Wish List
LET US CONNECT YOU WITH THE PLANTS YOU’RE SEARCHING FOR.
ooking for a particular plant you don’t see on our site? Or do you want a plant that won’t be ready until later in the season?
Let us know what you’re looking for. We’ll put you on the Wish List and contact you when your plants come available.
In-Nursery Design Service
THE GOAL OF OUR IN-NURSERY DESIGN SERVICE IS TO HELP YOU DEVELOP A GARDEN SPACE THAT REFLECTS YOUR LIFESTYLE & PERSONAL AESTHETIC.
We’re here to help you avoid many of the pitfalls associated with garden design and plant selection. At the end of this process, your garden space will be filled with plants that you love, in a manner that reflects you. Not only will you achieve a great design but you will also save hundreds, even thousands, of dollars compared with conventional design fees.
The design service is a collaborative process between you and one of our trained design professionals that takes place at our nursery. Our designers do not visit your site. Rather, they get to know your garden space through a detailed questionnaire, diagrams and images that you supply. The more preparation and thought you put into your project and the more specific the information and visuals that you provide, the better your finished garden space; and we want that space to be very beautiful indeed! Please note that because we do not visit your site we also do not design hardscape features such as pergolas, patios, and pathways. Your hardscape features should already be present.
Once your questionnaire and attachments are received by one of our designers, we will call you to make an appointment to meet at the nursery. Prior to the meeting, your designer will spend an hour to:
This pre-meeting work ensures that the designer is fully cognizant of the scope of your project and can make more efficient use of the time you spend together at your appointment.
During your appointment, you and your designer will work together on all aspects of the design. She will measure out your garden space right on the ground of the nursery so that you can both get a real sense for the space you’re working with and better envision the design as it develops. You’ll discuss various options and collaborate on the artful combination of plants for your space. By the end of the process, you’ll not only have a design but you’ll have chosen your plants and their locations will be noted on your garden diagram so you’ll know where to plant them. You will then head home and you (or someone you hire) will do the gardening work to plant your garden design.
If you are consulting our design service about a large space, we recommend tackling one patio, balcony or bed (or small group of beds) at a time. Of course, this means that more than one meeting may be required, but it will make the whole process more manageable for you and your designer. We also recommend limiting each session to one or two hours so that it’s not too overwhelming.
Prior to your appointment, we strongly suggest doing some research by visiting Phoenix Perennials to see our wide selection of perennials and specialty plants. You can also search our online database here and use our Perfect Plant Search to discover plants that you might want to use in your design.
On the day of your appointment, please dress for the weather and bring your camera to take pictures of your mocked-up garden design.
If you have any questions, please call the nursery at 604-270-4133.
Design Service Fees
- Includes: your first hour meeting with your designer and the one hour of preparation time your designer spent evaluating your project and preparing for your meeting.
- The hour of preparation time is charged just once at the start of your project.
- $45/hr for each additional hour
- Periods less than one hour are charged in half-hour increments of $22.50 each.
Garden Club Presentations
We offer various exciting options for garden clubs. Have owner Gary Lewis give a talk at your club meeting. Or visit the nursery for a free tour and show and tell style talk followed by a chance to peruse the nursery. Gary’s talks can also be adapted for presentation to professional audiences. He also offers a few talks tailored specifically for professionals. Please inquire below.
Hot New Plants
Cutting Edge Garden Plants for Cutting Edge Gardens
Phoenix Perennials is among the first nurseries in Canada—and even the world—to offer new cultivars developed by the best international breeders. Gary will give you the inside track on recent new cutting edge garden plants and talk about where plant breeding is heading in the future. If you love new plants, you won’t want to miss this talk! Because of the fast pace of perennial breeding this talk will likely have a full turnover of plants every 2-3 years. From year to year it will never be the same!
Hellebores
Jewels of the Winter and Spring Garden
Phoenix Perennials has become famous for our annual Hellebore Hurrah! Weekend each February which draws hundreds of gardeners from around the province and beyond to one of the largest selections of Hellebores offered in North America. In this presentation you’ll learn about the botany, ecology, and distribution of hellebores as well as their history in western gardens and the complex breeding required to arrive at the stunning array of modern forms. Gary will tour you through the best of what’s available today and speak to new directions in breeding. If you book this talk in February or March Gary will bring an array of hellebores to “show and tell” after the PowerPoint portion of the evening.
Hot New Plants
Drama, Structure and Intrigue with Succulent Foliage and Flowers
Gary will introduce you to the fascinating world of succulents for the garden. He will show you a variety of hardy and non-hardy plants including Agave, Echeveria, Aeonium, Yucca, Dasylirion, Sempervivum, cacti, Delosperma, Sedum and more. He will discuss their geographical origins, their biology, their value in design and how to grow them in the garden and in containers. This talk is not Power Point-based but is a “show and tell” style talk in which Gary will bring a diversity of plants to enhance the lecture.
Among Kangaroo Paws and Grass Trees
The Incredible Spring Flora of Western Australia
Join Gary for a trip Down Under to explore an out of this world flora you have likely never even dreamed of—a world of banksias and feather flowers, donkey orchids and spider orchids, eucalypts and myrtles and, of course, kangaroo paws and grass trees. In this talk you’ll see wonderful photography from his trip as well as learn about why this area of the world is considered a biodiversity “hotspot.”
Weird and Wonderful Plants of the World
Botanically Intriguing Options for your Garden
Countless fascinating garden plants exist at the fringes of cultivation including many that have recently been introduced from the far-flung corners of the world. On this virtual tour of six continents you’ll discover a multitude of rare, uncommon and underused perennials to add some botanical intrigue to your patio and garden. At the end Gary will “show and tell” a select group of plants from the talk.
Avoiding the Summer Doldrums
Great Plants for Summer and Fall
Does your garden look fabulous in the spring only to have its vibrant colours fade with the summer heat? Gary offers advice on how to avoid these summer doldrums and recommends a host of great garden plants to keep colour in the garden through the hot months of the year. At the end Gary will “show and tell” a select group of plants from the talk.
Plants and Plant Ecology of the American Deserts
A Botanical Travelogue
Travel with Gary Lewis on a tour of California and Arizona and discover the intriguing plants that inhabit the challenging desert environments of the American Southwest. This presentation includes stunning imagery of blooming cacti and other desert wildflowers and draws on ecology, biogeography and botany to paint a picture of a fascinating botanical environment.
Guided Tours
Guided Tour of the Nursery and Show and Tell with Phoenix Perennials Owner Gary Lewis
All you have to do is tell us when you’d like to come!
We’ll provide a free owner-guided nursery tour and a show and tell of exciting plants tailored to your group’s interests!
We request a minimum of 12 people.
Custom/Private Workshops
Many of our workshops from our regular workshop schedule can be done privately for your garden club or for other interested groups such as for team building activities for your workplace. Or, if there is a different subject you would like covered, please let us know.
Contact us below!
