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.

Canada Blooms 2012

March means Canada Blooms, a perennial favorite of the Kelly Gardeners. It is an annual garden show hosted by The Garden Club of Toronto and Landscape Ontario.  After a long hard Toronto winter, Canada Blooms is always a welcome treat, and it heralds the many joys of a new growing season.

Ahhh, those were the days when the show was held in the depths of the Convention Centre on the South side of the railway tracks. As you came through the entrance doors the smell of Spring flowers literally assaulted your senses.  And the excitement just seemed to mount as you descended down the 2 flights of escalators to the entrance to the show.  Finally through the doors and you were swept away by the exhibits.  There were feature gardens by professional landscapers; exhibits of the latest trends in plants; booths set up by Professional Organizations and Societies of all kinds; Canada's largest floral competition; talks by professionals and a market place where you could shop till you dropped.  Over the years, the show got bigger and bigger. By the time you finished the show, you just wanted to put your feet up and have a nice cup of tea.

In 2010 the show moved locations to the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. It's not the same. The biggest difference is the smell. You just don't get the same blast of scent when you walk through the doors. And this year Canada Blooms amalgamated with the National Home Show, and it is now one MEGA show, at least four times bigger and lasting twice as long. Of course this means that some of the smaller merchandisers just can't come. Ten days is a long time to commit to a show. And it's really hard for the floral competitions as it is a bit of stretch for cut flower arrangements to look good for10 days.


In the past, there were many feature gardens built by larger professional landscapers who created spaces suitable for outdoor entertaining. This could include a dining area; a lounging area, often complete with flat screen TV or fireplace; or perhaps a kitchen or bar.  This is great if you have no bugs, and is certainly interesting and something that one could aspire to, but is definintely not "must have" for the Kelly Gardeners.

This year there were fewer such large, ostentatious displays.Here's my favorite for its elegant simplicity.

"Dinner Party" by Allweather Landscape Co.

One of my favorites this year was the "International Garden of Taipei, Taiwan" garden by Ron Holbrook. Unfortunately, I'm limited to uploading Youtube videos, so if you want to see some videos of the Taipei garden please visit the following links:http://vimeo.com/38699636
http://www.stylegui.de/newcacom/newca-com-taipei-garden-at-2012-canada-blooms-6036814

The garden was chock full of orchids and also featured the "must have" plant of the year:

Medinilla magnifica a native of the Phillipines

What I liked the best was the clever use of boxwoods to emulate tea plantations, seen here planted with phalaenopsis set out like bedding plants!

There were also a number of incredibly creative gardens. My favorite was the Reford Gardens feature garden, Surface Deep by Asensio Mah, which won the prize for the most imaginative garden at the show. 

Surface Deep

And then there are the themed gardens that I don't quite get the point of. This year's was the Juno Rocks gardens:  four gardens inspired by Juno Award winning performers. Perhaps if I was actually familiar with these performers' work, I would have appreciated the gardens more.

We did have fun though. We met Becky Fox (the Editor of Garden Making) again, and once more we were struck by how wonderfully genuine and self-effacing she is.  We had watched her latest video the night before and we told her what a lovely job she had done introducing the 15 new and noteworthy plants that were featured at the Garden Making Booth. She was touched by our praise as she doesn't find making videos easy.  If you want to see for yourself, visit www.gardenmaking.com and you can watch the video and see the booth.

Garden Making Booth at Canada Blooms

But the real highlight of the show for me was the Rose Garden ...  make that 2 rose gardens.  Very simply 2 fifteen foot square beds, crammed full of roses! Mmmmm, wonderful.

Roses in March!

I really love roses. Even though they are too fussy for our climate and they are a magnet for all kinds of pests and diseases, nevertheless, there's something magical and deeply romantic about the rose. And they beg you to stop and smell them. I do hope we'll be able to grow roses on our lot.

So, why do we go to Canada Blooms (especially now the tickets are $20)?  I don't know. Perhaps it is because after a long hard winter, we are anxious to experience a bit of Spring. Perhaps we hope to be inspired by new ideas. Every year we say we won't go again next year. But every year we do.  The count down begins.... Dare I say that I'm looking forward to Canada Blooms 2013 as a welcome harbinger of Spring.