She is the most popular artist of the moment in Quebec. Everything she touches goes viral. Unknown to the public until recently, horticulturist Marthe Laverdière has more than 400,000 subscribers on social networks. She has published three gardening books, four historical novels and an autobiography, her comedy show is sold out until December 2025, and she will host a weekly show on TVA starting in June.
With no stage experience, no artistic training, and a high school diploma and massage therapy course, this 61-year-old grandmother has sold more than 133,000 books in just over six years — and almost as many of tickets for his comedy tour of Quebec, which has been selling out since February 2023.
“Marthe is a phenomenon. It’s a outsider. Nobody saw this coming, this character,” says Sophie Aumais, who has published almost all of her books with Éditions de l’Homme.
Like tens of thousands of fans, the editor fell under the spell of this horticulturist who spent her entire life in the rural region of Bellechasse, on the South Shore of the Quebec region. Marthe Laverdière has a rare gift, according to a series of testimonies collected from those close to her: she is a natural, instinctive storyteller, who can captivate an audience for three hours without any preparation.
This self-taught woman, married for 42 years to her high school crush, mother of three boys and grandmother eight times, has practiced 1000 professions. She was manager of the family dairy farm, accountant, massage therapist, speaker, cook, reception hall owner, then horticulturist who operated greenhouses, writer, comedian and soon television host.
The public career of Quebec’s most popular horticulturist began in 2016: a client of her massage therapy salon, who was having a bad time, asked her to produce a video to entertain her. Marthe Laverdière posted a capsule online where she peppered her horticultural advice with references to “seeds” and “tufts”. The video went viral. Dozens of other capsules followed.
“It was saucy, but with an authenticity, simplicity and generosity that touched people. Marthe is the favorite lover, the one who is interested in the world and in whom we come to confide,” says her editor Sophie Aumais.
A unique universe
Given the success of Marthe Laverdière’s video chronicles, Éditions de l’Homme asked her to write a gardening book.
This tradition had been lost in the face of the omnipotence of the Web, but the influencer with tens of thousands of subscribers on social networks took up the challenge brilliantly: she published not one, but three volumes of Gardening with Marthe. All of bestsellers sold more than 10,000 copies, like the autobiography and the four historical novels that she places in her region of Bellechasse.
In ten years of publishing, Sophie Aumais had never worked with an author comparable to Marthe Laverdière. She writes her books at night, during her insomnia. Every morning, she sends a new chapter to her editor, who puts everything together while respecting the spirit of the text. She even allows herself to recount significant episodes of her life in her gardening books.
“Marthe, we take her as she is. We adapt to our world. It’s her stories, her characters, she knows exactly what she wants to do with them, where she’s taking them, what they have to go through,” says Sophie Aumais.
Beyond the aunt who makes you laugh, this practicing Catholic tells stories of great depth, inspired by her own trials – depression, cancer, multi-handicapped granddaughter. As she also has the gift of making people talk, Marthe Laverdière knows like the back of her hand the anecdotes — of yesterday and today — of her corner of the country, which she depicts in her historical novels .
The church wars, the shenanigans of the priests, the “unmarried mothers”, the rapes that went unpunished: his trilogy The hills of Bellechasse describes the dark side of country life in the last century. But the light always returns after trials.
On stage, the tone is lighter: she is surprised, among other things, that an erotic toy company tried to make her its spokesperson.
Alone in her league
Her editor, her show producer and her manager compare her to a mix of Fred Pellerin, Michel Barrette, Lise Dion and Jean-Marc Parent.
“There are no two like her. Marthe has no competition. It’s rare to be able to discover a new stage artist who is 60 years old,” says Emmanuel Reichenbach, from the entertainment and television section of the Encore Group.
We meet the producer in his office in Mile-End, Montreal. The shelves are filled with Félix and Olivier won by the agency’s artists. Posters of the house’s stars, including Martin Matte, adorn the walls. There is no trophy or poster of Marthe Laverdière: she has just started her career as a comedian. But she impresses the producer and his team.
“We had heard about a horticulturist who produced videos and told stories. We invited her. She came and sat with us in the room over there. We spent about an hour with her. When she came out, we said to ourselves: “That person is a star!” We laughed from start to finish. She had a magnetism, a sense of repartee. We were completely charmed,” says Emmanuel Reichenbach.
“It was all in his head! »
In addition to giving conferences, Marthe Laverdière had begun to do a sort of “ one-woman show » in small venues in Quebec. The Encore Group asked a veteran of the house, Mario Jean, to accompany the new recruit to help him polish his show.
The experienced comedian had the surprise of his life. “I asked Marthe to show me her texts: she didn’t have any. It was all in his head! »
Marthe Laverdière improvised on stage for two hours, telling stories she had experienced. Only the names of the characters had been changed. “I told him that we would have to add things that were a little false,” said Mario Jean, laughing. Each time, she answered the same thing: “I can really say that even if it’s not true?” »
The 59-year-old comedian can’t believe the speed at which his recruit learned the basics of being a comedian. After a show, he could tell her a dozen points for improvement. The next day, everything was settled. Yes, Marthe Laverdière has raw talent, but she is a hard worker, underlines Mario Jean.