By Denis Flanagan CLD
LO Manager of Membership and Public Relations

Just as spring is starting to come to life and Landscape Ontario members are preparing for another busy year, it amazes me how so many of you are dedicating your time and talents to promoting our profession and our association at events across the province.

Canada Blooms was a fantastic showcase for the landscape and horticulture profession again this year and received rave reviews from the public and the media. As part of the LO promotion at Canada Blooms, we distributed three skids of our annual Garden Inspiration magazine. Produced by LO’s communications department, the format for Garden Inspiration changed this year, thanks primarily to the hard work, vision and dedication of LO home office staff members Scott Barber and Kim Burton. The popular publication continues to highlight new plants arriving in garden centres in the near future (with a red and white theme to coincide with Canada 150 celebrations), as well as local community greening projects by all LO chapters and a selection of interesting projects built by LO members. In the magazine, homeowners share their experience working with a professional member of LO and how their lifestyle improved along with their new outdoor living space. The LO member also talks about the project which allows their passion, expertise and professionalism to shine through.

Thanks also go to the LO staff that helped to hand out the magazine at Canada Blooms and to the many volunteers, led by Ottawa Chapter coordinator Martha Walsh, who made sure visitors to the home show received a copy of the magazine. Martha, along with some dedicated Ottawa Chapter members, also helped to distribute another 5,000 copies at the Living Landscapes feature in the Ottawa Home & Garden Show the week after Canada Blooms.
 

Chapters take up the challenge

Chris Power from Bellaire Landscapes, a long-standing member of LO’s Windsor Chapter, visited Canada Blooms and left with 20 boxes of Garden Inspiration to hand out at the chapter’s booth in the Windsor home and garden show.

The province-wide promotion tradition continued in late March in Kitchener/Waterloo, where that chapter created a welcoming entrance garden for the KW Home & Garden Show, and gave out the magazine with a free package of wildflower seeds to show attendees.

LO’s Golden Horseshoe Chapter hosted their ever-expanding Gear Up For Spring event on March 28 which, among a whirlwind of other activities, also featured a lively presentation from Paul Zammit from the Toronto Botanical Garden on container gardening. Paul’s presentation was an effort to entice local Master Gardeners and horticultural societies to the event.

And if all that was not enough, LO was also involved in a new show called Design Outdoors at the International Centre in Mississauga, Ont. in late March. This trade show catered to both interior designers and landscape designers, in an effort to promote collaboration and ideas between the two groups. Thanks to Janet Ennamorato, Creative Garden Designs and Connie Cadotte, Garden Retreats, for creating a garden at the show that promoted Landscape Ontario and encouraged networking between interior designers and landscape designers/contractors.

A big thank-you to all members who get involved in the numerous home and garden shows throughout Ontario. There is no doubt your efforts to educate the public also help to grow our membership.

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Denis Flanagan can be reached at dflanagan@landscapeontario.com or at 905-875-1805, ext. 2303.