Gardening enthusiastic flocking to Esquimalt’s English Inn and Resort for exclusive tour

A flood of tourists is expected at Esquimalt’s English Inn and Resort this weekend for an exclusive garden tour.

Gardening enthusiasts, primarily from the Mainland, will take up residence at the resort for three days as part of an inclusive tour package promoting local botanical trends and talents.

The influx of tourists coming to check out the local gardens means more notoriety for the area – and more business for local nurseries that take advantage of online ordering, said Joan Looy, who will show two private gardens on the tour.

“We have such fantastic specialty nurseries here,” said Looy, who leads tours around private and public gardens in the city through her company, Victorian Garden Tours.

“We have so many different garden clubs here, oh lordy me,” Looy added.

Workshops at the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific, along with volunteer day at Government House and in Beacon Hill Park offer perfect opportunities for gardeners to pick people’s brains and get their hands dirty.

While most people who come on Looy’s tours are interested in gardening, the occasional novice does get dragged along by a friend, she said.

She deals with that scenario by simply getting the novice to smell the roses while she talks Latin to the gardener.

“You can just walk into a garden and just love it and enjoy it,” Looy said.

“You might not be able to put your finger on why it looks so beautiful and you don’t have to. But if you want to know why, I will share it with you.”

For her part in the first English Inn and Resort garden tour, Aug. 21-22, Looy will tour 20 participants around two local gardens on Saturday – but not before she gets a chance to sit in on another guest speaker.

“On the first day, I am an interloper because I would love to hear David Tarrant. He is just so down-to-earth – he has such wisdom and depth of experience,” she said excitedly.

Originally from England, Tarrant has published four books, worked as a newspaper columnist for 12 years and guides horticultural tours all around the world. He has also played host to TV gardening shows, such as CBC’s Canadian Gardener.

The tour is booked to capacity, however, the resort’s Kitty Campbell is hoping the attention drawn to Esquimalt’s newly renovated English Inn will peak interest in their other offerings.

The local community can take advantage not only of corporate retreats, but the idyllic setting for wedding receptions, said Campbell, who is responsible for sales and marketing with the inn.

In what she terms a reinvention of a B.C. heritage landmark, the renovation work is ongoing and guest rooms will be finished by the end of the summer.

For more information on the newly renovated English Inn and Resort, go online to http://www.englishinnresort.com or stop by the Rosemead dining room at 429 Lampson St.

Further details about Victorian Garden Tours can be found at http://www.victoriangardentours.com. Private garden tours, including the five gardens at the English Inn, can be arranged through Looy.