Spring garden events blooming

The signs have gone up for the Spring Tide Bulb Show at the Gage Park Tropical Greenhouse. The theme this year is Spring at the Cottage, which sounds intriguing. The free event will run from March 10 to 19

click here to visit bulb show info

The last time I visited the show was 2020 during a media preview, the next day before it even opened to the public it was closed because Covid-19 was at the start of its tidal wave.

  Well, it’s happier times now. The same day I saw the signs for the bulb show, I visited my community garden at a site run by Compass Community Health. 

   The raised bed gardens are tucked behind a building on Burlington Street, downwind of a vegetable oil processing plant. A CN rail line runs right beside the gardens, and some days a slow moving engine will pass by on its way into the maze of tracks that run among the factories and warehouses.

   Though the site sounds less than idyllic, it is surprising quiet, and a favourite hangout for a wild turkey.

  When I visited a few days ago my bed was covered in leaves and maple keys..but brushing aside the “natural” mulch I saw one pretty leaf of sorrel, and the rest of the plant was eaten to nubs by some creature.

Plant prices rising

  So spring is drifting our way. Seed racks are appearing in grocery stores, and merchants are trying to entice us to bring spring indoors. But the prices of flowers and plants are breathtaking.

  I saw an anemic 4-inch pot of an indoor plant called Syngonium (arrow head vine) at a grocery store for $17. This is not a rare plant, and it grows fast and propagates easily. That seems like gouging. Also noted a single small leaf of a philodendron stuck in a jar, priced at $6. 

  A better investment would be to take some gardening courses and learn how to grow plants yourself. Check out courses at the Royal Botanical Gardens for a wide range of options.

click here to visit RBG courses

  If you go to the bulb show at Gage Park, remind yourself to go back to see the delightful Children’s Garden located near the baseball diamond. It was new last year and developed into a lovely place to visit or sit nearby in the shade of a tree. If you’re lucky there might be a friendly ball game on providing a summery soundtrack.