Canada Blooms 2014

Over the years, I have attended Canada Blooms to get inspired and it is a nice break from the long winter.  Although I have not attended every year, I had heard from a few people that the show seems to be getting smaller every year. Canada Blooms was held at the same time as the National Home Show and your ticket got you into both events.  I spent about 2 hours browsing through the Canada Blooms section. The show did seem smaller than I remember from previous visits. Here is a glimpse into my favourites.

The various garden displays all featured spring flowers in full bloom (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc).  Several of the gardens featured children's playgrounds and furniture carved out of tree truncks.

I enjoyed walking through the various gardens on display.  Maybe I was not looking hard enough or maybe it was because the theme for this years show was "wild" and therefore I was expecting more unusual things, but not a lot stood out to me in the gardens.  One exception was this table that was incorporated as part of a waterfall.  Rather unique.

For me, the most creative items were in the flower catwalk....mannequins draped in floral outfits.

 

Some of the other designer floral arrangements that I liked included:

 There was a "Pick Ontario" area that featured a variety of plants that are locally grown from various growers.  One of the plants featured was the "Crispy Wave" Japanese Asplenium fern.  Its wave reminds be of cooked bacon strip and its texture is plastic like. Boasts to be a natural air purifier.  I purchased one for my home $10 each.  For more info visit:  http://www.aerifyplants.com/

Heliconia

The heliconia family consists of over 100 species. Many species of Heliconia are found in rainforests or tropical wet forests. Featured below is Heliconia Wagneriana, commonly also referred to as 'lobster-claws'. These stunning heliconias have been grouped with tropical leaves and a strelitzia (bird-of-paradise). Always a WOW reaction when delivered to customer.

 

Pink Gerbera

"Congratulations on the birth of your baby girl" was the focus of this arrangement (pink gerbera, yellow carnations, pink/white snapdragons and novelty chrysanthemums

Gerbera, sorbonne lilies, galpini leucadendron and hypericum berries

Tropical Breeze

In the middle of this long and cold winter, I find myself longing for a tropical climate.  The closest that I could come to the tropics this week, was to go into the greenhouse and pick some birds of paradise which are currently blooming.  Although the temperature is still cold outside, these tropical flowers bring an extra ray of sunshine into my kitchen.

These flowers are so dramatic on their own, that only a few monstera leaves were added.

Ikebana (Japanese art of flower arranging) arrangement.  Bird of paradise, sorbonne lilies and  monstera leaf.

Pretty Pastels

This past weekend, I created some arrangements for an event held at Mark McEwan's Fabbrica restaurant in Don Mills.  The client wanted the arrangements to be in pastel colours as the celebration was in honour of a young child.

These were the centre pieces for the dinner table. (Hydrangea, mini gerbera, freesia, off white spray roses, sorbonne lilies, yellow carnations, small green chrysanthemum, green hypericum berries and variegated pittosporum.

These taller arrangements complemented the centre pieces on the display tables.
(Carnations, snapdragon, gerbera, sorbonne lilies, spray roses, small green chrysanthemum, galpinii leucadendron, freesia and a variety of greens.)

Pink Infusion

There is nothing like some bright flowers to warm up a winter day. A perfect birthday arrangement.

Gerbera, roses, green chrysanthemums, galpinii leucadendron, green hypericum berry with monstera and milky way aspidestra leaves.

Christmas Flower Arrangements

Fresh flowers during the holiday season can brighten up a specific spot in your home or add some extra colour to a table setting.  Although the traditional colours of red and white are still extremely popular, some choose flowers to tie in with a specific colour theme.  Here are some of my creations from this holiday season. (for more detail information, see the Christmas floral arrangements page.)