Nov 5, 2021
Canadian Garden Council Names 2022 Year of the Garden

 The Canadian Garden Council (CGC) recently announced it has proclaimed 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden to celebrate the centennial of Canada’s ornamental horticulture sector on the occasion of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association’s 100-year anniversary. 

The Year of the Garden 2022 invites Canadians across the country to commemorate Canada’s garden heritage, celebrate today’s vibrant garden culture and create legacies for a sustainable future. The CGC is calling on Members of Parliament to officially designate 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden. 

A recent Nanos poll found four in five Canadians favor designating 2022 as the Year of the Garden. 

“We are very supportive of proclaiming 2022 as Canada’s Year of the Garden in celebration of CNLA’s centennial,” says Phil Paxton, president of the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association. “Our members are dedicated to providing products and services that contribute to the quality of life of Canadians and a sustainable development of Canada. We also believe that gardening and gardens will be an important factor in the post-COVID recovery; there could be no better time to celebrate Canada’s garden culture.” 

Canada’s passion for gardening has never been more evident than during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the summer of 2020, Canadians sheltered at home and turned their yards into practical and beautiful garden sanctuaries, and research suggests that this trend is set to continue. According to a recent NANOS poll, four in five Canadians expect to spend the same or more time gardening in 2021 than they did in 2020. 

“Canada a garden nation? A nation of gardeners? You bet,” says Alexander Reford, president of the Canadian Garden Council and director of Reford Gardens – Jardins de Métis. “Gardening is a shared passion from coast to coast to coast. Not only do our gardens allow us to enjoy the flavors and freshness of vegetables, herbs and edible flowers, our flowerbeds and forests nourish our health and happiness. Our society needs more gardeners, and Canadians are leading the charge to garden to make a better planet. The Year of the Garden 2022 is an inclusive national celebration of what we are and where we are going — a nation of gardeners.” 

The legacy of the Year of the Garden 2022 will be an improved quality of life for Canadians through sustainable development to fight climate change, impart significant health and well-being benefits and drive economic growth. 

Canadians who support the Year of the Garden 2022 are encouraged to express their support for an official designation to their local Member of Parliament. 

Visit www.yearofthegarden.ca for more information.