photo for garden club 12-23

BY NORA LEA REEFE - At the Boca Grande Garden Club’s regular meeting at the Community Center at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 11, Paul Epsom, English gardening correspondent for PBS’s “The Victory Garden,” will present “A Transplanted Englishman’s Five E’s of Gardening,” followed by tea and a plant sale in the Woman’s Club Room.

Known for his British humor, energy, and creative personal touch, he has won several Garden Globe awards for his TV work, as well as the “Gold Award for the Best Talent on Air.”   

His presentation ability is apparent in his succinct “how-to” segments, helping viewers see gardening and their gardens in a creative light, and adding personal touches that make gardening attractive to those who would never dream of watching a gardening program!

Paul has been gardening since he was a child in England and moved to the U.S. when he met his wife, Kristine, more than 25 years ago. He currently runs a garden center called Greystone Gardens in Pennsylvania, which features a unique collection of plants and gardening accessories.  

Go to GreystoneG.com.

Educated at Warwick University and London University, Paul holds an honors degree in psychology, and the Royal Horticultural Society’s Advanced Certificate of Horticulture. He is also a certified arborist, and has taught at schools in both England and the U.S.  

He is very familiar with all the gardens the club will be touring in England in the spring, and plans to discuss similarities and differences between gardening “on both sides of the pond,” including some common misconceptions and terminology important to understanding what English gardening is all about.  

He will focus on what he calls his five “E’s” that make gardening so much fun: Effortless; environmental; enabled; edible; and extraordinary!

His presentation, which is free to members and open to guests on a space available basis for $25, will be informative and entertaining. Non-members should call Kay Ferland at 964-4162 to make a reservation or, to  have a better chance of getting in, send her a check at POB 807, Boca Grande, indicating on the memo line the name you would like to appear on your name tag.

During the tea Berousek of Pomello Park Nursery in Venice will be selling orchids and bromeliads, so if you missed the orchid sale in November, you will have another chance to purchase your inside or outside flowering tropicals.

In addition to The Victory Garden, Paul has been featured on more than 400 episodes of “Home and Backyard,” a successful television program on Pennsylvania’s ABC affiliate WNEP. In 2003, 2004, and 2005, Epsom won Garden Globe awards for his work as an on-air gardening correspondent. The award is given by the Garden Writer’s Association for exceptional work in gardening in the media. In 2006, he received the Gold Award for Best Talent on Air and in 2007 he collected a silver award for a local TV gardening special.

Born in London, Paul now lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, two sons, and an Irish terrier.

( 0 Votes )