 Paul's Story / Biography
Paul Zammit lives in the west end of Toronto, Ontario with his wife and partner, Uli , who is employed as a gardener for the city of Toronto Parks department.
A graduate of the University of Guelph's Plant Agriculture program, Paul is an active member of many Canadian and international gardening communities. He lectures on a wide array of subjects, including container gardening, perennials, ground covers and tropicals.
Paul had been employed at Plant World, a large, west-end garden centre since graduating in 1992. One of his primary duties had been that of the perennial department manager. He also contributed heavily to the in house advertising campaigns by providing photographs and layout advice.
A popular and engaging speaker, Paul has given presentations at many garden clubs and large garden shows such as the Canadian National Exhibition, Success With Gardening and Canada Blooms, and other horticultural trade shows in both Canada and the United States.
Paul has made several television appearances on HGTV's 'The Indoor Gardener', and Kathy Renwald's shows 'Calling All Gardeners', and 'Gardeners’ Journal'. He has written articles and provided photographs to past issues of The Epic Gardener.
2001: The front yard of Paul and Uli's home was awarded first place in the environmental garden category for the City of Toronto Garden Contest.
2002: Paul was awarded the Young Professionals award by the Perennial Plant Association
2003: Paul was elected to the position of the Canadian Regional Director for the Perennial Plant Association. Paul and Uli's home garden was awarded the Best Use of Plant Material in the City of Toronto West District Garden Contest.
2004: "Potter's Paradise", a feature article in the August issue of Canadian Living illustrated the wild variety of Paul's impressive collection of terracotta.
2006: Paul was the site chairperson and a key organizer for the annual PPA symposium in Montreal and Quebec City.
"Two Gardens Become One" a story on the making of Paul and Uli's garden appeared in the April issue of Gardening-How-To magazine and several of Paul's container arrangements appeared in both Gardening Life and Canadian Gardening magazine.
2008: Paul appeared once again in the special issue of Canadian Gardening, Fantastic Garden Projects, 2008 annual, in a feature on Succulents entitled "Carefree Container Combos".
The front garden was generously included in another feature on "6 Inspiring Front Gardens" for the April issue of Canadian Gardening.
Gardening Life published a personal story on both Paul and Uli in the April/May issue written by Marjorie Harris. This article focused on Paul's many container plantings and included shots of the backyard.
Paul wins the "Scott's Do Up the Doorstep" competition at Canada Blooms with his container planting of dramatic succulents.
2009: Paul is appointed the new Director of Horticulture at the Toronto Botanical Garden, retiring from his position as perennial manager and plant buyer at Plant World.
Many of Paul's container designs, originally slated for release in Gardening Life throughout 2009, appear in the May 2009 issue of Canadian Gardening including the cover shot of a succulent basket.
2010: Paul is awarded the 2010 Service Award from the Perennial Plant Association. Invited to speak in both Germany and Switzerland, a German trade publication follows up with a feature on him and the containers he created for a large Swiss garden centre.
2011: Paul is invited to speak in Bermuda. Paul has the cover shot of the May 2011 issue of Canadian Gardening and an article entitled "Green Envy" on Paul and the creation of 4 containers showcased at his home. Recipes included! Paul and Uli traveled to England in August, through a trip organized by the Perennial Plant Association. There they visited 32 gardens, including Great Dixter, Sissinghurst and Wisley.
2013: Paul's container design is showcased on the cover of the winter 2013/14 GardenMaking magazine.
2014: Paul led a small tour group for 10 days in October, to Sicily, touring gardens and embracing the close connection to food and land.
2016: Spent one week in January, at Great Dixter, home of Christopher Lloyd, under the tutelage of Fergus Garret, learning about succession planting, seeding, and pruning. Field trips took us to Sissinghurst and Vita's home just prior to her moving to Sissinghurst, and also to her family home in Knoll.
2020: Retired from the Toronto Botanical Garden and accepted a job as a professor of sustainable horticulture at Niagara College. Continues as the seasonal call-in gardener on CBC radio one, Here and Now show, 99.1FM .
2023: Continues to guide garden tours to England, Ireland and Scotland with Marjorie Mason and her son Jeff. For more information, check masonhousegardens.com/garden-tours | 
