Thursday 21 March 2013

Quince Flowers Steals the Show at the 2013 Canada Blooms

This year Spring is late, so Canada Blooms is even more welcome than usual.

Since Canada Blooms amalgamated with the Home Show 3 years ago, it has changed. The first few years were a bit disappointing, as it just didn't have the same impact as when it was at the Toronto Convention Centre, and the Market place was drastically reduced.  But we adapt, our expectations change, and we find that there are moments that still inspire us.

The theme this year was "The Magic of Spring" and the show gardens interpreted the theme in different ways.  Although many were not really relevant for our future garden, it is nonetheless interesting to see the trends in landscaping.  This year the focus on "outdoor living-rooms" complete with fireplaces and TV's was even more strong than in previous years. In fact some of the TVs were larger than the one  in our living room.  (I'm not interested in TV in the living room let alone in the garden. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures of them. But I'm sure you can use your imagination).

"Spring. In a Box."  Ron Holbrook's delightful work is always tasteful and subdued. This garden would be perfect in an urban setting, such as a condo or loft roof.

Perhaps the reason why we are seeing show gardens like this dominating Canada Blooms, is because the cost to mount the show is substantial (between $50 - $100, 000). Obviously to able to afford to show you need to be a big player, and the type of customer you are looking for has to have deep pockets, so you need to put on the Ritz to attract that customer.

Genoscape's "Magicool" featured many delightful water features in a naturalistic setting. 

Japanese style elements are always fascinating to us, and this simple bench from D. A. Gracey's "The Magic of Teamwork" really caught our eye.
But what really stood out for us, was Quince Flower's entry in the Professional Florist's design area.




I'm really sorry that my P&S camera can't really do the display justice, but I hope you get an idea of how gorgeous this deceptively simple arrangement is.  I'm afraid that it was so stunning, that I didn't really look at any of the other displays; I couldn't take my eyes off this table.  It has inspired me ... I'm going to collect some bottles and cloches, and then grow fields of poppies, terrariums full of ferns, and extend my succulent collection, so that I can have a go at creating this in my home.