EPISODE #201: “PRUNING THINGS BACK”
A best-selling garden writer makes the decision to downsize, saying farewell to her beloved home garden of over fifty years. A garden designer who creates lush meditative gardens inspired by Chinese and Japanese aesthetics reflects on his projects.
World Premiere: Monday, May 6, 2024 on VisionTV (9pm ET / 6pm PT).
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Gardening legend Marjorie Harris has spent over fifty years tending the same plot of land while writing best-selling books and journalism on the subject. Now in her mid-80s, she’s made the difficult decision to downsize and say farewell to her beloved home garden. She embarks on the next chapter of her life (and maybe even a new book!), gardening on a balcony twelve stories up in the air in downtown Toronto.
John Thompson’s design aesthetic originates from his many years spent in Japan, where he worked as a carpenter and studied gardens. He specializes in constructing serene pathways, stone stairs, and wooden structures with the perfect gardening views. He has designed gardens for many celebrities, often building them around places of meditation.
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“Gardening is an art form with time built right into it.” - Marjorie Harris
“I’m just as interested in the rocks in the garden, as I am in the plants.” - John Thompson
EPISODE #202: “Communities in Harmony”
An orchardist shares his collection of hundreds of apple varieties with the community in an annual festival. A waterfront gardener celebrates the serendipity and wildness of her drought-resistant plants.
World Premiere: Monday, May 13, 2024 on VisionTV (9pm ET / 6pm PT).
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Harry Burton retired in his fifties to start an orchard on Salt Spring Island. He’s amassed an impressive collection of hundreds of apple varieties from around the world, many of which he grafts by hand, including rare red-flesh varietals. He organizes an annual festival to share his ‘apple love’ with the greater community.
Gardening has always been in the family for Kathy Leishman. Her current oceanfront home on Bowen Island was designed as three separate gardens: a drought-resistant seaside garden, a central gravel garden, and a woodland garden. She celebrates the serendipity and wildness of her plants. Her garden is a testament to a lifetime of horticultural study and experience.
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“Pretty doesn't always get you the best apple.” - Harry Burton
“I think it’s important that the garden development be harmonious with the greater landscape.” - Kathy Leishman
EPISODE #203: “Symphonies and Sarracenias”
A collector of rare carnivorous plants, surveys the unexplored mountain bog ecosystems of Vancouver Island. An accountant in need of a creative outlet, starts a registered charity, using her garden to support the growth of performing artists.
World Premiere: Monday, May 20, 2024 on VisionTV (9pm ET / 6pm PT).
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Justin Dunning was raised in nature, and continues to be inspired by it. He is a collector of carnivorous plants, including sarracenia pitcher plants and sundews. He surveys unexplored bog ecosystems in the remote mountains of Vancouver Island to help develop the knowledge base of rare and undiscovered plants.
Mary Gore is a Toronto accountant ever in search of a creative outlet. She shares the rewards of her glorious outdoor space with others by starting a registered charity which supports the creative growth of performing artists, using her garden as a platform to share their music.
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“There's just something about discovering plants that no one has seen before.” - Justin Dunning
“When you walk through my garden, I'm opening my heart to you.” - Mary Gore
EPISODE #204: “Gardening Over Decades”
A Prairie tree breeder patiently commits decades of his life to creating and testing thousands of trees, in the hopes of finding one that is resistant to deadly Dutch Elm Disease. A no-nonsense teacher uses practical knowledge to connect her students to the joy of gardening.
World Premiere: Monday, May 27, 2024 on VisionTV (9pm ET / 6pm PT).
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Rick Durand has dedicated his life to the breeding of trees. His expansive work has beautified and protected the prairie cities and towns where he was raised. Underlying all this work is a mission to develop tree diversity through scientific testing. As we see, this long-term approach eventually leads to an important discovery.
Marion Jarvie learned the importance of gardening when she was a young child in wartime England. In her adult life, she has taught her distinct “no-nonsense gardening” methods to both new and experienced gardeners for many decades. Gardening design, maintenance, and the all-important proper pruning techniques are the subjects most requested by her students.
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“Sometimes you may not get the breakthrough, but you'll get advances.” - Rick Durand
“The best way to learn how to grow a plant is to kill it.” - Marion Jarvie
EPISODE #205: “Words and History”
A poet remembers her late husband through the garden they built together. An artist creates sculptural works that honour the history of the land on which they reside.
World Premiere: Monday, June 3, 2024 on VisionTV (9pm ET / 6pm PT).
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Lorna Crozier’s latest poetry book was inspired by her garden and its connection to her late husband. His presence is still tangible in the plants he tended, which continue to thrive. At her book launch in Victoria, she shares her innermost feelings about the garden they created together.
Autumn in Quebec’s Eastern Townships is one of Canada’s great natural displays. It is here that artist Patterson Webster creates art and sculpture made from metal, rocks, inverted trees, and words. Visitors are given a space to contemplate the present moment, while exploring the area’s rich history and of those who lived and worked this land over the centuries.
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“Poetry, probably more than any other genre, is trying to get at the primal. At stuff that hasn't changed since the human species got up on two legs, and started walking. Stuff that is eternal, but ephemeral at the same time. And that's what a garden is all about. It shows you everything in a way that can be smelled, and touched, and visually appreciated.” - Lorna Crozier
“Every garden has a story.” - Patterson Webster
