Gardeners love to talk about passion, a word they fling about without caution. It's the theme of this weekend's Canada Blooms show, the country's biggest garden expo, which concludes at Toronto's Direct Energy Centre tomorrow.
A display of tulips at Canada Blooms.
This year, designers took the show theme seriously, displaying passion for many causes and in many forms. In Seen, Unseen, Toronto-based bsq. design studio's horticultural treatise on the environmental impact of the Alberta oil sands, giant oil drums serve as unlikely containers.
Sure, bsq. landscape design was making a point about the Alberta oil sands by incorporating this drum cum planter into its space, but it also reflects the power of a dramatic dose of colour. If accents were mostly cobalt or red, however, plant colours were more subtle, ranging from soft peachy tones to various shades of purple to always elegant black.
In Forbidden Flora, Columba Fuller and Ron Holbrook's modern-day take on the Garden of Eden, a pair of mannequins with boxes on their heads and apples at their feet are enclosed by chic semi-transparent screens in the show's trendiest colour: sinful red.
Both of the gardens are must-sees, as is the Canadian Cancer Society's really touching Yellow Beacon display.
While trudging through the show, be alert to the trees. They are stunning and many (including native serviceberries) have been forced into bloom. This is a tough act to pull off, but every exhibitor uses trees and shrubs with grace. Take note of which ones you can get into your own garden in terms of both size and adaptability. Check out how many of them have been underplanted in huge containers with tulips and heucheras in hues ranging from peach to purple.
As this grape press at the centre of D.A. Gracey & Associates’ whimsical Cellar garden shows, there are no design limits when it comes to outdoor focal points. For a pleasantly rustic look, think vintage farm equipment, antique water pumps, oversized wagon wheels. Just make sure that the element is sturdy enough to weather the elements.
Despite all the vibrant colour on show, this year's event is notable for its subdued good taste. Martha Stewart, among others, is slated to visit the show today, while the boffo $350,000 garden sponsored by Landscape Ontario represents money well spent.
Think elegant stonework, living walls and ceilings, a very rare Woolemi pine tree in a container. As the major garden, it can be regarded as a metaphor for the whole show.
Showing off their decorative value, vegetables assumed a new versatility at the show as design elements (in this space by Parklane Ltd.) and as complements to herbs and perennials (in the space by Toronto Botanical Gardens). Besides veggies, the trendiest plants were hellebores, perennial flowering species that look great in or out of containers.
When you've taken it all in, have a sit in the Via Rail lounge in the judiciously edited Marketplace shopping area, which is largely and mercifully free of overly gaudy tchotchkes this year. You won't be rattled by Canada Blooms 2010, but you just might be inspired.
Visit www.canadablooms.com for show hours, admission prices and other details.
Special to The Globe and Mail
