Jeff Southam photo
Not sure where to start with your landscape project? Bring your questions to the experts at the Ask a Landscape Designer booth at the upcoming Winnipeg Home + Garden Show.
Kirsten Hildebrand photo
Florence van Dijk (right) is the owner of Florence Botanicals.
Addison Taylor Design photo
Chat with florist Andrea Purcell at Addison Taylor Floral Design’s show booth.
Christine Palmer photo
Florence Botanicals will feature fresh and dried flowers at the home-and-garden show.
Are you planning a project this year to whip your garden into shape or create a cosy oasis that makes the most of your small space? Are you wondering which irrigation system is ideal for your garden or looking for the right expert to help you solve your landscape problems? Or maybe you’re longing for the sight of imaginative displays filled with fresh, fragrant florals you can purchase and take home with you.
This year’s Winnipeg Home + Garden Show, set for April 3-6, at the RBC Convention Centre, hopes to spark your imagination with the newest trends in outdoor design and all the information you need to achieve your goals. There will be hands-on workshops, presentations, free consultations, a pop-up market, a unique garden-centre display, beautifully designed outdoor living spaces and an abundance of flowers that will give you the feeling of walking around in a garden.
Recently I spoke with four local experts who can’t wait for the chance to share what they have in store for you.
Let’s start by making a beeline to the Floral Studio, an exciting new feature at this year’s show. Andrea Purcell, owner of Addison Taylor Floral Design, will be offering hands-on spring floral workshops throughout the show’s run. Reserve your spot by signing up at addisontaylordesign.com.
Purcell has collaborated with Coal & Canary to market uniquely crafted gift sets. “We’ve designed a candle called Flower Cart which has a fresh-cut wildflower scent with a hint of eucalyptus,” says Purcell. “We will also be selling fresh spring bouquets.”
Purcell will be giving two presentations, Bringing the Outdoors In, on the main stage on Thursday, April 3 at 5 p.m., and then on Sunday, April 6 at 1 p.m. she will be demonstrating how to use the flowers and foliage in your outdoor container display to create a beautiful indoor centrepiece.
This will be Florence van Dijk’s fourth year as an exhibitor at the show. “My booth will be in a village of makers in the pop-up market,” she says. The owner of Florence Botanicals, van Dijk will be selling bouquets of dried flowers and bundles of lavender and fresh pussy willows, along with branches of cherry blossom, magnolia and forsythia, which will all be in bloom.
“I often have people walk into my booth and say, ‘I think I’ll just stand here and breathe!’” she says.
Van Dijk, who is originally from Ireland, studied floristry in Belfast. She does not have a storefront operation, but instead converted her home garage into a studio with coolers. She sources flowers during the growing season from local flower farmers. “There is a great nostalgia for flowers,” she says. “Flowers are a form of self-care. They make people happy. There is a lot of interest in dried flowers. Whenever I sell a bouquet, I show people which flowers are suitable for drying so they can start creating their own dried-flower arrangements at home.”
Van Dijk’s presentation, Dried Flowers – Everlasting Beauty, is scheduled for 3 p.m., Friday, April 4 on the main stage, and at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5.
For several years, Gordon Galay created the design for one of the largest displays at the Winnipeg Home + Garden show. But this year, Galay has an entirely new vision for the 4,000-sq.-ft. area — a unique garden-centre display. In it, visitors will have the opportunity to explore and shop. Outdoor decorations, sculptures, metal art and paintings by local Manitoba artists will also be featured. It will also include fountains, planters and patios to help you discover ideas for your own projects.
A landscape professional and owner of Galay Landscaping, Galay has 23 years of experience in garden and landscape construction and design. Currently, he is rebranding his business to align with his evolving goal of offering a broader range of services and inspiration to his clients. His new business, Meadows Way Landscaping and Garden Centre, located at 72155 Meadows Way in East Selkirk (currently the site of a small, operational garden centre), will be unlike any other garden centre.
“Once plans for the 40-acre (16-hectare) property have been completed, it will be a very different experience from the moment you pull into the driveway,” Galay says. “It will be an outdoor gallery complete with an orchard I’ve planted with 2,000 fruit trees as well as ponds, berms, hills and landscape displays.
“There will be all sorts of examples of beautiful designs once the property has been developed and that’s why we wanted to create a garden-centre theme for this year’s show. We want to show what we can do from a construction standpoint and create beautiful settings and environments. It’s an opportunity to show what Meadows Way Landscaping and Garden Centre is going to be like once we are ready for the big reveal.”
Galay says developing a yard is almost akin to physical, spiritual and mental healing people need in their lives. “I’m seeing a real connection with what we can offer as a garden centre and the experience we’ve gained over the years as a landscaping company,” he says.
Stop by the Meadows Way Landscaping and Garden Centre booth to chat with Galay and his team of landscape designers about your projects. While there, you can also get your hands in the dirt and create your own personalized planter with a variety of flowering plants and pots.
The popular “Ask a Landscaper” booth, presented by the Manitoba Nursery Landscape Association, offers visitors the opportunity to talk with a landscape professional. “We really want to help you out with whatever project you’re doing,” says Jeff Southam, president of the MBNLA.
“We are an association of growers, nurseries, landscapers and landscape suppliers,” says Southam, who is also the president of Sunshower Sprinklers in Oak Bluff. “There will be two to four experts from different companies throughout the industry — growers, landscapers, irrigation and landscape lighting specialists, etc. — who can answer your questions.”
Some of the most frequent questions posed by homeowners, says Southam, include, “I have a rural property and I want to plant a shelterbelt. Where do I get the trees, what should I plant and are there any rebate programs available?”
Homeowners also ask about solutions to drainage problems on their properties or for recommendations on how to design a small yard or build a new patio. “Those are questions people ask all the time,” says Southam.
“We’ll be presenting on the main stage on Friday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 11 a.m,” he says. “Our first presentation will focus on landscape planning tips from start to finish. We’ll help you decide your goals. Is the space you’re planning for entertaining or for calm serenity or to grow food? Then we’ll talk about design tips and factors such as shade that you need to consider.”
The second presentation, says Southam, will feature experts who will focus on hardscaping, such as decks and patios, and on softscaping, which refers to plants.
Bring your questions and come away with solutions and great ideas.
For more information about the Winnipeg Home + Garden Show, visit winnipeghomeandgardenshow.com.
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