The GOODS from Phoenix Perennials

Richmond, BC | Edible gardening season is in full swing at Phoenix Perennials with tomatoes, Mighty Matos, ‘Ketchup ‘n’ Fries’ “tomtaters” and a full range of other edibles in store. Just as exciting as all of the culinary experiences you can have with food you grow yourself, it’s just as exciting – and also quite important – to learn from the experts about how to best produce your own food and then use it in the kitchen and at the bar!

Phoenix Perennials is hosting a number of upcoming workshops focused on edibles. From the herbs and veggies you’ll need to make international dishes, to the unusual subtropical fruits you can grow in your garden, to backyard bee keeping to produce your own honey, to cocktail gardening with award-winning mixologist David Wolowidnyk of West and CinCin restaurants who will demonstrate how to make signature cocktails with ingredients you can grow in your garden (And yes, there will be taste testing of his cocktails at the class!), Phoenix Perennials has your edible gardening life covered.

Here’s a list of their upcoming workshops. Register online at www.phoenixperennials.com.

International Cooking: Herbs & Veggies of the Great Culinary Traditions | Kate | Sat May 16th, 10am-12pm | $14 | In this around-the-world culinary voyage Kate will discuss many great culinary traditions – French, Italian, Indian, Thai, Mexican, and more – and introduce you to their distinctive herbs & veggies. She’ll discuss how to grow them successfully in your own garden and how they’re used in classic recipes that you can cook at home!

Subtropical and Unusual Fruit for the West Coast Garden | Instructor: Larry | Sat May 16th, 1-3pm | $14 | Did you know that you can grow citrus outside in Vancouver AND harvest fruit to eat??? Join our resident expert on everything subtropical, unusual and edible for local gardens. From hardy olives to hardy citrus, goji berries to tea, honey berries to Asian pepper, kiwis to pomegranates plus figs, bananas, kumquats and much more, Larry will fill you in on the exciting world of rare and unusual shrubs that will inspire you and your taste buds and impress cocktail party guests. Larry will chat about the range of interesting shrubs and small trees you can grow in your gardens, including their relative levels of hardiness, how to care for them and all the fun things you can do with their fruit.

How Sweet It Is: Backyard Bee Keeping and Bee-Friendly Plants | Bob Fisher, West Coast Bee Supply with Gary | Sun May 24th, 10am-11pm | FREE* | Bees are some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet and they make one of the sweetest and most beloved of foods. They are also responsible for the pollination of countless crops, especially fruit trees and berry bushes. With the relaxing of by-laws in many municipalities many homeowners are now allowed to keep bees in their own backyards. Join local bee expert Bob Fisher of West Coast Bee Supply as he introduces you to the world of the honeybee and gives you some advice on the basics of backyard bee keeping. Come with lots of questions. Bob will bring one of his own thriving beehives to the nursery to introduce you to the honeybee up close and personal! Then Bob and Phoenix Perennials owner, Gary, will discuss the best bee-friendly plants for the garden. At the end of the workshop you can even head down the street to Bob’s business and buy some bees and bee-keeping equipment to get started!

Cocktail Gardening: From Garden to Glass, Shaken not Stirred | Instructor: David Wolowidnyk, CinCin Ristorante with Gary | Sat June 13th, 1-3pm | $20 | Join award-winning bartender and mixologist David Wolowidnyk from the acclaimed CinCin Ristorante in Vancouver to learn how to make cocktails and libations with ingredients from your own garden. In 2012 David won the Bombay Sapphire World’s Most Imaginative Bartender Competition in Morocco. This guy knows how to mix a drink! Step up to David’s bar where he’ll show you how to muddle, mix, infuse, shake and stir your way to fancy and intriguing drinks for a relaxing night at home, a dinner party or a wild soiree in the garden all while telling you stories as only a bartender can. As you sample David’s creations Phoenix Perennials owner Gary Lewis will present the different edibles used in the cocktail and discuss how to grow them in your garden. This is one workshop that you won’t want to miss!

DETAILS

3380 No. 6 Rd. | Richmond, BC | V6V 1P5
Phone & Fax: 604-270-4133 | Email: [email protected]
Web: www.phoenixperennials.com | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest

GALLERY

The People

Gary Lewis, Owner

About Phoenix Perennials

Phoenix Perennials is an award-winning, cutting edge retail and mail order plant nursery in Richmond, BC (on the farmland near IKEA) that offers one of the largest and most diverse selections of perennials, shrubs, trees, vines, succulents, and edibles in Canada with over 4000 different plants each year. They grow the majority of their own perennials from plants sourced from around the world including Japan, India, Europe, South Africa, the US, and Canada and bring in their other plants from the region’s best growers.

Whether you have a large garden or a small balcony, whether you are into ornamental gardening or growing your own food, Phoenix Perennials has everything you need to create your own distinctive, beautiful, and productive space.

Their inspiring garden centre on No. 6 Road in Richmond is a plant mecca that draws gardeners from around Greater Vancouver, the province of BC, and beyond.

In addition to specialties in perennials, maples, shade plants, and rare and unusual plants, Phoenix Perennials is proud of their selection of edibles from classic herbs, veggies, and fruits including upwards of 50 different kinds of heirloom and cool modern tomatoes to cutting edge and unusual edibles, citrus, olives, goji berries, BrazelBerries, and grafted veggies like Mighty Matos and ‘Ketchup ‘n’ Fries’ “tomtatoes”.

Phoenix Perennials is also dedicated to continuous learning and hosts numerous workshops each year on subjects such as creative succulent and perennial containers, living walls, cocktail gardening, gardening for teas and infusions, herb and veggie gardening for international culinary capers, gardening with subtropical and unusual fruits and more.

They offer a free Gardening 101 series designed for beginner and intermediate gardeners on topics such as Pruning for Dummies, Foundations of a Healthy Garden, Strategies for Balconies & Small Spaces, Beekeeping, Mastering the Basics of Perennials, Success with Tomatoes, Supporting Pollinators and much more. They also offer a free Young Sprouts Kids Club with workshops that combine horticulture, botany, and arts and crafts to teach kids about the wonderful world of plants.

Not only do they host numerous workshops through the season, they also hold many special events including the Hellebore Hurrah!, The Great Easter Plant Hunt, May Maple Mania, and The Heirloom Tomato Festival complete with tomato fruit displays and tomato tastings.

Phoenix Perennials publishes a twice-monthly e-newsletter with articles about plants, news of sales and special events, and lots of pretty pictures plus occasional alerts on 14 different topics including edibles, shade plants, fragrant plants, hot new plants, and maples and woody plants. You can also engage with them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest (links above).

Phoenix Perennials offers two services of note. Their in-nursery design service can help do-it-yourselfers design and execute the outdoor spaces of their dreams. And their mail order division brings their cool selection of plants within reach of Canadian gardeners from coast to coast to coast.

In 2015 Phoenix Perennials was chosen as one of Today’s Garden Center magazine’s Top 100 Revolutionary Garden Centers in North America. In 2014 Phoenix Perennials owner Gary Lewis was selected as one of Canada’s Top 10 Horticultural Professionals Under 40 by Greenhouse Canada magazine. In 2012 and 2013 Phoenix Perennials won the category of “Growing Gardeners”, part of the Canadian Garden Centre of the Year Awards.

Accolades

“Gary Lewis is the owner of Phoenix Perennials and Specialty Plants Nursery in Richmond and one of Canada’s most knowledgeable plant experts with a deep and special interest in rare and unusual herbaceous perennials.His cottage-garden nursery on No. 6 Road in Richmond is one of Canada’s top perennial nurseries, carrying more than 4,000 different garden plants. This is perhaps why it is sometimes referred to by the loyal following of gardeners who shop there as a “candy store” of plant treasures.” — Steve Whysall, Vancouver Sun, In the Garden Podcast.

“I should be barred from two places: all-you-can-eat buffets and Phoenix Perennials.” — Julie from Richmond

“You have the most healthy, gorgeous and interesting plants. It’s so different than everywhere else!” — Sandy from White Rock, BC

“Gary Lewis is the king of perennials.” — Jeff DeJong, radio host, Gardening 101, CFAX AM 1070, Victoria, BC

“The premiere nursery of BC!” — Barry Belec, Garden Designer