RECREATING EDEN

From the garden retreats in the Italian hillsides, to gigantic biodomes regarded as the eighth wonder of the world, to the private country gardens only we are allowed to see, each unique episode of Recreating Eden features a gardener who takes the viewer on a tour of his or her unique garden paradise as well as on an intimate journey into their personal lives.

Through vivid images of nature and beautiful narration, we are invited to witness how a single plant can elicit memories of the past, is able to heal emotional pain, excite our creative imagination, and most importantly provide us with an example of how the pure beauty of nature can transcend the troubles of our modern world.

Produced by Merit Motion Pictures (2006 - 2010)

Episode 1001: The Colour of Love
Sandra and Nori Pope rediscover a passion for gardens and for each other at Hadspen Garden. The story of two people who rediscovered a passion for gardens and for each other. Sandra and Nori Pope ran a successful flower nursery in Victoria B.C., but when they discovered the sadly neglected Hadspen Gardens in England, they knew they were the ones to take on the challenge of restoring them.

Episode 1002: A Healing Tradition
Heather Bakazius leaves the nursing profession to build a herbal retreat. Concerned about western medicine and its heavy reliance on prescription drugs, Heather Bakazias left a successful career as a psychiatric nurse and moved to a fifty acre farm near the tiny village of Singhampton, just south of Georgian Bay in Ontario. Nestled in acres of wildflowers, Heather created a retreat where she counsels people toward living a holistic lifestyle using herbs she has grown on her property.

Episode 1003: Gardener by Duty
Baron Axel Bonaert – a modern day man trying to maintain his 17th century ancestral gardens. Axel Bonaert is a man caught in two worlds - the modern day world of his chosen career as a computer engineer, and the world he has inherited as heir to the Freyr Castle and its immense gardens, that date back to 1760. However, 21st century demands weigh heavily on this modern baron, and for Axel, the inheritance is definitely a mixed blessing.

Episode 1004: Garden of Controversy
Douglas Counter challenges our basic ideas about what a garden should be. To Douglas Counter, the naturalized garden he planted in his backyard as a memorial to his mother represents a private meditation space of natural beauty. To the public however, it represents a unique and inexpensive approach to filtering pollutants from streams that run through his community of Etobicoke, Ontario. Follow Douglas as he challenges the City's by-laws to protect not only his environmentally important sanctuary from nuisance complaints, but the rights of all gardeners to heal the environment.

Episode 1005: Reflections of the Soul
Poets, Patrick Lane and Lorna Crozier find healing and inspiration in their garden. Patrick Lane and Lorna Crosier have created a sensational garden at their home in Victoria, BC. Both renowned poets, their writings draw heavily on the symbolism a garden provides. For Patrick, it is a metaphor for life and for Lorna, a source of erotic imagery. The garden was instrumental in Patrick's recovery from alcoholism and served as inspiration for Addicted: Stories From the Belly of the Beast, a collaborative work edited by Patrick and Lorna that features writing on addiction.

Episode 1006: A Garden Sanctuary Where Activism Blooms
Des Kennedy’s spiritual & environmental journey As a former monk who left his order for an even greater calling, Des's passion and depth of knowledge on gardening has earned him a loyal audience for his writing, television and public appearances. In this episode, Des reveals how he has managed to create a spiritual lifestyle for himself which merges his love of gardening and the environment with his public life as a humorist, writer and journalist.

Episode 1007: The “Art” of Gardening
Art Luna may create hairstyles for Hollywood celebrities, but his passion lies in creating gardens. Though he’s the man behind the hair of some of the biggest names in Hollywood, legendary celebrity hairstylist Art Luna considers himself first and foremost a garden designer.

Episode 1008: Tending to my Soul
Trish Oktober rediscovers her childhood happiness in the isolated Blue Mountains of Australia. As a renowned illustrator, artist and author, Trish’s life hasn’t always been easy, having failed at three marriages and losing two children in infancy. But five years ago her life took a turn when she rediscovered happiness in the form of a garden paradise in the Blue Mountains. Here she has surrounded herself with flowers from all over the world, many of which have become the subjects of the watercolours that now grace her books and local art galleries.

Episode 1009: La Maison Verte
The realization of a couple’s lifelong dream to open an artist’s retreat in France. Five years ago, Nicola Russell and Teddy Hutton left their home in Oxford, England to follow their dream. A dream which brought them to the small town of Roujan in the south of France, to create an artist’s retreat. Artists themselves, they now play host to painters, dancers, actors, sculptors and writers from all over the world who come to work and reflect in the garden paradise that Nicola and Teddy have created.

Episode 1010: Plant Hunter
Maria Galletti faces a world of challenges in her hunt for the “precious jewels” of the plant world. Maria Galletti is a woman on a mission to find rare varieties and propagate the “precious jewels” of the plant world: alpine plants. These incredibly small plants can be challenging to grow, but at Alpines Mont Echo, Maria’s garden and nursery in Sutton, Quebec, she has found ways of growing them in the most difficult conditions. She has also grown in reputation, slowly evolving from an immigrant entrepreneur to battle her way through the male-dominated world of alpine plant hunters, only to find herself one of the most respected alpine specialists in the world.

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