A noun. A verb. A blog.
No, don’t stay at home waiting for the petals to fall off your magnolia. There are far too many things to do and see this weekend after your weeding. F’rinstance… May 2nd: • The tulip celebration (all weekend, 10 am to 5 pm, and for the following two weekends) in the rock garden of the […]
The show runs today, Sunday until 6pm, so you still have time to get down there and see all the Green Stuff. I didn’t see everything at the show, because it is so huge. There are many, many booths containing a vast compendium of green living methods and tools, both for personal use — from […]
Went yesterday to the African Violet and Gesneriad (jez-NARE-ee-ad) and the Pelargonium and Geranium shows at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Learned that if you want to purchase an award winning African Violet, Streptocarpus, Sinningia, or Petrocosmea you have to get there early. The show is like an ordinary plant show, with some amazing specimens diplayed […]
If you are the kind of person who likes to peek into other people’s gardens but you’re always out of town or too busy when the formal garden tours are on, you might like to check out Open Gardens Toronto, which is, as they say, “more of a program than a tour;” a program of “gardeners […]
Reported by sharp-eyed reader M., this year’s Canada Blooms had some wide open spaces where the many horticultural society booths used to be. A scant few remained at the show, though relocated to the Gardeners Fare in the Marketplace. However, most of those little booths formerly here on Level 600, where you used to be […]
A Good Thing – Dramatic Entryway to this year’s Canada Blooms pictured above. The Worst Things 1. The Trend of More Commerce than Art in the Showcase Gardens. Traditionally, it was the showcase gardens that you went to see. Each had a distinct flavour, with memorable details and a definite personality. It was tough to […]
Now is the season for all good gardeners to come to the aid of their nosiness. I love garden tours. What great ideas there are for the stealing! Well, not really stealing — but the cost of the tour is usually very reasonable; often as little at $10. Mark your calendar for these dates, and […]
This weekend, May 24 and 25, Doors Open Toronto 2008 gives you free access to a number of spaces in the city. The theme this year is Sacred Spaces, Sacred Circles, so churches and other spiritual edifices are highlighted. All gardeners know that gardens are amongst the most sacred of earth’s spaces. Some of the […]
We do a little unofficial guerilla gardening in our neck o’th’woods. But I’m now on Toronto Public Space Committee mailing list, so am apprised of the activities of this official unofficial movement. Here are the details, in case you’re interested in doing a little subversive sowing: Guerilla Gardeners 2008 Spring Event Dates Announced: – 2008 […]
5. Flower Power Don’t forget that Canada Blooms is about blooms – and equal partners with Landscape Ontario in the show is the Garden Club of Toronto. This is a not-for-profit group of amateur (in the true “loving” sense of the word) and often insanely talented floral designers and horticulturists. They are the force that […]
4. Grand larceny You might be unable to afford all that limestone hardscaping or the wrought-iron fencing or the brilliant “exterior designers”. But there’s one thing every gardener can afford at Canada Blooms: free ideas to steal. Wantonly and with abandon. To wit: the watering can fountain in my own garden, pictured on the right; […]
Next in line in our Canada Blooms reasons why series: 3. Escape from winter The Ides of March are approaching. The snowdrops and bluebells are buried under the foot or more of snow on the ground in Toronto. And then there is Canada Blooms; Canada Blooms, where the hyacinths fly for the winter. We go […]