Niagara's Little Garden Show

This posting is a repeat of the marilyncornwell blog posting for today.  It is repeated so that everyone can see the wonderful work being done at the Niagara College Greenhouses, in the horticultural program.

A Garden Show in Niagara I went to the Niagara College Greenhouse 'Student Open House' last Friday.  This was the day before they presented the open house so I got the preview and got to meet the students. Everyone was running around, getting things ready, and they were all having a good time of it.  The students took time out from organizing the displays to show me their work and explain the compositions and plants.  It is encouraging and delightful to see a new generation of workers who are engaged and enjoying their work.  They had displays showcasing recycling of materials, as in the humorous use of tires with grass.  There were tiny space gardens and vertical displays.  The horticultural program teaches the latest techniques so the hydroponic lettuces were as interesting looking as they were delicious looking. It was so enjoyable to see this kind of garden show compared to Canada Blooms this year.  It is small, creative, personal and alive. More on Canada Blooms tomorrow.

Spring's Around the Corner…Pussy Willows are Here

It's Coming Soon I'll be out in the garden to take some pictures of snow drops in the next few days.  Their heads are up high enough to make a lovely display of spring emerging.  I thought you might enjoy these later spring images as a reminder that Spring is just around the corner.  The first is the Magnolia tree out front taken through the rain on the car windshield.  The second is at the Vineland Research Station and is cherry blossoms. I picked up my order of pussy willow branches from the grower where Brian has his Lilycrest Gardens hybridizing field.  They will go into the empty pots to make the first spring display.   They process about a hundred thousand stems each year. There were three-tier racks filled with pots of pussy willows.  Each bundle neatly tied into 10 stems and then many bundles in a bucket.  And they are cut precisely to size. There were three sizes for the florist market. This is work, but worth it as a cash crop. I encourage you to buy a pot of daffodils, primula, hyacinths, or pussy willows and bring Spring into your home too. And support our Niagara growers who force the bulbs.