Canada Blooms Theme For 2016

The theme for 2016 is "It's A Party" in honour of our 20th Anniversary. It is hard to believe that Canada Blooms all started with a conversation between Kathy Dembrowski of the Garden Club of Toronto and Tony DiGiovanni of Landscape Ontario. Each organization had reached milestones, 50th and 25th anniversaries respectively, and were looking for a way to celebrate the joy of horticulture and floriculture with enthusiastic gardeners, the answer was the creation of Canada Blooms: The Flower and Garden Festival. Canada Blooms truly was a labour of love for all industry, clubs and individual volunteers involved, for they donated countless hours, talent and materials to create an event that hadn't been seen before in Toronto. Now 20 years later, we are pleased to still showcase over 20 garden displays created by talented designer-builders and landscape architects, innovative and stunning displays by top floral professionals, and presentations by the best garden experts and educators who are excited to share their knowledge. A highlight of each festival is the largest flower show and competition presented by the Garden Club of Toronto including contestants that are both local and from around the world. This year's festival is sure to delight. Mark your calendars now and join our party!

10 Tips For Cut Flower Fun Here are some great tips for keeping your bouquets fresh. 1. Allow newly-bought flowers, still in their wrappings, to drink clean, fresh water for a while. 2. Make sure the flowers are put into a clean vase. 3. You will enjoy your flowers longer if you feed them cut-flower food. Make sure you give them the right amount. 4. Before arranging the flowers in a vase, first cut off one inch from the bottom of each stem. 5. Stems should never be broken off or flattened — not even woody stems. Scraping off the bark is also unnecessary. 6. Leaves should never be covered by water. They will only make the water dirty and will shorten the lives of the flowers. 7. Do not forget to top up the vase regularly with clean, fresh water. 8. During the night, flowers will benefit from a lowerthermostat setting. 9. Flowers cannot stand direct sunlight and drafts. 10. Daffodils can be deadly to other flowers because they secrete a poison in the water. After trimming, leave daffodils on their own for a whole day. Do not cut them again when combining with other flowers. In the centre, a firm leaf can serve as a transition between flowers and the vase or bowl. Now, add some smaller leaves to soften the straight lines and the arrangement is complete. From Landscape Ontario, for more plant care tips visit their website. Upcoming Special Event The Garden Club of Toronto is very excited to announce that renowned International Floral Designer Gregor Lersch will be presenting a floral demonstration at the October meeting of The Toronto Garden Club (October 22nd), workshop sessions will take place Friday, October 23rd morning and afternoon. Gregor Lersch, who comes from Germany, is one of the world's top Floral Designers and winner of many international and national awards and prizes in the field of floristry. Gregor is also an author of many inspirational books on floristry design and travels the world promoting European design, demonstrating and inspiring florist and floral artists. Tickets for the workshops and demonstration are limited and NO TICKETS will be sold at the door. Detailed information on ordering workshop ($125 each) and demonstration tickets will be made available at a later date, visit www.thegardencluboftoronto.ca. Special Offer Click here for special offer!

Music In The Gardens

Visit the Gardens around Toronto and enjoy an evening of music. The Royal Botanical Gardens is showcasing Country music on Tuesdays and Red Hot Jazz and Cool Blues on Wednesday evenings starting at 6pm, on now until September 9th. For a full line up visit the website. The Toronto Botanical Garden is presenting The Edwards Summer Music Series: Gardens of Song each Thursday, on now until August 27th, starting at 7pm. Enjoy concerts by an eclectic roster of popular artists, for a full line up visit the website. Harbour Front Summer Music series runs from July 2nd until September 13th. For a full line up of dates and times visit the website. Casa Loma is showcasing Symphony in the Gardens, which runs from now until August 25th, for more information click here. Concerts are set in the natural beauty of the gardens and general admission to the venues may apply.

Upcoming Events

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If you have an upcoming garden related event that is of interest to our readers let us know at info@canadablooms.com and we might include it in upcoming issues of our newsletter.

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