A visit to Canada Blooms
This past weekend, I traveled to Toronto, Ontario to attend Canada Blooms, the fabulous and prestigious flower and garden festival. It was truly spectacular with six acres of amazing gardens in full bloom and plenty of vendors selling all of the finest plant materials and products for the garden. Throughout the five days of the show, more than 200 hours of seminars, workshops, and demonstrations are offered from some of the finest garden experts in North America. Canada Blooms is presented by The Home Depot and I was asked to attend to introduce my new Martha Stewart Living line of products, which are sold exclusively at The Home Depot. I demonstrated gardening, planting projects, and ideas for arranging a beautiful outdoor space. Please enjoy these photos and be sure to check out my products at The Home Depot. Please note that presently, a few of these items, such as lighting, are sold exclusively at The Home Depot Canada.
1 The Home Depot booth
2 Here I am with Annette Verschuren - President of The Home Depot Canada.
3 Annette Verschuren, me, and Frank Turco
4 Who are they aiming their cameras at?
5 This is my Logan Faux Wicker 4 piece set.
6 These are some of our garden tools.
7 You can buy our nicely designed tools at the Home Depot.
8 Beth Edney - lead landscape designer of Landscape Ontario's Garden Creations Green For Life garden
9 Some more of the enthusiastic crowd
10 Gorgeous daylilies from Artemesia Daylilies http://www.artemesiadaylilies.com/
11 Terry McLaughlin of Dubarry Boots of Ireland and his assistant. http://www.dubarryboots.com/
12 The boots on the right are the pair that I wore to the event.
13 Terry McLaughlin gave me a brand new pair of Dubarry Boots.
14 My nice new boots are on the left.
15 More feet join in.
16 One of the vendors
17 African violets galore
18 The floral designs presented in the Garden Club of Toronto's Horticultural and Design Competition - I loved this lily garland.
19 Exotic birds of paradise
20 A really great rose heart
21 Exotic grass with succulents
22 The Home Depot Canada offers 11 different Martha Stewart Living lighting designs.
23 And also this great paintable textured wallpaper
24 This is a 24-inch Greek Planter, which also comes in other sizes.
25 Our lovely lunch was prepared by Centerplate Catering at the Direct Energy Centre. There were wonderful Ontario cheeses with homemade jam.
26 There was a selection of sandwiches on a variety of artisanal breads - smoked turkey, grilled chicken, smoked salmon, grilled vegetables and Woolwich Dairy goat cheese.
27 This is a beautiful salad of Ontario Organic micro green salad with avocado, smoked Ontario chicken, and charred grape tomatoes.
28 Nicole Sutliff - The Susan Magrino Agency, Patsy Pollack - EVP of merchandising at MSLO and Lindsay Knaak - marketing director MSLO
29 Gordon Calman - sous chef who prepared a variety of sweets, including lemon curt tartlets
30 Here I am with Margot Austin - senior design editor of Style at Home magazine
31 Here I am with Chantal Lapointe, decor journalis, Chez Soi Magazine
32 The crowd was quite large - about 400.
33 My speech was about designing an outdoor space.
34 Betsy Perretin, my stable manager, was having a great time. She was also given a pair of Dubarry boots and she purchased that great Tula hat.
35 We visited The Home Depot in Oakville, ON - here I am with Annette Verschuren and Ammar Abuarjeh - the manager of the store.
36 My seeds and bulbs on display
37 It's very exciting!
38 My paints
39 The lighting aisle
40 More lights
41 I was happy to see some of my products on someone's cart.
42 Some of our outdoor sets
Hi Martha! As a native Torontonian, it was great to read that you had a good time in our city and the wonderful Canada Blooms event. I wasn't able to make the event but I was thinking of you. (You were just up the street from me!) I'm so excited about the Martha Stewart Living products at Home Depot in Canada, especially the paint and the lighting. (There's a lamp I have my eye on!) I must say the design of the garden products is exceptional. I love how sturdy they are, their quiet pallette and their sleekness. It was also nice to see Nicole in your photos. She is extremely gracious and she had mentioned to me that she was excited about seeing Toronto. All the best to you and cheers to much success in Canada!
Andrew @ Martha Moments
Posted by: Andrew Ritchie | March 23rd, 2010 at 5:02 pm
For Kathleen Valentin - My horses are lovely friesians and they came from Witteveen Friesians in Canada.
http://www.witteveenfriesians.com/
Posted by: Martha Stewart | March 23rd, 2010 at 5:17 pm
I can't wait to see the furniture at our local Home Depot. I am planning to purchase some new outdoor pieces this year. And I love the paintable wallpaper. I see some uses beyond home decor for that.
Posted by: Michelle Carr | March 23rd, 2010 at 5:42 pm
I just love the photo you took of that one woman who seems to have a look of pure joy having the chance to meet you. It made me smile.
Getting to see a photo of a fan meeting you is quite nice for a change. I really enjoyed it and I hope you will take more of this candid shots!
Glad to have you up here visiting Canada...and those violets put mine to shame!
Posted by: Heather | March 23rd, 2010 at 6:14 pm
Hooray! I love your garden tools. I bought some many years ago here in Canada when K-Mart was in business & carried the line. I still have them. They are sturdy & very utile. I am thrilled to be able to once again buy a reliable & good quality line of products! We're building a cabin on one of the Gulf Islands & I now have an idea how I will be furnishing it as well.
Posted by: Maurine Karagianis | March 23rd, 2010 at 6:33 pm
I had no idea you and your items were coming to Home Depot! I must say, I'm from just outside the Home Depot you visited. Um ... I think I would have done a header if I had seen you there. It would have just been toooo weird. Home Depot goes Salvadore Dali. A bit too surreal to comprehend.
Posted by: TheArtofDoingStuff | March 23rd, 2010 at 6:37 pm
I am a native of Canada's capital - Ottawa, and I have to beg to differ. There is nothing better than the May tulip festival in Ottawa http://www.tulipfestival.ca/. It is not only beautiful, it signifies the ongoing anniversary of the Canadian liberation of the Netherlands in World War 2. May is a delightful time to visit Ottawa. Warm, but not yet too hot. Check out the Byward Market for fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and gift ideas (for yourself, if no one else)!
Posted by: Donna Duncan | March 23rd, 2010 at 7:18 pm
Forgot to say... and a resounding thank you Martha Stewart for giving us your attention and thereby attracting the world to all we (Toronto and Canada) have to offer. Merci bien!
Posted by: Donna Duncan | March 23rd, 2010 at 7:24 pm
Wonderful photos and wonderful to see Martha Stewart Living garden tools, seeds, bulbs, and more! I do hope all the gardening supplies will be available in the states!
Posted by: Kenn | March 23rd, 2010 at 7:26 pm
Martha: I took a bus full of people from our local horticultural society to Canada Blooms - as we do every year - BUT - we were not there on the same day as you and I was so disappointed! I would have loved to have seen you and heard your talk and -maybe - have had the opportunity to say - "Thank you"! You are the reason I garden! You have taught me so much about the garden and the home and the kitchen - what my mother was not able to do in her short life - you have completed! I am so pleased you enjoyed Toronto and our show! - CW
Posted by: Catherine Waffle | March 23rd, 2010 at 7:35 pm
I did not know you had a blog! Just found this gem! I can't wait to get my hands into the earth and start gardening...this post really whets the pallet for me!
Posted by: hamptontoes | March 23rd, 2010 at 8:24 pm
oh so wonderful to have you visit us!!! your photos are amazing!!!
Posted by: Diana Evans | March 23rd, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Your products are all amazing, I want to wish you a great success with your Martha Stewart Living line of products.
Posted by: Rowaida Flayhan | March 24th, 2010 at 2:47 am
I had planned to replace a lot of my garden tools this spring and I'm glad to see today's post. Guess where I'm going to buy my new garden tools?!
And on photo 36, I see a beautiful urn that I will put on my shopping cart, too.
Posted by: Gloria Brown, Winterport, ME | March 24th, 2010 at 8:24 am
Those boots were a VERY NICE gift. The company comes to our Three Day(riding)Event here in Lexington, and their quality is unmatched.
Posted by: Jay | March 24th, 2010 at 8:32 am
It was a wonderful surprise, seeing your presentation at Canada Blooms! I am in your "crowd shot"
. Happy Spring.
P.S. I hope to see an index for the second decade of the magazine, released
Posted by: Caroline Beaton | March 24th, 2010 at 9:03 am
I must visit the Home Depot. Thanks for sharing. Spring is a wonderful and magical season. I am worried that the temperatures have gotten so warm so quickly. Any advice for seed planting given the fear of a pre-May frost.
Posted by: Teresa Touey | March 24th, 2010 at 9:20 am
Hi Martha,
Thanks for sharing your pictures – it looks like everyone had a fun time at Canada Blooms and I really like your boots. I can’t wait to buy some of your garden tools at Home Depot although I have to watch myself in that department. I tend to go overboard but I do like my clippers and snippers! I’m so glad you sell your products there now and can only wonder, what took you so long? Trish
Posted by: Trish | March 24th, 2010 at 10:22 am
Love Martha's boots! Love the Dubarry boots, too!
Posted by: Paul Myrick | March 24th, 2010 at 10:44 am
Oh Martha!!! i don't have a garden but those tools are making me want to have one so badly... or even get them just because... love them!
Posted by: Punctuation Mark | March 24th, 2010 at 10:50 am
So exciting and wonderful for us here in Canada to be able to purchase your lovely garden items from Home Depot! I am going shopping!!
Posted by: sherey | March 24th, 2010 at 11:05 am
Hi Martha, sorry I missed seeing you at the show this year. I'm so happy that your products are coming to Home Depot. I absolutely LOVE your paint. Your colors are the best.
Posted by: Rita Vindedzis | March 24th, 2010 at 11:07 am
You scored some GREAT boots Martha! And Betsy... she's so cute and what a smile she's got on!
Well, my nerdy self was at The Home Depot the day your paint hit the shelves. My husband is doing the final coat of Semi-Gloss Kerry Blue Terrier in my almost-renovated bathroom this evening. It looks gorgeous with my white subway tiles, handscraped wide plank teak floor and my 1926 Victrola-turned-vanity. Love it, love it, love it!
Posted by: NeatNicole from Illinois | March 24th, 2010 at 2:08 pm
Looks like Canada is so happy to have you there at their Home Depot, just as we are here in the states. We have visited Canada several times and I am always delighted to see such wonderful flowers that they grow. Must be perfect weather. Canada is a delightful country from east to west. Thanks for sharing your photos.
Posted by: Sylvia | March 24th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Looking forward to seeing the new closet line. Hope there is a design brochure that helps with with the closet configuration, or a video. Looking forward to seeing the garden items as well.
Posted by: Sonja Mandt | March 24th, 2010 at 6:10 pm
I'm so glad you had a great time in Toronto! I was out of town this past weekend but would have loved to stop by the show to meet you! You truly are the Queen of crafts and decor. And I'm loving the textured wallpaper!
Posted by: renee @ eatliveshop.com | March 24th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Hi Martha, OH! These are such great photos of you trip to Toronto, Canada. Every photo is superb! I especially love the ones of your boots, as well as the boots Betsy had! Your products at Home Depot are superior and I want all of them that I can find! I was so disappointed that your garden tools are only available in Canada and I will anxiously await their arrival here in the USA! Loved listening to 'Ask Martha' on Sirius Radio today. Like you said, great questions and superior answers as far as I was concerned! My favorite guest on your TV Show today was Jane Heller! I just love seeing her whenever possible. Being a BOA customer, I appreciate all of her advice. I have been paying all of my monthly bills online at BOA for several years now. Lovely day here in the Puget Sound area. Hope you had nice weather, also. Love, Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | March 24th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
That's nice, but have you seen the live owl-cam of a San Marcos, CA couple? I would never have thought I'd be so transfixed by a barn owl mom on the nest. Two chicks and a couple of eggs to go. We watched her gulp down the back end of a rat this afternoon. Gack!
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/21/thousands-egg-mollys-hatching-owlets-online/
Posted by: jw | March 24th, 2010 at 9:29 pm
Martha I think that Edmonton, Alberta, Canada's Home Depot is calling as well! I am a native Torontonian and of course with my luck, I was not there when you were. Your products look great though and I think I'll have to visit Home Depot soon to take a closer look.
Posted by: Francesca | March 24th, 2010 at 9:44 pm
I agree about the tulip show in Ottawa. http://www.tulipfestival.ca/ Lovely thoughts are behind the festival.
Posted by: may | March 25th, 2010 at 12:22 am
Martha,
Are your seeds going to be available in the US? Years ago I bought some of your seeds at Kmart. They were on a strip that you just had to plant...no worry about spacing.I'm a poor gardener, but I thought it looked so easy that I'd give it a try. Well, they turned out beautifully, quite a feat for someone like me who even has managed to kill a cactus! Unfortunately, they were discontinued, and my garden was never the same thereafter.
Posted by: Lee | March 26th, 2010 at 1:08 am
I was very excited to see you on Saturday at Canada Blooms. I was just wondering how you enjoyed the Inniskillin icewine with your lunch?
Posted by: Cathy MacLean | March 26th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I have been shopping for your products nonstop at my local Home Depot here in Victoria. I am there so much I am embarrassed to report the Home Depot team all know me as the "Martha" fan. But I am having so much fun, and the house is benefiting from all the new lighting and organization tools, not to mention the garden. I absolutely love the packaging on the bulbs, beautiful. They would make the perfect hostess gift. My only disappointment is the limited patio sets we have to choose from here in Canada, versus all the sets available in the US Home Depot. I compared on the website. Any chance we are getting more selection as the season progresses?
Posted by: Glen Nyhus | March 28th, 2010 at 2:44 am
I too am another Ottawa native. It is great to hear you made it up to one of our most popular floral events. I hope we see you touring Ottawa's tulip festival sometime soon Martha. Our city is one gigantic garden. A mini Holland come bloom time.
BTW--I have a daylily flower named in honour of you out this year called MARHA'S GOOD THING. What can I say I am another fan of your show and that wonderful busy nature you show us all. You make us all look lazy Martha.
Thanks for the publicity you helped bring to Canada Blooms. We all appreciate it.
Posted by: Mick Morry | April 1st, 2010 at 10:43 am
Oops I just noticed a typo. Oh the shame! That is Hemerocallis MARTHA'S GOOD THING--that I named in honour of you Martha. Happy gardening. Ciao
Posted by: Mick Morry | April 1st, 2010 at 10:50 am
Greetings from two Canadian fans ... one of whom as named and registered a daylily that may have some connection you recognize. Click here http://avaloniadaylilies.com/index5.htm to see the AHS registration of "Martha's Good Thing" registered several years ago and introduced in the USA and Canada by my (Canadian) son Mick Morry who is, has been and always will be a Martha Stewart fan. Martha's Good Thing was test gardened in Tennessee in the garden of our friend and associate Karen Newman (Delano Daylilies) and Karen picked it as her favourite daylily to bloom in her garden in 2009.
Glad to see you enjoying Canada blooms! Glad to see you in Canada! We are huge, huge fans.
Lanny Morry
http://www.avaloniadaylilies.com
Posted by: Lanny Morry | April 1st, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Hi Martha, Pic No. 12 on the Toronto Blooms visit is a pic taken by you of our feet. Me in my much loved Dubarry's and you original boots before you received your very own Dubarry's. Enjoy! Trevor Edwards - Ireland
Posted by: Trevor Edwards | April 8th, 2010 at 5:31 am
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