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No more nay-sayers, please. There’s always something to see at Canada Blooms, if you look for it. Often, you don’t need to look too hard. Here are a few of the things I’ve pointed out on the early-morning tours I’ve led this year. The Gardens The big gardens are often exquisitely done, and this year is […]
Good news. If you’re suffering from cabin fever during the first 2018 polar vortex, the Allan Gardens Christmas Show is on till January 7th. It’s a fun way to beat the chills, and it’s free. One of the cool things about this year’s show is the creative use of materials. When you go, have a […]
There’s never a good time for a bad cold. But when it’s Canada Blooms, and you have a whole bunch of volunteer stuff to do, garden writer events to attend, plus pictures to take and thoughtful* posts to write? Well, ah-chooey! For better or, more likely, worse, here’s my viral or virusy view of this year. (*Doing […]
You get an underworld view of daffodil bulbs in Persephone by the Toronto Flower Market and various local growers, including Sarah Nixon of My Luscious Backyard whom we ran into at the show. Happy Earth Day. A perfect time to share earthy thoughts that make us think. These scenes are just a few from the […]
Canada Blooms 2016 may be over, but my mind keeps returning to this show garden from Jacob’s Gardenscape. I don’t know which criteria earned it the Most Innovative Garden award, but the gabion fences were really interesting. If you’ve spent time on the trails along Toronto’s Don or Humber rivers, you’ve probably noticed the original […]
The water garden from Genoscape won four awards at Canada Blooms in 2016: Outstanding Large Garden, Outstanding Use of Water, Best Overall Creativity, and Judge’s Choice for Garden of the Year. It was a standout. It’s the last day of Canada Blooms 2016. Many exhibitors told me they thought it was the best show in […]
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 […]
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 […]
This continues our series about why, despite everything, we keep returning to Canada Blooms: 2. Rekindling the passion Within the spidery network of the Internet, I’ll probably regret using this term, but one thing you’re always sure to get at Canada Blooms is what I call “garden pornography.” We go to get all lathered up […]
I’ve visited Canada Blooms almost every year since it began; often as a volunteer, sometimes as a civilian. After a few start-up pains (like that first year way out by the airport) and a few glory years (remember Janet Rosenberg’s spectacular garden designs for Loblaws?), Canada’s largest indoor garden show has settled into something of […]