I was way behind on my fall to-dos, but luckily Mother Nature gifted us with a fabulous weekend to finish off those last tasks – putting away the patio furniture, overwintering my pots, cleaning up the gardens and raking (and bagging).
But before I started on the big cleanup, I finally planted the bulbs I bought a few weeks ago (this article said I could)! After reading fellow CanadianGardening.com blogger Anja’s piece on bulb planting, I purchased a bulb planter from Sheridan Nurseries. Armed with this handy tool, I dug them all into the ground and cross my fingers the squirrels won’t find them.
I chose my bulbs based on the gorgeous pinks and purples in the package photos. I hope my little royal family of ‘Purple Princes’ and ‘Pink Emperors’ doesn’t let me down come spring!
Elaine working her magic
Sunday morning it was almost as though Mother Nature was mocking me by throwing snowflakes every which way as I headed into the Distillery District in downtown Toronto. How dare I think about spring! But despite the wintry day, spring awaited me inside Tappo Wine Bar & Restaurant. I was there to attend “A Cabin Fever Breakaway: A festival for gardeners longing for spring.” I was invited by Elaine Martin, owner of Vintage Gardener and the organizer of the event.
Brilliant yellow forsythia branches and daffodils, multicoloured primula, deep purple hyacinth and candy-coloured tulips surrounded a table filled with the amazing vintage pots and vases that Elaine sells in her store. I was feeling inspired already!
So what were forsythia branches, one of the first signs of spring, doing inside when it’s clearly still winter? That’s what Elaine focused on for the first part of her talk—how to force branches (forsythia and magnolia work best) into thinking it’s spring. This is something I’m definitely going to try—I have two forsythia bushes in the backyard. And it seems so easy!
With this planter, Elaine explained how to gently bend the pussy willow branches to create a handle!
According to Elaine, all you have to do is wait for a sunny day when the temperature goes up by 10 degrees. Cut some branches—longer than you need—and bring them indoors. Once inside, trim about six inches from the bottom and then take a hammer and crush the bottom or make cuts up the stem. Then place them in room temperature water and wait for the magic!
Make sure your branches are in indirect light. Elaine says it can take anywhere from three days to two weeks for blooms to appear.
The next part of Elaine’s presentation involved creating planters with the rainbow of flowers she had brought. I took some pics because they were so beautiful and definitely the perfect way to bring spring inside your home during the last days of winter.
Elaine has lots of great workshops coming up in her store. Stay tuned to our events page for details!
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