鈥泪鈥檝e often been inspired by nature,鈥� says Egan Davis, a horticulturalist and chief instructor of the horticulture training program at the UBC Botanical Garden. Davis will give a a speech in 麻豆社国产on Monday.
鈥泪 just find the natural world so beautiful,鈥� he says, explaining that many of his gardening ideas stem from his observations while hiking. 鈥淲hen I see something beautiful, I think that鈥檚 what I want to do in a garden.鈥�
But nature isn鈥檛 always easy to replicate, he says, explaining that the beautiful randomness of patterns in nature can often seem too planned when designed the same way in a garden. 鈥泪t鈥檚 really beautiful when you see how things just work in nature, but to try and recreate it is almost impossible,鈥� adding that the end result is almost never what you expected. 鈥淪ometimes it鈥檚 better, sometimes it鈥檚 not as good, or sometimes it鈥檚 a complete surprise. It鈥檚 very difficult but the challenge is what makes it so rewarding.鈥�
To help gardeners navigate nature鈥檚 challenges, Davis will be speaking on the topic of 鈥淕arden Design Inspired by the Natural World鈥� on Monday (April 27) at 7 p.m. at the Eagle Eye Theatre of Howe Sound Secondary. 鈥淧eople will learn about how to combine plants in a way that recognizes the way that plants grow in nature,鈥� he says. Davis will discuss building plant communities, designing with plants in a naturalistic way, understanding the different roles of plants and incorporating ecology. All gardeners, beginner or experienced, are welcome, he says.
Davis has been interviewed on radio and spoken at many public events, but this will be his first time giving a presentation in Squamish. He has, however, visited friends鈥� gardens here and speaks positively about our soil. 鈥泪 see a lot of opportunity to work with real soil [native subsoils and native top soils], which is kind of rare and unique,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou could have natural populations of bacteria and fungi that are beneficial to plants, and also, real soil has mineral particles in it that you just can鈥檛 get when you buy top soil.鈥�
For 麻豆社国产gardeners keen to unearth the potential of their garden, he has the following advice:
Recognize opportunities
鈥淲hen you create a garden, you have to apply context,鈥� Davis says. 鈥淲orking with it and responding to it is key.
鈥淲hen I think about the 麻豆社国产area, I think of trees, I think of rock, I think of water and try to incorporate all of those elements with an herbaceous understory.鈥� He adds: 鈥淟arge pieces of native rock are always a really fun way to bring in natural elements.鈥�
Scale
鈥淎 really key thing for all gardeners is to understand the scale that you鈥檙e working on,鈥� and to garden accordingly, Davis says. 鈥淪o if you鈥檝e got a large garden, recognize that you鈥檙e working on a large scale and use appropriate shapes and sizes and numbers of plants, and likewise with a small garden.鈥�
At VanDusen Botanical Gardens, where he gardened for 10 years, Davis learned to step about six feet away and make a decision from that vantage point. 鈥泪t鈥檚 really important to step back to a distance that you would normally view it from. So if the scale is large鈥� look at the garden from your house or your windows.鈥澨�
Don鈥檛 fight nature
鈥泪f your garden backs on to the forest, you have that opportunity to create a transition,鈥� he says.听
鈥淎 lot of people have large trees on their property, like cedars, Douglas firs and hemlocks, and some people get frustrated, seeing that as a challenge. But I think, rather than looking at that as a challenge, recognize it as an opportunity for growing underneath large trees, because there are quite a few plants that really like that sort of dry, shaded condition.鈥�
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Tickets to see Egan Davis can be bought from On the Farm Country Market, Anna鈥檚 Interiors on Cleveland Avenue or at the door on Monday night.
