In a world grappling with climate change, fragile food systems and biodiversity loss, gardening is a small act of rebellion.

A garden is much more than a beautiful place. It’s a sanctuary for pollinators, a place where native species can flourish and a little engine helping to reduce carbon dioxide.

Gardening can even lower stress, improve a person’s mental wellbeing and provide an opportunity to be more active.

Memorial University’s Botanical Garden, located on Mount Scio Road in St. John’s, goes even further. It connects science with culture. The staff at the garden help people understand their environment and inspire them to care for it.

Few people have done more to cultivate that understanding than Todd Boland. As research horticulturist at the Botanical Garden, Boland has spent decades tending not just to plants, but to knowledge, community, curiosity and creativity. His work has made the garden a living laboratory, a conservation hub and a provincial cultural landmark.

He earned his master’s degree from Memorial in 1992. And with over 40 years of gardening under his belt, he’s written a string of books and field guides, including Wildflowers and Ferns of Newfoundland and Trees and Shrubs of Newfoundland and Labrador.

He’s been with the Botanical Garden for over 20 years and is the most prominent name and the most reliable expert on gardening and native flora in the province.

 

Todd Boland (MSc’92) has been the Botanical Garden’s research horticulturalist for over 20 years. Photo courtesy of Todd Boland.

 

One of his signature roles has been stewarding the Botanical Garden’s heritage garden — a living memory bank of heirloom plants contributed by local families. At the annual Festival of Blooms, he talks about how these treasured varieties echo generations of Newfoundland gardening traditions.

Mr. Boland understands that the province’s environment can be challenging for gardeners. Late springs, low temperatures and acidic soils make gardening here an act of persistence.

He responds to these challenges by guiding people towards plants that can not only survive but flourish here: native rhododendrons, goldenrod and silverweed are among the hardy varieties he nurtures in the garden’s heritage collection.

In workshops like Growing Fruit in Newfoundland, he demystifies which fruit-bearing shrubs and trees thrive locally. In sessions on pests and disease, gardeners can bring samples for diagnosis and advice.

And while attending workshops and sessions at the garden is a must for committed gardeners, Mr. Boland consistently reaches out to the community to promote gardening.

He regularly appears on call-in radio programs to offer his assistance to anyone who seeks it, and he is always the first person to alert growers through the media to the appearance of invasive species of plants and insects and teaches how to deal with them.

In 2018, he won the Edgar T. Wherry Award from the North American Rock Garden Society for his significant contributions to the knowledge of native plants in North America. He later became the society’s first Canadian president.

Whether guiding foragers in a wild edibles workshop, explaining regional plant adaptations or fielding questions from across the province, Mr. Boland helps connect people with the places they inhabit in a meaningful way. He teaches that nature can be nurtured.

His work reminds us that botany is more than an academic interest or a fun hobby. It’s about stewardship and resilience. It’s about our sense of belonging and engaging productively in the world around us.