GARY LEWIS BIO
Gary Lewis has had a life-long interest in plants and gardening. His retail and mail order nursery, Phoenix Perennials, located in Richmond, BC, offers more than 5000 different plants. Gary authored The Complete Book of Ground Covers: 4000 Plants that Reduce Maintenance, Control Erosion, and Beautify the Landscape and has written for various garden magazines including Fine Gardening and has been a frequent guest on local and regional radio and television stations in British Columbia. He speaks regularly to garden clubs around BC and the Pacific Northwest and has presented at conferences across North America. In 2013 he was selected as Communicator of the Year by the BC Landscape and Nursery Association and in 2014 as one of Canada’s Top 10 Horticultural Professionals under 40 by Greenhouse Canada magazine. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Perennial Plant Association and is a committee member of Great Plant Picks. Learn more about Gary by visiting his website phoenixperennials.com, finding him on Facebook, or his Instagram handle @phoenixperennials.
SHOW NOTES
A fun memory from Longwood Gardens, running to catch the last bus back to Lancaster while photographing Bruce Munro’s Field of Light
Gary's passion for plants began in childhood, influenced by his grandmother, mother and early experiences with wildflowers
The challenges of working at a wholesale nursery as a teenager
Buck Creek Barrens in North Carolina
Becoming the owners of Phoenix Perennials, a nursery in Richmond, British Columbia, which he acquired during his master's in botany
Phoenix Perennials grows a wide selection of plants for retail and provides mail-order services across Canada
The importance of managing and inspiring a team in horticulture
The diversity and uniqueness of plants available at Phoenix Perennials, including rare succulents and new introductions from breeders worldwide
Discussing the value of ground covers in gardens, noting their role in naturalistic planting and ecosystem support
Why Gary wrote The Complete Book of Ground Covers: 4000 Plants that Reduce Maintenance, Control Erosion, and Beautify the Landscape
Why ground covers are crucial for creating functioning ecosystems within gardens, supporting pollinators, and enhancing habitat complexity
Benefits of ground covers fall into three main categories: functional/economic, environmental, and aesthetic
Functional/economic benefits include outcompeting weeds, reducing lawn maintenance, protecting tree root zones, acting as green mulch, controlling erosion, and covering difficult-to-maintain spaces
Environmental benefits include supporting pollinators and wildlife, reducing the size of lawns, retaining biomass, and improving rain gardens
Ground covers impact on aesthetics by creating continuity in garden design, adding magical touches and tying plantings together
Different types of ground covers (rhizomatous, stoloniferous, trailing) have specific uses and considerations in garden design
What Gary loves about his book on ground covers that is a comprehensive encyclopedia for the temperate gardening world, covering around 4,000 taxa
Gary shares a favorite ground cover, Azorella trifurcata 'Nana' highlighting its aesthetic impact in a garden
Lewis’s book has been translated into Japanese, reflecting its broad appeal and relevance.
How Gary approached writing the book including extensive research and reviewing nursery lists, catalogs, and existing literature, which resulted in a shortlist of 12,000 species and cultivars which he whittled down to 4,000
Gary’s daily curiosity and exploration in horticulture and his always seeking new plants and forms.
Discussing the prevalence of "plant blindness" in society and the lack of public awareness and appreciation for plants.
The repetitive selection in local garden centers and the need for more diversity and inspiration in plant offerings.
Challenges faced include managing diverse plant stocks and navigating seasonal challenges like powdery mildew outbreaks.
Recommends Anna Pavord's books The Tulip and The Naming of Names for their captivating insights into plant history and evolution and Dan Hinkley’s books
Debunking horticultural myths like the use of pot shards and the necessity of the Chelsea chop in modern gardening.
Finding Cordyline indivisa (mountain cabbage tree) in the wild
The beautiful Hellebore painting in Gary Lewis’s office by Gwen Dirks (image included below)
How to propagate more horticulturists by inspiring more people with plant diversity and nurture curiosity in horticulture.
Learn more about Gary Lewis by visiting his website phoenixperennials.com, finding him on Facebook, or his Instagram handle @phoenixperennials.
