Etobicoke's Centennial Park Conservatory 2017 Spring Flower Show

No Pots and Pans and Hot Tubs: Just Flowers

Toronto's other Flower Show just ended this past weekend to, as usual, mixed reviews. The National Flower Show known as "Canada Blooms" (because, hey, Toronto is the horticultural capital of Canada right?) runs every early March when the fine citizens of this city are at their most vulnerable and desperate for anything resembling living vegetative matter. I haven't attended in a few years, even with the lure of free media tickets, because the Show doesn't resonate with me: I simply want to see and take pictures (for you, dear reader) of pretty flowers and not be solicited aggressively with offers of kitchenware or outdoor hot tubs. The exhibits for Canada Blooms are located close to a Home Show in the same complex so one usually needs to run a gauntlet of home improvement salespeople to see gardens which focus on dimly lit large areas (read expensive) of concrete pavers. (According to some of the latest reviews on the Canada Bloom Facebook page, this experience hasn't changed much since my last visit.)  

But let's be fair so here's a great overview of the Show titled "A Viral Tour of Canada Blooms 2017" by fellow Toronto gardening blogger, Helen Battersby,  for those of you interested in seeing the exhibits and reading her witty comments. Apparently she had a bad cold while attending, what a trooper!

I was in the west-end of Toronto in a section/municipality called Etobicoke (for you non-natives) the other day for an appointment and decided to visit a public Conservatory afterwards to see its spring floral displays. It was much more my style: low key and quiet with me and a few families escaping the lousy March weather inside the greenhouses. The Centennial Park Conservatory is the smaller and perhaps overlooked compared to her bigger and better known sister, the Allan Gardens Conservatory, which I've visited and posted about many times. But smaller is good too sometimes: there's always ample parking, no admission fee (although donations are welcome) and never (in my experience) a big crowd getting in the way of my pictures!

Below are a few pictures of lovely tulips, daffodils and hyacinths from this spring's flower show, commerce- and commercial-free. We won't see these blooms outside until another month but it's officially spring so we'll go with that!

"Canada 150" tulips at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017

"Rococo" Red Parrot Tulip at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017

Tulip bed at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017

Flaming Parrot Tulip at the
2017 Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show

"Canada 150" tulips at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
2017 Spring Flower Show

Flaming Parrot Tulip at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

2017 Centennial Park Conservatory 
Spring Flower Show 
Flaming Parrot Tulip 

Canaliculatus mini daffodil (narcissus)
at the Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

"Rijnveld’s Early Sensation" Narcissus
at Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017

Tulips at Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017

"Rococo" Red Parrot Tulip at
Centennial Park Conservatory
2017 Spring Flower Show

Blue hyacinths at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

Grape hyacinths at the
Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

"Pink Charm" daffodil (narcissus) at
the Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

Pink Charm daffodils and purple hyacinths
at the Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

"Pink Charm" daffodils (narcissus) at
the Centennial Park Conservatory
Spring Flower Show 2017 

Tropical delights at Toronto's Centennial Park Conservatory

Moth orchids, tropical hibiscus and others on display in Etobicoke

Gardening in the dead of a Toronto winter? While others are busy winter sowing or greedily going through seed and bulb catalogues in preparation for spring's arrival, I'm doing a lot of reading and a bit of blogging. The genesis of this post was from a visit to a local Conservatory last winter. I forgot about these pictures and thought they would provide a nice diversion from the current polar conditions currently afflicting us here in zone 5 Toronto. And if you're fortunate and smart enough to live somewhere that's non-glacial at the moment, you can still enjoy these pretty flowers!

White Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Growing such beautiful orchids would be a tough task unless you provide the heat and humidity they love. For me, it's much nicer and practical to visit a place that allow these conditions: either warmer and more exotic locales (like Barbados' Orchid World) or a local greenhouse. Luckily, Centennial Park Conservatory can be reached via public transit and I find its orchid collection nicer than the one found at its sister Conservatory at Allan Gardens.


If you're an orchid collector, you'd be a little disappointed with the variety (mainly moth orchids or Phalaenopsis or "Phals") on display but for a winter weary visitor, the orchids and hibiscus and other tropical flowers and plants do lift the spirits. Well, until you have walk outside again and feel the Arctic blasts reminding you that spring here is still far away....

Pink Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory

Purple spotted white Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

White Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Pale pink Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park  Conservatory

Pale purple Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid)
at the Centennial Park Conservatory

Light purple Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Light red Phalaenopsis (Moth Orchid) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Yellow tropical hibiscus ( Hibiscus rosa sinensis ) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

"High Heaven" tropical hibiscus 
( Hibiscus rosa sinensis )
at the Centennial Park Conservatory

"High Heaven" double tropical hibiscus 
( Hibiscus rosa sinensis )
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

"Blushing Peach" tropical hibiscus 
( Hibiscus rosa sinensis )
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Orange Brugmansia (Angel's Trumpet) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory 

Bromeliad flower (Aechmea fasciata) 
at the Centennial Park Conservatory

Centennial Park Conservatory's
 yellow cactus flowers