It was a sight for winter-weary eyes, and if I hadn’t been stuffed up with a cold, I know the scents would have been heaven to my nose! Yes, Canada Blooms has come and gone for another year, but not before I had the opportunity to scope it out. Rather than bore you with a long, drawn out description of the entire show, I’ve decided to focus on what I enjoyed the most.
Coolest Garden Products
Plant Swatch
It resembles a fan deck of paint colors, and although it is organized by color, this swatch book is used for selecting garden plants. Each card in the swatch book includes a selection of plants. The back of each card lists detailed information on hardiness zone, plant height, plant spread, plant type (annual / biennial), exposure conditions, soil conditions, moisture needs and showy season (bloom time).
Tumbling Compost Barrel
Home Depot introduced its new wood tumbling compost barrel. Made from a recycled wine cask, the barrel sits on a wood base that has casters on the top. The casters allow the barrel to turn or tumble freely. Drilled holes allow for air circulation. A sliding bolt latch keeps the door securely closed while tumbling and is also an effective deterrent for any critters that might like to forage in the compost. Although the barrels haven’t appeared yet on the Home Depot website, I was assured that they were hitting the store shelves and would be priced at approximately $150.00 each CAD.
Favorite Outdoor Room
From Skyscapes - Sponsored by Laguna Ponds
I’m on a contemporary kick right now, so it’s no surprise that this outdoor room completely caught my eye. One end of the display was set up for a picnic,
while the other end was an ultra-modern patio area.
The predominantly black, white and grey color scheme was interrupted by the occasional splash of green and orange.
Aside from the funky picnic umbrella, those sleek acrylic patio chairs and the cool wicker statuary, what I really liked, was the modern white plant pots that were mounted on the dark gray wall. They created a very unique and graphic effect. Not to mention the fact that each pot was stuffed to the brim with herbs. (I never did find out what the big shiny black thing was supposed to be besides a spot for growing different varieties of moss.)
Best Eco-Friendly Garden Exhibit
“Beautifully Parched” Water Efficient Garden - Winner of The Leslie L. Solty Award for Best Overall Creativity in Garden Design
The Mosaic Circle featured hardy plants chosen for their year round color, texture and their tolerance of heat and drought. Plants included varieties of sedums and thyme.
The Crevice Garden included Armeria, Dianthus, Phlox, Sedum, Lewisia and other alpine varieties. All were chosen for their beauty, as well as their hardiness and ability to tolerate periods of hot dry weather.
Succulents and herbs were also used throughout this water efficient garden because of their ability to grow with minimal watering and fertilizing.
I loved all parts of this garden exhibit, but the most fun feature of all was the Downspout Garden. The creators of this masterpiece suggest grouping your favorite non-drought tolerant plants around disconnected downspouts to take advantage of the abundance of water they can provide.
Best Water Feature
Dream Garden - Designed by Mark Savoia and Created by Savoia Landscaping and Design Inc.
If only I had a location in which to create such a gorgeous natural looking water feature! This exhibit was so beautifully put together it truly felt that
I had been transported to the great outdoors.
Most Unusual Plant
Scouring Rush (Equisetum hyemale)
According to Rook.org, other common names include Common Scouring Rush, Rough Scouring Rush, Bottlebrush, Horsetail, Field Horsetail, Rough Horsetail, Pewterwort, and Dutch Rush (UK) This may be common in some places, but it was my first sighting. Maybe I don’t get out enough!
Most Bizarre Comments
As I was wrapping up my visit I heard a gentleman expressing his thoughts on the show. He was commenting to some associates about how he just didn’t understand why there were so many booths promoting tourism to different parts of Canada, the US and overseas. What did that have to do with gardening or a flower show? How ironic that he was working at a booth that promoted artificial turf!
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