Denis Flanagan CLD
Manager of public relations
It’s Sat., Mar. 21st. at 10 p.m., room 1500, in the newly renovated Hyatt Hotel, King St., in Toronto.
After working a 12-hour shift standing on a concrete floor at Canada Blooms, my aching feet needed a soaking in warm water. Unfortunately, this trendy hotel only has a shower but no bathtub. This has forced me to be resourceful!
As I sit on the edge of my bed with one foot in a garbage can that is half-filled with warm water, the pain has eased and I begin to reflect on the day’s challenges and the reasons I have thoroughly enjoyed the Blooms experience over the last 13 years.
I had been reminded of that statistic earlier in the day when Adam Gracey re-introduced me to his 16 year old, six foot, plus, son Luke, who was working on their feature garden. Adam recalled that during the very first Blooms, I had to tell him and his wife Christine to remove their kids from the show floor during construction. It’s a good thing Luke does not hold grudges.
Another strong memory I have of that first show in 1996 is one of Casey van Maris directing the creative placement of a boulder, using a walking stick as his pointer. In this year’s show, the family’s creativity continued through his daughter Anna with her booth in Marketplace.
And, our impressive Landscape Ontario Green for Life garden was built this year by Tim Kearney with his sons and all the hard working crew from Ottawa.
On Industry Night it was great to see Gerald Boot showing off his new grandchild. No doubt, a potential garden builder of the future.
Yes, Canada Blooms is always a spectacular event with glorious gardens and stunning flower arrangements, but to me it has become a record of our personal lives. Once a year we gather to celebrate our successes in life, including marriages, births and sometimes to celebrate someone’s memory. I hope as an industry we will continue to pull together as a family and always support this fabulous Canadian tradition.
Footnote: Warm water in a pail turns very cold during the time it takes to write a 300 word article.
Denis Flanagan may be contacted at dflanagan@landscapeontario.com.
