There are always exciting new products and fresh ideas to be found at the CanWest Hort Expo, Western Canada’s biggest horticultural trade show, held this week at Tradex in Abbotsford.
For me, it’s a good place to see new plant introductions as well as discover new and innovating gardening ideas in the pipeline for next year.
Lovett Johns with electric daisy plant
I also get to chat with garden industry leaders and top professionals and pick up plenty of story ideas.
I can’t reveal everything I discovered, but I was fascinated to see for the first time the electric daisy plant, also known as the toothache plant. It was being presented as a novelty edible for next summer.
Close up of electric daisy plant
It’s botanical name is Acmella oleracea ,although it also goes by Spilanthes oleracea. Native to Brazil, where it is called “jambu”, the electric daisy is famous for producing a mouth-tingling, almost electric shock-like feeling in your mouth when you taste it.
Apparently bars in New York are using it to line the rim of cocktails to give drinks an extra spark and electric tingle.
Lovette Johns, sales manager at Valleybrook Gardens, one of B.C.’s top perennial nurseries, showed me the plant. I didn’t taste the little yellow button-like flowers.
Jerry Ingram at dry stack wall workshop
It gets the name “toothache plant” because these flowers have been used to ease the pain of toothaches because of their mild numbing, anesthetic effect.
Johns says these plants will be more wildly available next summer, so people can add them to their patios and balconies as conversation pieces and to create a little buzz when serving drinks.
Brian Fairfield, centre, teaching workshop of building dry-stacked walls using basalt stone
Before going into the CanWest show, I stopped outside to watch a workshop on dry-stone wall building being taught by an landscape expert Brian Fairfield from Maine who has more than 17 years of experience.
Among those picking up tips was Jerry Ingram, of Ingram Landscape Design, out of Fort Langley. Interesting to see that even seasoned professionals like Ingram are still up for honing their skills and learning new more efficient landscaping techniques.
Rob and Fred Wein, of Clearview Horticultural, clematis growers, at CanWest
But I never quite realized how complicated it can be to get stones perfectly sized and shaped in order for them to fit snuggling into a dry-stone construction. At this seminar, a low wall around a fire-pit was being patiently constructed.
Inside the show, along with super displays of containers and water features, I also got to chat with some of BC’s key industry leaders, such as Rob and Fred Wein, owners of Clearview Horticultural, the producers of all our favourite clematis varieties.
John and Kelly Schroeder, of Valleybrook Gardens, always put on a terrific exhibit at these shows. This year was no exception.
Valleybrook’s volcano blows off some steam
Valleybrook had a giant volcano built for its tropical theme and all the people at the booth were dressed in colourful Hawaiian clothes.
Other industry leaders at the show included Bill Van Belle, of Van Belle Nursery, Ed Les, of Eddi’s Wholesale Supply, and Ron Hunter, of Hunter Garden Centres.
I’ve always thought this would be a great show for the public to see. But I am told it is too problematic. Too bad.
