Two NC Horticulture professors are using their green thumbs to dig up tips and tricks for local gardening enthusiasts at the inaugural Niagara-on-the-Lake in Bloom festival.
Dena Gavin and Paul Zammit are teaming up to present a Container Gardening seminar on May 9 at the Pillar and Post.
Their seminar is part of an exciting lineup of events for the floral and garden festival taking place between May 9-12, presented by Vintage Hotels with the Tourism Partnership of Niagara.
“I am thrilled to be sharing a stage with Dena where we will share our passion of plants (and container gardening) to discuss and create two unique planters that be given to two audience members,” said Zammit. “We will be using some plants grown at the College plus other special (and favorite) treasures to pot up the two planters.
“While putting them together, we will share our years of industry experience and fun stories with audience members.”
Zammit has been designing seasonal planters for the past 30 years. Several of his designs have been featured at trades shows, in magazines, on TV and online. About 10 years ago, he even designed containers for a plant ‘fashion show’ in Switzerland.
“Personally, I believe just as outdoor garden spaces change throughout the year, seasonal transformations should also be reflected in dramatic container arrangements in our gardens as well as on our patios and balconies,” he said.
A passionate and energetic gardener and lover of nature, Zammit has been delivering presentations across Canada, throughout the U.S. and internationally for over 30 years. For the past decade, he has been dishing out gardening advice on the CBC’s Here and Now radio program. In 2022, he became the regular garden host on the weekly CBC program Ontario Today.
Paul Zammit has been bringing his passion for gardening to NC since 2019.
He joined NC faculty in 2019 after 10 years as Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden. He received the 2019 and the 2021 Garden Communicator of the Year award from Landscape Ontario in 2019 and 2021, and an Educator award from the Perennial Plant Association in 2023.
Zammit is looking forward to Niagara-on-the-Lake-in Bloom.
“I am excited about the opportunity. I enjoy interacting with the public about a subject I am passionate about,” said Zammit. “I am also keen to show the public how planters can be beautiful and functional (including edibles and plants to support pollinators) too. I am also keen to raise awareness about the College.”
Gavin was instrumental to bringing the chance to host the seminar at the festival to fruition. She learned about the opportunity while working on floral design for the event through her work with a local landscaping company,
“I’m really excited to lead the seminar with Paul – we teach a couple of courses together at the College,” she said. “I’m also looking forward to incorporating NC into our presentation.”
A NC Horticulture Technician alumna (Class of 1996), Gavin joined full-time faculty in 2012 with extensive horticultural and landscape experience, including the Niagara Parks Commission where she was a certified gardener. She also ran her own landscaping and design company.
She currently works as a consultant for the award-winning Dawland Farms and Landscaping which is involved with floral design for the festival. Gavin noted that, inspired by the Chelsea flower show in England, the local festival will showcase many food structures made of flowers. Among the floral showstoppers are four-foot ‘strawberries’ adorning the entrance into the Monet Garden for the event, which Gavin crafted from cut flower carnations.
In addition to leading the seminar with Zammit, Gavin will be on site throughout the weekend, keeping a watchful eye on the weather, to care for the delicate florals displayed throughout the event. “I’m excited to be involved,” she said. “I think it’s going to be a fantastic event and really good for Niagara, especially for its first year.”
Niagara-on-the-Lake in Bloom
Gavin and Zammit’s Container Gardening seminar/demonstration will take place on May 9 at 3:30 p.m. in the Monet Garden, Pillar and Post.
View event details at Niagara-on-the-Lake In Bloom Festival – May 9 to 12, 2025.
