complementary plantings and how to care for them.

http://exemplarhorticulture.com/

Check out the article in the Vancouver Sun: http://blogs.vancouversun.com/2011/05/21/smart-planting-for-a-hot-summer/

FALL IN LOVE WITH UNUSUAL BULBS

Oct 21ST 2014: Botanus

Unusual bulbs that are planted in the fall can create stunning blooms in early spring and will continue to delight well into summer. These fabulous flowers are a unique way of upping the wow factor in your garden spaces. Interesting shapes, bright colours and even some that turn your garden into a haven for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Join us to learn all about these long-lived and low maintenance bulbs that are destined to become classics in your garden.

Pamela Dangelmaier – Co-owner Botanus Inc - A native Vancouverite, Pam’s love of gardening began as a child when she explored her grandparent’s sunken garden - an inviting European-style landscape they had created around their Vancouver home. After graduating from UBC with a Fine Arts degree she pursued an active career in theatre, television and film and then returned to her ‘roots’ when she co-founded Botanus. Pam’s flair for the artistic can be seen in all that she does - from creating our catalogues and email newsletters to appearing as a gardening expert on television and radio. She also LOVES being part of the Botanus Garden Club where she gets to have her ‘theatrical’ kick in front of the camera! Pam is also an elected board member for the Maples Discovery Garden Co-op where together they care for a colony of honeybees. Her hobbies, aside from gardening, include knitting, reading and writing.

Wendy Leroux – Customer Service Manager Botanus Inc - Wendy grew up on the west coast of Canada but was actually born in Summerside, PEI. She and her family have lived in South Langley for the past 27 years. She loves her large yard which is filled to the brim with Botanus plants. Wendy is the customer care manager for Botanus and she loves her job because it combines her passion for gardening with her many years of experience in the area of sales and customer service. In her spare time, Wendy can often be found in a kayak on a local lake or in her kitchen trying out a new recipe. She loves reading, knitting and enjoys going to Toastmasters where she is an active member of Langley club 2743.

Elke Wehinger – Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Botanus Inc. - Born in the heart of the Blackforest in Rheinfelden, Germany, Elke has a Master’s Degree in floral design and owned a very successful flower shop in Munich. She immigrated to Canada in 1996 and soon thereafter co-founded Botanus. Elke is very passionate about our business and along with her many hands-on skills and marketing genius, she is responsible for most of our wonderful plant photos. She’s also the brain-child behind our on-line Botanus Garden Club! Elke is a non-stop ‘life learner’ who enjoys giving informative presentations to garden clubs. She’s an active board member with the Maples Discovery Garden Co-op. In the spring of 2014 Elke took an intensive bee-keeping course and is the proud keeper of a happy and healthy honeybee colony at the Maples.

GREAT GIFT IDEAS & PRODUCTS FROM LEE VALLEY TOOLS

Nov 18TH 2014: Trudy Hurley and Dawn Fasciglion

Trudy Hurley, Assistant Manager at Lee Valley Tools, Vancouver Store and Dawn Fasciglione, Manager at the Vancouver Store will talk about some of the handy dandy gardening tools available which will make our life easier.

Trudy is an avid home gardener who also lives in Ladner. Dawn has worked for Lee Valley for 18 years and Trudy for 8 years.

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