You can have your cake, but you might not want to eat it, too. Not if it’s one of the tasty designs above by Albert Graves at 2014’s Canada Blooms. What a cool centrepiece that might make for a special table. Some of the hand-made touches I noted were buttons threaded on wires and, out of the frame, what looked like disentangled copper pot scrubbers. Oh, the ideas you can get if you look!

With only one more day left of the show, you still have a chance to look for yourself. These are just a few bits of inspiration I took home with me. More to come later.

Despite its small size, Garfield Thompson‘s exhibit was a big hit. The rivulet running along the sandstone tabletop provoked many oohs and ahhs and a few OMGs. But look at the sheet moss placemats! Nifty and doable, even for us plebes.

For many reasons, Parklane‘s garden was my favourite this year. Here’s one reason why. You might pish-tosh it as theatrical, but think of those Echeverias in cups. A great “party favour,” right? Love the candles made of Sansevieria cylindrica, too.

Speaking of succulents, this lacy strip of them ran down the centre of a table in the Floral Dimensions booth. I know, you’ve probably seen it done before. However, this was done exceptionally well.

Glad to see the Garden Club of Toronto’s tabletop displays – always one of my favourite design classes – return to Canada Blooms. These designs are both beautiful and practical, and the designers really threw themselves into the Wild! theme, particularly with colour. Here is a Day 1 multiple award-winner by the Club’s Carolyn Whiteside.

Sometimes it’s the small details that take it to another level, like these Saturn rings of wire threaded with beads.

Lest we forget the humble vegetable, the Toronto Botanical Garden shows how decorative veggies can be in their Edible Gardens Go Global display. (See Sara Katz’s take on Canada Blooms on behalf of the TBG here.)

And how about this Wildy Weird arrangement? It’s a red-ribbon-winning stroke of brilliance from Joan Bostock of the Garden Club of Toronto (with help from Mother Nature). See what you can see when you really see? Wild!