Mother Nature has had a wicked sense of humor this winter, from the damaging ice storm and power outages on Christmas day, to a very lengthy mess of snow, ice, and the extreme cold that just won’t go away. On Friday March 14, Canada Blooms welcomes its guests with warm fresh air and spring-time scenery without having to leave the city. In an interview with The Varsity, Bruce Sudds, Canada Blooms’ marketing, communications, and sponsorship manager explains: “Each year, Canada Blooms inspires thousands of people with the sights, sounds, and smells of gardens and flowers. We want people to be transported from the throes into feelings of joy and wonder.”
Canada Blooms is the largest garden and floral festival in the country, and its theme this year is “Wild!” Bruce Sudds says that this year’s theme “inspires many ideas, from re-establishing our connection to the natural world, reconnecting with the wild side of ourselves, and to take great and varied changes in garden and floral design.”
Aside from the native and wacky skeleton trees painted in bright colors, the garden landscapes are just as wild. The festival’s layout allows its visitors to travel through different areas of the world, such as the Arctic, the Canadian Shield, and even a wild dinosaur preserve.
Actively contributing to sustainable urban planning, Canada Blooms just re-developed its strategic plan, to “connect people to nature,” as an overachiving goal central to its mission. The gardens at Canada Blooms challenge our disconnect from nature by encouraging action in regards to the everyday natural world.
Of all the landscapes and gardens I saw, my favourite was the Irish inspired garden entitled The Wild Atlantic Way. This 1,400 square foot garden encapsulated Ireland’s west coast perfectly, with its untamed and hauntingly beautiful green landscape.
I also loved the idea of the large urban backyard garden full of vegetables from around the world such as eggplant, okra, and long-beans.
Ontario’s farmers across the Greenbelt have been growing world crops and, in turn, creating new local markets, which are a growing and crucial movement related to the long-term sustainability of vulnerable food systems around the world. I was happy to see that Canada Blooms promotes this movement of environmental stewardship, offering its visitors free okra seed packages, encouraging them to get started with their own edible gardens this upcoming summer.
Come experience the endless possibilities firsthand, where passions of architecture and nature perfectly combine to create inspiring landscapes and backyard gardens.
Canada Blooms will be open at Toronto’s Direct Energy Center until Sunday, March 23.
