Meeting the Great Gardener

November 15, 2025

Mat and I first met many years ago through a mutual friend, Soma. It was a normal, quite unspectacular meeting via a online call. Mat was looking for a graphic designer for his Canadian seedbank, House of the Great Gardener. At the time I was very early on in my artistic path and I was eager to work with people deeply rooted in the cannabis industry. I knew a little bit about Mat’s stories and his green fingers. So as a young artist, I was stoked to meet him and discuss the possibility of doing graphic work for his seedbank. We had a quick online meeting, but in the end Mat went with another designer for his brand. Nothing spectacular—yet over the years, my art and Mat’s path grew closer and closer.

Mat began his work in Canada’s medical cannabis movement through Compassion Clubs and dispensaries. At the Vancouver Island Compassion Society (VICS), he cultivated medical cannabis for approximately 600 patients. His efforts, however, led to charges of cultivation and trafficking by Canadian authorities. After a long legal battle, Mat was effectively exonerated in 2009 when a judge granted him an absolute discharge. Since that landmark constitutional ruling, he has dedicated himself entirely to cultivating top-quality medicinal cannabis, carefully tailored to each patient’s needs. House of the Great Gardener was founded in 2011, debuting with a carefully curated selection of exceptional cultivars. Since then, the company has earned over 50 international awards and developed a renowned high-CBD line, including Highlo, a strain celebrated for its high CBD and very low THC profile. They are also the creators of the multiple award-winning Barbara Bud, a world-famous hash strain prized for its abundant production of terpene-rich, high-quality resin.

Mat and his girlfriend Sara have always been drawn to the city of Barcelona, especially in March when Spannabis rolls around. The entire cannabis culture and industry packs their bags and travels to this incredible Spanish city to celebrate our one common connection: the plant! Mat and House of the Great Gardener teamed up, sharing booths space and gardening knowledge with Dutch seedbank and powerhouse Serious Seeds. Together with Simon, the owner and breeder of Serious Seeds, they became a recognizable team at Spannabis for many years to come. It was during these events that I got to know Mat a better—and little by little, my art became a presence in his green household.

I still remember the thrill of receiving a print order on my website from Mat Beren (House of the Great Gardener). At that time, I was only just beginning my artistic journey, so to see my work appreciated and purchased by a true cannabis breeder—and for all the right reasons—was electrifying. You have to understand, selling artwork can be daunting. It’s a long game of patience and trust before finding an audience. Selling even one print feels like a huge victory. A few more orders followed from Mat, and soon I began to understand why my work resonated with him so deeply.

In my art, recurring characters appear time and again, but none more recognized than the Hippie and the Bear. These two characters have a profound effect on my mental health and sense of well-being. When I go too long without drawing them—usually because I’m caught up in client work—I feel a deep urge to bring them back to life on paper. It was the Hippie/Grower character that struck Mat the most. Not because of the way I drew him, or because the Hippie was also a farmer and grower of plants. No—Mat recognized him. He had actually met this entity during a profound, mind-altering journey guided by Mother Ayahuasca.

The drawing of the Hippie that is so dear to me was the exact same being Mat had encountered years earlier—an entity who confirmed his path and deepened his practice as a breeder and grower, caring for mankind, the earth, and those in need of medicine.

Mat’s support, along with that of many others, strengthened my belief in myself as an artist. Like him, I deepened my practice, pushing myself beyond the comfort zone of pen and ink into painting large wooden art pieces depicting my two most cherished characters—the Hippie and the Bear. These paintings were born from a sheer necessity to paint. Nothing more, nothing less. I made them in 2021, the year I turned 35. I realized then that I had 15 years until I turned 50. Better start now, I thought. Fueled by a strange mix of desire and the ticking of time, I picked up the brush and painted.

Doing something purely out of intention—with no client, no paycheck, no clear outcome—is transformative. I worked on these paintings late in the evenings after finishing client work, or on days when I felt depressed and needed an outlet to lift me back up. They became a form of self-care, created without outside approval or reward.

Of course, people often asked, “Do you even have time for this?” or the classic, “Who’s paying you for that?” Those questions rattled me, sometimes making me doubt myself. But my urge to paint was always stronger than my fears—and I finished them.

That’s when these artworks reconnected me with Mat. I had posted progress shots of the Bear painting, and within moments a message appeared in my DMs from Mat: “How much would it cost to make one of these for me?” I showed the message to my wife at dinner, and she asked, “Well? Are you going to reply?” I did—and for the first time, I asked a price that truly reflected the time and energy I put into my work. Mat agreed without hesitation.

That moment changed everything. What started as a personal, almost irrational urge to paint turned into one of my dream jobs: visualising how Mat met the Great Gardener.

Now the pressure was on. I needed to respectfully capture the story of how Mat encountered this profound figure. At cannabis expos around the world, people often ask him, “Are you the Great Gardener?” Since his seedbank carries the name, it’s an easy assumption. But if you spend any time with Mat, you realize quickly that he doesn’t have the ego to claim such a title. He simply met the Great Gardener—who now lives through him in his plants, seeds, medicine, and of course, his legendary hash.

Before I started sketching, Mat and I had a long conversation. He told me in detail about his journey with Mother Ayahuasca. Guided into the plant world with pressing questions about his life and his work, he climbed a spiral staircase into the sky. At the top, on a platform high above the earth, he met a druid-like figure with a white beard and robe, smoking a large Sherlock pipe. This entity told him he was on the right path and to continue his work as a breeder and farmer.

Later, Mat came across a book by the Peruvian artist Pablo Amaringo. To his shock, he found an illustration of the very same figure—the Great Gardener, the guardian of vegetation on earth. From that moment, Mat understood. He wasn’t the Great Gardener. He had simply been lucky enough to meet him.

My job was to visualize this epic encounter—as well as a few other journeys Mat and Sara had experienced together. After a few revisions (thanks to Mat's input about sherlock pipe size, snakes, and praying mantises!), I finalized the sketch and inked the piece.

The finished ink drawing was then colored and sent to Mat. He was stoked. The pressure I had carried melted into pure joy. We went on to create a 12-color limited screenprint edition on handmade hemp paper from India. The edition sold out quickly, and the piece still holds a very special place in my heart.

The work wasn’t finished. A painting was still owed to Mat. Over the course of a year—balancing client work and my ongoing History of Cannabis project—I completed it and sent it to his homestead in British Columbia. Today it hangs in the heart of his home, where Mat and Sara live with the Great Gardener watching over them.