Speaker Directory

The BC Council of Garden Clubs has compiled a list of speakers who are willing to speak to garden clubs and organizations on various garden related topics.

While this list is fairly comprehensive, it does not contain all the names of knowledgeable speakers in BC. If you would like to suggest a name for this list or if you wish to have your name added to this list, please contact the Speaker List Coordinator.

Please note the following:

  • The BC Council of Garden Clubs does not accept any responsibility for the quality or the content of any presentation by these individuals.
  • It is the responsibility of the gardening organization to negotiate the terms of the presentation with the speaker (including topic, travel and expenses, fees, etc.)
  • Fees listed are provided as guideline and are subject to change at the discretion of the speaker without notice to the Council.
  • Please click on a speaker name from the table below for more detail.

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NameGary Lewis
EmailEmail hidden; Javascript is required.
Websitephoenixperennials.com
Instagram@phoenixperennials
Phone(604) 270-4133
General Topics
  • Container Gardening, Small Space Gardening
  • Garden Design, landscaping
  • Special Interest Plants
Specialty Plants
  • Hellebores
  • Ground Covers
  • Rare Plants
  • Cutting Edge New Plants
  • Plants of Western Australia
  • Succulents
Sample topics
  • The Complete Talk on Ground Covers
  • Hot New Plants: Cutting Edge Garden Plants for Cutting Edge Gardens
  • Hellebores: Jewels of the Winter and Spring Garden
  • Weird and Wonderful Plants of the World: Botanically Intriguing Options for your Garden
  • Avoiding the Summer Doldrums: Great Plants for Summer and Fall
  • Sizzling Succulents: Drama, Structure and Intrigue with Succulent Foliage and Flowers
  • Among Kangaroo Paws and Grass Trees: The Incredible Spring Flora of Western Australia
  • Plants and Plant Ecology of the American Deserts: A Botanical Travelogue
Speaker Profile

Gary Lewis has had a lifelong passion for plants. While completing a Masters of Science degree in Botany, Gary became the owner of Phoenix Perennials on his 28th birthday. Since that time he has greatly expanded the business into a dynamic, award-winning, destination nursery for Western Canada with over 5000 different plants a year, many of which are grown at Phoenix Perennials from plant material sourced from around the world. In 2013 Phoenix Perennials launched Canadian mail order to bring their unique plant selection to a broader audience and now ships more than 2500 different plants a year to avid gardeners from coast to coast to coast.

Gary is a regular speaker at garden clubs and has appeared many times on radio and television. He has written for a variety of gardening magazines including Fine Gardening and in fall 2022 his encyclopedia, The Complete Book of Ground Covers, was published by Timber Press. This compendium focuses on 4000 different ground covers for the temperate gardening world accompanied by 650 photos from his international travels.

In 2013 Gary was selected as Communicator of the Year by the BC Landscape and Nursery Association and in 2017 was the recipient of the Retail Sales Award from the Perennial Plant Association.

Gary has lead botanical and garden tours to Holland and Belgium, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, France, and Western Australia.

Speaker's Fee$250 - $400