Get your tickets to the National Home Show and Canada Blooms 2017!

I look forward to Canada Blooms every year. It is an overwhelming display of colour and scent to brighten your winter and get you ready for spring.

The theme of this year’s festival is ‘Oh Canada’, a celebration of Canada's 150th Anniversary including a wall of 1,000 flowering plants which will compose a living tribute to our major milestone.

‘Merry Meadows’ - Designed and Built by Jennifer Harvey. Presented by Gatto Flowers

This year, I am excited to have my son, Ben, at the festival with me. Ben has been a frequent visitor to Canada Blooms but this is his first time ‘working’ at Blooms. It will be inspiring to see the feature gardens through Ben’s eyes.

As a millennial, Ben is looking forward to the Small Space Gardens. Each of these gardens measures no more than 250 square feet - approximately the size of Ben’s urban lot. There are 10 of these gardens brimming with ideas for those who are up against the realities of gardening in Canada's ever-tighter urban environments - a trend we can count on to continue.

‘Naughty in Nature’ - Designed and Built by Expertrees

I plan on spending time in The Secret Path feature garden. This garden incorporates lyrics from the Gord Downie album of the same name to tell the story of aboriginal Chanie Wenjack, who died in 1966 in Canada's north while escaping a residential school. We can count on the creative forces of Joe Genovese, of Genoscape, to tell this powerful story in a compelling and immersive way.

While you are at Canada Blooms, look for the Flower Wall. While not exactly a ‘feature garden’, this will no doubt be the most photographed portion of the festival. This floral tribute to Canada’s 150th will include over 1,000 flowering plants. Take a picture of it and tweet it out to qualify to win a copy of my new book, The New Canadian Garden; signed by the author! Contest details at www.canadablooms.com.

‘Get the Par-Tea started!’ - Designed & Built by Smallscapes

Canada Blooms takes place from March 10th to 19th at the Enercare Centre. Real estate enthusiasts will also enjoy the National Home Show, the largest home and garden event in North America.  

Ben and I hope to see you there!

Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, Member of the Order of Canada, author and broadcaster. Get his free monthly newsletter at markcullen.com. Look for his new best seller, The New Canadian Garden' published by Dundurn Press. Follow him on Twitter @MarkCullen4 and Facebook.