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Wednesdsay February 28, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C7 Homes & Gardens Garden shows herald Spring The signs of spring outdoors are just notice able. The snow cover has decreased, baring spots on the lawn for the geese to feed. The squirrels are busy running up and down the trees as the mating season begins. A solitary robin has appeared but will be a vegetarian until the ground thaws. In the green house, the seedling peonies are sending up new shoots, the geraniums are coming into bloom and the wild geranium is covered with bright pink flowers. The Chinese tree peony we brought in last month is opening buds. We are trying to force it into bloom for the Canadian Blooms Show just a month away. The Canadian Peony Society has an double table exhibit at Blooms. We are growing seedling peonies and starting some roots to show `Spring in a Peony Garden.' Canada Blooms, a joint effort of Landscape Ontario and the Garden Club of Toronto is such a huge undertaking it involves just about all the gar deners in Southern Ontario for the five days it is on. The Garden Clubs are holding a flower show. The Master Gardeners are manning information booths and Toronto Gardening Club flower designers and others are competing in the show and giving some of the 34 demon stration lectures. Gardening experts are giving 130 other lectures in four theaters. Hundreds of volunteers help in the show. The fifth annual Blooms show is at the Toronto Convention Center from Wed. March 14 until Sun. March 18. It starts with a gala charity opening night party on Tuesday when Dr. Roberta Bondar will officially open the show. Tickets are $125.00. Phone (416) 4478655 for reservations. The Convention Centre is a short walk via the overhead covered walk way from the GO station. It is a large show covering 750, 000 sq. ft. with 38 display gardens and will take nearly a full day to see with a lecture for the rest. There is parking at the Convention Centre off Simcoe S t and at Queens Quay with shuttle busses to the show. The best time to visit is in the late afternoon or evening when the bus tours are over and there is live music by John Lennard. There are early morning $30.00 guided tours prior to the 10:00 a.m. opening. Reserve by phoning (416) 447-8655. Visit their site at www.canadablooms.com for more information. The 75, 000 sq. ft. `Success in Gardening' retail show is at the International Center 6900 Airport Road, Thursday to Sunday March 15th to the 18th. There is free parking and free child care by Mini Skool, and many nursery booths. In the `Success in Gardening' theatre, Mark Cullen, Cecil Lamrock, Art Drysdale, Frank Kershaw and other speakers cover subjects like Garden Design, Roses, Spring Garden Tips, Sowing Seeds, and Gardening in the Spring. A dozen landscaped areas produce ideas for your garden. An Ontario Horticultural Society plant JOHN SIMKINS In Your Garden and flower show demonstrates the skill of their members in growing indoor plants and arrang ing flowers to illustrate seasonal themes. A helpful service is parcel checking which allows pickup at the entrance to Hall 3. The 260,000 sq. ft. Home Show is adjacent to `Success in Gardening' and has two com pletely furnished Dream Homes. The `Decorating Challenge' team is on the show stage with do-it-yourself projects. On Saturday and Sunday there are cooking demonstrations at the Celebrity Kitchen. All the features of a good home show. For more information and a $3.00 per person discount coupon, visit the Home Show net page: www.home-show.neL One ticket cover New plants from old There are many plants for sale at Garden Shows. These may be used to supply cuttings to root for the summer garden. Some bedding plants for sale early are geraniums, Wave petu nias, Cape Daisy (osteospemum), Fan Flower (scaevola), Tickseed (bidens), and Bacopa (sutera). These are tender perennials that bloom most of the summer and are used as annuals. Many are grown from cuttings. They may be grown under lights or in a cool bright spot in a window. Cuttings are taken with a sharp knife (to prevent crushing), when the stems are about 5-6" long. During the summer early rooted cut tings may replace or hide plants that have faded or been attacked by insects or disease. Summer cuttings of many shrubs like weigela, spiraea, shrub roses, hydrangea and privet are easy to root and will flower in two or three years. Grow rooted cuttings in a seedling area and if some are not needed they may be given away before they are too large to move easily. Rooting cuttings is a simple way of propagating plants. It consists of removing the end of a stem, stripping off a few lower leaves, dusting the end with a rooting hormone and putting the base about 3" deep in a pencil hole in a rooting medium or vermiculite or perlite. After lightly firming it in and watering, cover the container with a plastic bag and place it under lights or in a bright spot out of the sun. Rooting hormone comes in powder form or as a liquid. It has three strengths. For soft cuttings #1 is fine. If rooting cuttings becomes a habit a leaking aquarium half full of medium with a pane of glass on top is handy. There is a surplus of aquariums. SUBTLE BLENDS OF COLOUR: A comfortable oatmeal-coloured sofa and chair add tai lored flair to this living area. The chocolate-brown floor is brightened by the light textured fabric of the softly sculpted drapery. Rich wood furniture adds warmth and a touch of tradition to the room. · C A R P E ^^R IE N TA L R U G ^ ^ IN Y ^ ^ A R D W O *^ C E R A M 1CS Thank you readers fo r voting us P latinum W inner com CLEARANCE SALE SALE ENDS THIS SUNDAY Additional 5 0 % off ALL IN -S TO C K AR EA RUGS S'XS' starting at only $59.00. Just arrived Persian rugs from Iran, Tabriz, Kashan, Bidjar, 100s to choose from. Discontinued Patterns, Designer rugs, Egyptian T/washes, Indian and Chinese rugs. Example o f savings: 7x10 Hand Made Kashan (Iran) List $3,500 Sale Price C A R P ET C LE A R A N C E B u y 1 SC|. f t ., g e t th e 2 n d F R E E * Hard wearing berber starting at only S 1 .7 9 /sq. ft.* Nylon plushes starting at only $ 1 .9 9 /sq , ft* Super Special - 48 oz. Hardtwist only $ 2 .9 9 / * ft.' ! A d d itio n a l 5 0 % o ff already lo w sale prices on Discontinued Area Rugs, Designer Rugs & samples, and one-of-a-kind Persian Rugs. (2 per store) `Offer good at following locations or free shop at home service: Outlet Store Trafalgar Village 125 Cross Avenue Huge Super Store 228 King St. Hamilton (905) 849-4472 (905) 546-1921 · CARPET · ORIENTAL RUGS · VINYL * HARDWOOD * C E R A M - «