Year of the Garden at A.M.A.
The Canadian Garden Council is celebrating 2022 as the Year of the Garden, and A.M.A. is proud to take part in this initiative to promote horticulture and encourage Canadians to learn, grow and experiment with their own gardens. After experiencing Floriade in the Netherlands this year, we’ve seen how horticulture can capture the public’s imagination and inspire people to get involved with gardening and urban forestry. Canada needs more initiatives like this one!
This year, our team planted a new native plant garden in front of our building on Spinks Drive in Kingsville. Plans for the garden were drafted in a collaboration between our own Craig Willett, manager of Ellepots and resident native plant expert, and landscape architect, Tyler Bradt. Together, they picked a combination of native and nativar plants from Ontario, including flowers, shrubs and trees. See what they picked in the list below!
Planting day gave our team a chance to get hands dirty, learning about native plants and how to plant them. In addition to celebrating Year of the Garden, the activity fit seamlessly with our 40th anniversary theme of Always Learning, Always Growing. Thanks to Connon NVK and Anna’s for the plants!
Pictured above: A.M.A.’s Alex Frew, Janan Alles and Craig Willet planting the new native plant celebration garden as part of the Canadian Garden Council’s Year of the Garden 2022 celebrations.
Natives & nativars in our new garden
Flowers
- Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa)
- Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea)
- Bee-balm or Monarda (Monarda fistulosa)
- Yarrow (Achillia x Moonshine)
Trees
- Tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera)
- American Beech (Fagus grandifolia)
- Black Gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
- Pin Oak (Quercus palustris)
- Yellow Birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
- Ironwood (Ostrya virginiana)
- Blue Beech (Carpinus caroliniana)
- Redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Shrubs
- Black Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa)
- Inkberry (Ilex glabra)
How has The Year of the Garden inspired you? We’d love to see what you’ve been planting! Share your photos and tag us on social media @amahort!