Photo Credit: NewCa.com

Get Ready to Explore at Canada Blooms


Thursday, 07 March 2019 09:15.AM

- 10 things you must see and do at the country’s largest flower festival.

Make your March Break a ‘Family Affair’ by discovering Canada’s biggest and best celebration of flowers and gardening.

Opening for its 23rd season at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto, Canada Blooms is the country’s preeminent festival of horticulture. With creative events, captivating exhibits and a series of seminars covering everything from air plants and potted succulents to useful critters you want living among your plants, Canada Blooms is the perfect place to rediscover all things gardening.

“There truly is something for the whole family to enjoy at Canada Blooms,” says Terry Caddo, General Manager of Canada Blooms. “We invite people of all ages to get active and explore the imaginative feature gardens and floral displays our talented architects and builders have put together.”

To get the most out of your visit to Canada Blooms, Terry suggests the following ten “must-see” attractions at this year’s show:
1. Feature Gardens: Crafted by Canada’s top garden designers and builders, there will be 30 stunning feature gardens inspired by the theme ‘A Family Affair’. Small space gardens will be showcased at this year’s event — there will be five balcony gardens using an 8’ x 10’ space and Oakville Landscape Products will have five front yard gardens and four backyard gardens on display.
2. Green Streets Play Zone: Created in partnership by Landscape Ontario and Come Alive Outside, the garden will welcome all ages to play games, build sandcastles, and plant seeds in a unique community greenspace. Promoting green time and active play, the garden will specifically highlight physical and mental benefits of the diverse community landscapes.
3. Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign Booth: Come pay tribute to the soldiers who have given their lives for our freedom. The campaign is planting 2 million trees along the 401 Highway of Heroes, a tribute to the men and women who fought for Canada in our wars, and a living memorial to 117,000 who lost their lives for freedom.
4. Canada Blooms Entrance Display: Designed by Fresh Floral Creation’s Bruno Duarte, ‘Family & Unity’ entryway will draw inspiration from the unconditional love rooted at the heart of family. The heart structure will be covered with steel grass woven together, symbolizing the many different kinds of families and how they are woven together as a society.
5. Floral Carpet ‘Festa Na Aldeia’ by JP de Melo: Inspired by family history and his Portuguese heritage, JP de Melo has fabricated an original fresh flower carpet created with more than 1000 blooms, fresh moss, and a design that incorporates both tradition and modernity. It is the marriage of nature, culture, and faith-the triad that links our past, present and future.
6. Toronto Flower Show: Canada’s Largest indoor horticulture and design competition presented by the Garden Club of Toronto. For the first five days (Friday-Tuesday) enjoy the design stylings of 10 competitors from around the globe.
7. Floral Alley: Explore the artistry of local floral designers! Ten floral artists will design inventive displays inspired by the theme We Are Family.
8. Proven Winners Must See Plants for 2019: Drop by the Proven Winners booth and discover the top plants that will hit the Garden Centres this upcoming spring/summer.
9. Mark’s Choice Experience Gardening Workshops: Children of all ages are invited to drop by and learn all about soil and seed planting. Gardening Experience is also home to a variety of workshops and demonstrations, including the Li’l Sprouts series presented by Master Gardeners of Ontario.
10. Garden Tours: One of the best ways to experience Canada Blooms is through a guided tour. There will be morning and evening sessions available, guided by Master Gardeners or horticulturalists who have been given insider info on the garden designs, features, materials used. On Monday March 11, there will be a special evening tour which includes a copy of Mark & Ben Cullen’s new book Escape to Reality and a meet-and-greet with the authors.

Mark’s Choice is Mark and Ben Cullen’s personal seal of approval on more than 200 gardening products available exclusively at Home Hardware stores across Canada.

Co-located with the National Home Show, Canada Blooms takes place March 8th to 19th, 2019, at the Enercare Centre at Exhibition Place in Toronto. For more information or for tickets, please visit canadablooms.com. Follow Canada Blooms on Twitter @CanadaBlooms and Like it on Facebook.

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