The Canadian television series “Visionary Gardeners” is a five-part series premiering March 7, at 9 p.m. ET on Vision TV and it runs for 5 weeks in half hour segments. It features avid Canadian gardeners with their own vision of what a garden is. You may think the series is about them and their gardens and that is true and of course that is interesting particularly if you are gardener. But these episodes may spark a certain reaction on your part particularly where you fall in the gardening vision spectrum?
You could be an elite gardener right up there amongst with the brilliant gardeners featured in “Visionary Gardeners”. You have the technical skills and the vision as lofty and intellectual as these gifted visionary gardeners. These gardeners are pros.
You could be a “semi-professional gardener” technically sound with a passion and enjoyment of gardening but you have no grand vision for your passion.
You could be a basic gardener happy to toil away planting this or that without any ideology or vision other than having fun and watching the fruits of your labour. You realize you must weed to fight for the plant’s health and choose the right soil for your planting.
You might be a utilitarian gardener who loves to grow fruits and vegetables for consumption without much vision other than having a penchant for that basil you’ll use to make pesto and for that tomato or cucumber that will make that perfect salad.
On the other hand you couldn’t give a damn about gardening and chuckle about the eggplant head nerds fussing and fidgeting over their garden.
Put another way “Visionary Gardeners” may assist you in establishing and validating where you fit in the gardening world. I am not saying in the “gardening hierarchy” because that may infer some sort of superiority. The point I make is that if you have fun with your gardening hold up your head high. And remember it is a fact that gardeners have a longer and healthier life!
From my viewing of the episodes of “Visionary Gardeners” there is no superiority shown by the visionary gardeners nor the creators of the series. So no guilt please! No matter where you are on the spectrum you should enjoy all the episodes for the fascinating ideology of the visionary gardeners and compelling cinematography.
The pattern of each “Visionary Gardeners” episode is simple. Pick two Canadian visionary gardeners and hear their vision of gardening and luxuriate in the rich cinematography.
In episode three “People and Plants” which airs on March 21st at 9 p.m. on Vision TV meet Chancal Cabrera from Courtenay, British Columbia and Paul Gellatly from Toronto, Ontario.
Cabrera in addition to being a talented gardener seems to be a medicine women, spiritualist and natural healer growing plants that heal and that connect plants with people. Gellatly presents as more of a technician breeding and “creating” new plants but like Cabrera he espouses a belief that plants connect people with nature.
Wherever you are on the gardening spectrum or if you are not on it at all why not view these visionary gardeners as simply human beings with a passion and a vision as don’t all of us have passion and visions whether we are gardening, writing, making music or simply living?
“Visionary Gardeners” is a new series from filmmakers Ian Toews and Mark Bradley of Victoria, British Columbia based 291 Film Company. After each episode airs it can be seen by Canadians free for two weeks at www.visiontv.ca
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