Gina Teel, Calgary Herald
Published: Monday, May 05, 2008
Like most aspects of life in Calgary these days, gardening has become a hepped up leisure activity that's allotted only so much time in the weekly schedule.
Edward's Garden Centre caters to busy gardeners who know what they want and, perhaps more importantly, what they don't want -- long lineups at the till, having to walk a mile in a big box store to get plants, and ordinary greenery that everybody and their dog has.
"Gardening is supposed to be relaxing. Do you want to be waiting in line with some guy with a bunch of two-by-fours in front of you?," asked Ted Childs, owner of Edward's Garden Centre.
A specialty garden business, Edward's has found its niche in giving the discerning gardener something different.
Hardcore gardeners want to set their yard apart, or make a personal statement, be it through using unusual plants, specific colours of flowers, pots, planters, rock or statuary.
For instance, Edward's carries an Oak Leaf Mountain Ash instead of the common Mountain Ash, just to be different.
There are a Gemini apple trees, bred to produce a small number of large crisp apples for fresh eating and not storage.
"People want to walk out on Sunday morning with their cup of coffee or latte and pick an apple and life is good. They don't want to have a whole yard full of this stuff that they feel they have to harvest," Childs said.
Container gardens are hugely popular, as are rock gardens built with tufa rock and planted with specific dwarf native alpine plants.
His quality selection caters to time-pressed but sage gardeners, but Childs said that doesn't mean he's into fads.
He does, however, work with local gardeners to see what plants work best in Calgary.
Childs also brings in what his customers ask for -- as a result, new this year are water plants and starter koi.
Generally, people want fewer trees and more shrubs that have different foliage and for fall colour consideration.
Customers want a mix of perennials in there, too, to ensure a multi-seasonal punch of colour.
They'll make room for some fruit trees, like Evans cherry, which produces large, edible sour cherries, and apple varieties, such as Gemini.
On the flower side, there are super petunias, which are longer-blooming and more productive than the common variety and don't require deadheading.
There are several different kinds of echinacea -- a favourite for attracting butterflies -- including Coconut Lime, the first double-flowered, white echinacea, and Big Sky Sunset with its florid blooms.
Queeny Purple, the first purple hollyhock, is on offer, as are purple gas plant, sneezeweed, Japanese toad lily, liver leaf, cushion spurge and a tree peony that promises spectacular blooms. That's just a small sampling of what's on hand.
Edward's grows some of its own perennials at its unique cliffside location in the city's northwest. The business also grows its own annuals, but that's accomplished in a 30,000-square-foot greenhouse in Sundre, about 130 kilometres northwest of Calgary.
Childs bought the Sundre property two years ago for cost and quality control reasons, and to grow the more unusual annuals he couldn't get from his former supplier. It also allows him to grow larger plants for containers, which is what his customers prefer.
