BT Toronto Blogs

Today’s blog starts in the lobby and then chronicles our experience shooting a promo for the Christmas Tree Sale we’re having on December 12.

Click the gallery to see some pictures of us sitting by the campfire.

See you in the morning,

Kevin  (kevinf@citytv.com)

On our way to St. Lucia we had a four hour layover in Barbados.  We couldn’t leave the airport so what did we do?  Click the play button to find out.  Also check out the pictures in the Gallery of our last full day in St. Lucia.  Thanks to Sandals, Air Canada Vacations and St. Lucia and all of our BT Winners.  What great memories.  BT Winner Vanessa, from Toronto Barber & Beauty Supply, did a great job on my hair.  Erin & Mike and the whole CHFI Crew Rocked!!

Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort and Spa – in St. Lucia!
For more information visit http://www.sandals.com/
For more information on St. Lucia go to http://www.stlucia.org/ or call 1 800-869-0277
For more information on Air Canada Vacations log on to http://www.aircanadavacations.com/

For more information on Buzz Restaurant and recipe book go to http://www.buzzstlucia.com/
The Toronto Barber & Beauty Supply is located at 5700 Mavis Rd, Unit #5
For more information call 905 712-4449 or http://www.tbbs.ca/ 

For more info on CHFI go to http://www.chfi.com/

Have an Amazing Day!
Jenn Valentyne
jennifer@citytv.com

The greenhouses across the country are full with poinsettia just waiting to come to your home!!

I’ve turn to my friends at Ecke Ranch and California for some Poinsettia Care Tips.  Ecke Ranch are poinsettia breeders and are responsible for many of todays great new varieties.  For more information go to http://www.ecke.com/

Here are the DO’s of poinsettia care . DO place your plant in indirect sunlight for at least six hours per day. If direct sun    can’t be avoided, diffuse the light with a shade or sheer curtain. . DO provide room temperatures between 68 – 70° F. Generally speaking, if you are    comfortable, so is your poinsettia. . DO water your plant when the soil feels dry to the touch. . DO use a large, roomy shopping bag to protect your plant when transporting it. . DO fertilize your plant AFTER THE BLOOMING SEASON with a balanced,    all-purpose fertilizer. And here are the DON’Ts of poinsettia care . DON’T place plants near cold drafts or excessive heat. Avoid placing plants near    appliances, fireplaces or ventilating ducts or the top of a television. . DON’T expose plants to temperatures below 50° F. Poinsettias are sensitive to    cold, so avoid placing them outside during the winter months. . DON’T over water your plant, or allow it to sit in standing water. Always remove    a plant from any decorative container before watering, and allow the water to    drain completely. . DON’T expose your plant to chilling winds when transporting it. . DON’T fertilize your plant when it is in bloom.

I’m going to start this one off with a little orchid history.  So to begin do you know how orchids got their name???  Here’s the story .morning glory:

While the Chinese called these flowers “lan”, the name they came to be known by in the western world was given (according to legend) by Theophrastus, a student of Plato. He noted the round paired bulbs of one common European orchid and gave it the name orchids from the Greek word for testicle..interesting!!

Today there are over 25,000 different varieties of orchids with over 200,000 cultivars.  For instance did you know that there are at least 60 types of orchids native to Canada??

The orchids you find in grocery stores, flower shops and garden centers are primary native to more tropical regions.  Most can be found in their natural habitat growing on trees and despite popular beliefs orchids are not parasites!!!

In terms of growing orchids I’ll give the basics:

Light:

Most orchid varieties (especially those with large fleshy leaves) love sunlight, but I should stress the light should be indirect.  In the summer place in an east window and during the winter (now) move to a westerly or southerly facing window (ps leave it far enough way so it doesn’t get a chill).  9 times out of 10 if you orchid has green leaves and doesn’t bloom it’s not in enough light!!!

Moisture:

Orchids would rather be dry than wet.  In fact some varieties need a period of neglect/drought to stimulate bloom.  So before watering please insure they are somewhat dry.  Too much water will result in root rot!!!

Humidity:

 If you can do anything for the health of an orchid increasing humidity is a must.  During the winter months when we heat our homes humidity levels indoors drop to around 30%.  Orchids need humidity levels of 60-80%.  Adding a humidifier is a huge help or misting and at the least placing a pebble tray underneath an orchid filled with water is a must. 

Air Circulation:

If your orchid is suffering, think about adding a fan into the room as orchids hate stagnant air.

For more information on orchids here is a listing of local orchid societies:

Central Ontario Orchid Society
Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge Ontario
Contact: Jerry Bolce  jerry@uwaterloo.ca
Web Site: http://www.coos.ca/

Durham Region Orchid Society
Oshawa, Ontario
Contact: Anne Antanaitis  anneantanaitis@hotmail.com
905-728-5336
Meetings are generally every third Sunday from Sept to June in Oshawa at Fernhill Community Centre on Fernhill Ave. from 2 to 4 pm.

Kingston Orchid Society
Kingston, Ontario
Contact: Ken Pearce  kpearce@kos.net
Web Site: http://home.cogeco.ca/~dservage/Index.htm

London Orchid Society
London, Ontario
Contact: Bob Betts  rbetts@wwdc.com
Web Site: http://los.lon.imag.net/

Niagara Region Orchid Society
St. Catharines, Ontario
Contact: Rick Rempel  ingeremp@iaw.on.ca
Web Site: http://www.CanadianOrchidCongress.ca/nros.html

Orchid Society of the Royal Botanical Gardens
Burlington, Ontario
Contact: Charlotte Moore  charlotte.moore@sympatico.ca
Web Site: http://www.osrbg.ca/

Ottawa Orchid Society
Ottawa, Ontario
Contact: Marilyn Light  mlight@igs.net
Website: http://www.ottawaorchidsociety.com

Southern Ontario Orchid Society
Toronto, Ontario
Contact: Peter Poot  sonja.poot@sympatico.ca
Web Site: http://www.soos.ca/

Toronto Artistic Orchid Association Contact: TAOA secretary taoa_ca@yahoo.ca
Web Site: http://www.taoa.ca/

Toronto Judging Centre
Contact: Peter Poot  sonja.poot@sympatico.ca
Web Site: http://www.soos.ca/torjudge.htm

Windsor Orchid Society – La Societé des Orchidophiles de Windsor
Windsor, Ontario
Contact: Ed Cott laelia@aol.com
Website: http://www3.sympatico.ca/ecott/index.htm

And from our viewers:

_____________________________________________________________________

Hi Frankie Flowers!!!

I saw that you were doing a segment on orchids today.  We here in the Niagara Region have a huge Orchid show at the CAW Hall in St. Catharines on Nov 11 and 12, and people are welcome to come and learn more about the wonderful world of orchids!!

Here is our info.

Thank you!!

Jodi Shannon

Niagara Region Orchid Society Publicity

_____________________________________________________________________________

There are local orchid societies where people can go if they are really interested in orchids.

The main one is the Southern Ontario Orchid Society (http://www.soos.ca/) which meets each month at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. They have hundreds of members and prior to meetings, supplies and plants are sold by local growers. They also have a show each year (February).

We also have a small group that meets each month out in Oshawa.

Thanks

Randy Streef

Durham Region Orchid Society

Winter is just around the corner and not to be a party pooper but in terms of colour there is not much to look forward to.  Due to the shortness of days there are very few plants that thrive into colour at this time of year.  But don’t fear ..I’m here with a colourful suggestion for you!!! 

AMARYLLIS!!!!!

Of all plants in the world and I mean it Amaryllis is the easiest to bring into bloom and the easiest to grow.  Amaryllis can be bought almost anywhere at this time of year from Grocery stores, garden centers, home do it centers, flower shops and department stores.  Commonly amaryllis are found in a kit form including the bulb, soil, stone for drainage and the pot.  Pretty much all you have to do is plant pointy side up with the top of the bulb left uncovered (see diagram below), add water, place in a west or south facing window and presto – 7 weeks from now beautiful tropical colour in ranges of red, orange, pink, white etc.

Some detailed info:

History:

Amaryllis originated from South American tropical regions.  Being first discovered in the 1800’s this plant has become renown for bursting into colour under minimal daylight.

Tips:

Ideal Temperature:   

When planted 20c or 70f.

When storing bulb 10c or 50f – remember keep bulbs cool, dark and dry.

Flowering Period:           

Bulbs flower in 7 to 10 weeks, based on temperatures inside your home flowers can last up to 2 weeks (cooler your home the longer they last however the longer it takes them to bloom. For constant colour, plant bulbs in 2-week intervals.

After Blooms are done:

Leave foliage on, water and fertilize.  Remember it’s the leaves that gain the energy to the bulb to help in bloom next.  Plant outdoors or leave in a pot.  In early fall leaves will turn brown.  Cut leaves, remove from soil, dust soil off, keep clean and dry, place in a cool dark space (around 10c or 50f) – a good space is a fruit cellar or a refrigerator – this is called a plunge period and has to be at least 6 weeks in length.  Replant there after and happy days 7 to 10 weeks later – more bloom – more colour.

Try Amaryllis, they are easy, they are amazing, the bloom are huge and this is a time of year we need huge colour!!!

Keep Blooming,

Frankie

If you have a gardening questions email me at frankieflowers@chumtv.com.

What a weekend!!  It was my son Gavin’s second birthday on Sunday.  Over 20 people invited to my home.  The pressure was on!  Purchase goody bags on Friday, clean the house on Saturday and prepare food on Sunday but never fear Mother Nature appeared with a little snag in the plan – HEAVY WET SNOW!!!

Heavy wet snow is the most damaging kind especially during the fall season (the official start to winter is many days away).  At this time of year some trees still have leaves on them other haven’t firmed up to handle snow loads meaning the leaves are like snow catchers and the trees including evergreens easily bend snap, crash and fall due to the weight of snow!! 

This weekend areas in Innisfil, Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Huntsville and Muskoka all had power outages due to branches and trees falling on power lines.  The power outages creates various problems including my own having 20 people at my home with no hydro did I mention I had 10 kids under the age of 10 but the real and more permanent problem is the damage this causes to trees and shrubs around our property. 

When you see your trees and shrubs leaning due to heavy snow immediately shake it off where possible.  For those branches and stems broken remove them right away insuring the stems have clean cuts at a slight angle to insure water will not bead on the steam.  Clean cuts compared to jagged broken areas heal more rapidly.  Finally for those trees and shrubs that may be affected by snow falling off roof areas of your home create some sort of protection for them.  For example building an A frame out of plywood or just wrapping your upright evergreens with twine so they are bound tightly together giving them more strength to hold snow!!

In the end Gavin’s Birthday was a terrific success!!  I order the food in from my favorite little Italian place in Barrie Casano’s and the children had enough sugar and toys to entertain themselves.  Snow in November not unheard of but in my opinion ….way tooo early!!

Ahh winter you have to love it!!!

Frankie

Down Tree limbs due to an early November Snow in Cottage Country

I’m a lucky guy.  As many of you know I live north of the City in Innisfil (my early commute allows for one which is traffic free).  My home is located on a forested lot that is very private and full of deciduous trees.  My luck runs out at this time of year when it comes to removing leaves from my lawn and gutters as it seems once I start I never stop!  Removing leaves from the lawn is key insuring a happy and healthy lawn in spring. Leaves that are left alone and not removed  will matt down and suffocate the lawn underneath eventually killing it.  A new study has been just released by Scotts claiming that a rake free lawn is possible and potentially beneficial for promoting lawn health. 

The study does make sense and stress the importance of mulching leaves with your lawn mower and adding some winter/fall fertilizer to help the leaves breakdown over the winter.  Word of warning if you have a big pile of leaves – first you lawn mower will have difficulty mulching them, secondly the layer of mulch left behind can be quite thick the key to making the rake free lawn possible is to insure your mulch lawn has mulched leaves that are evenly dispersed so you can still easily see blades of grass.  The study is below …the rest is up to you!!  Happy mulching!!

Frankie

Scientists at The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, working in partnership with Michigan State University turfgrass researcher Thom Nikolai, have discovered an innovative fall regimen for obtaining a healthy lawn without backbreaking leaf raking.

Over years of study, Nikolai found that turf was healthier when homeowners mowed fall leaves back into the lawn instead of raking. When The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company became aware of his research on ways to reduce lawn waste, its scientists learned that recycling fallen leaves back into autumn lawns saves time and money, adds nutrients, speeds spring greening and reduces weeds.

ScottsMiracle-Gro scientists partnered with Nikolai for further study on this innovative leaf and lawn practice. The team found that following leaf mulching with a feeding of Turf Builder® WinterGuard® fall lawn fertilizer reduced leaf refuse on lawns the following spring. What neither partner anticipated was discovering a fall leaf recycling practice that homeowners and municipalities alike could embrace: retiring leaf rakes and reducing municipalities’ fall leaf pick-up.

“In the fall 2007 leaf mulching study with ScottsMiracle-Gro, I discovered yet another way to encourage decomposition: fertilizing after the mulching process,” said Dr. Nikolai. “We tested up to 18 inches in leaf litter topped with Turf Builder or Turf Builder Winter Guard and showed that the fertilized areas had significantly less leaf refuse in the spring.”

“Partnering with Dr. Nikolai on this research is an exciting way to develop innovative products for lawn care,” said Jeff Garascia, Ph.D., vice president of Research and Development at Scotts. “ScottsMiracle-Gro views this connection between leaf mulching and fertilizer as integral in our continued efforts to offer sustainable products that further enhance the already acknowledged environmental benefits of turf.”

By using Turf Builder® WinterGuard™ in conjunction with leaf mulching, homeowners can be freed from leaf raking in the fall. The added nutrients from leaves help protect lawns against winter stress and combined with a fall lawn fertilizer, speeds up the clipping decomposition process and spring greening. Partner this with the reduced costs to municipalities for fall leaf removal, both homeowners and their towns win while giving back to the environment.

Piles of leaves - good for kids hard on my back!!

Oh Christmas Greens!!  The collection of greens and displaying them around our homes for Christmas is a tradition that goes back to beyond the 16^th Century.  In terms of folklore story surround many different type of greens one the most notable is the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe however I feel decorating with Greens make our homes feel warm and welcoming for Christmas. 

Collecting Greens including white pine, cedar, balsam, hemlock and spruce is as easy as travelling to your backyard or travelling to a forested area where trees have fallen due to heavy snow loads – after last weeks snow there are tons!!  Another great source is using the basal branches of your live Christmas tree instead of throwing the bows you remove to put your tree in the stand out use them in your décor. 

Creating wonderful urns, floral arrangements, garlands, wreaths and door swags are really not they difficult.  In terms of supplies at most you need some foam oasis, a glue gun, floral tape, wire and a few picks. 

You can use anything to accessorize your greens from ribbons, Christmas decorations, found natural berries such as holly, winterberry and snow berry and you can even use fruit.  I’ve done a really funky urn using bright green limes and vibrant yellow lemons…I think I felt like a cocktail when I did this one. 

On Wednesday November 26 at 9am on CityTV check out CityLine for my full list of greens to use plus tips and tricks including just how easy it is from taking a plain urn stuffed with greens to turning it into a fabulous urn filled with interesting artistic flare.

I’m off to the US for American Thanksgiving this coming weekend.  While I’m gone I will try to write a blog plus stay tuned when I’m back for a full look at the ways American’s use plants to decorate for their Thanksgiving / Christmas season.  Did I mention I’m going to Las Vegas and will be featuring the floral works at The Wynn.

Keep Blooming,

Frankie

Oranges you glad you decorated

Yesterday we went zip lining through the Rainforest in St. Lucia with the BT Winners.  We did it in a remote community called Babboneau with The Rainforest Sky-Rides.  Well, just the girls went.  The boys stayed back at Sandals and relaxed.  We had an incredible time and the rain didn’t dampen our spirits - it only made it more of an adventure.  Elvira didn’t think she could do it but with a little encouragement from the rest of us she overcame her fears.  It was a bonding experience.  Click the Play Button to see our amazing day and see the Gallery for some great shots of the last few days in St. Lucia.
 
Take Care
Jenn

Sandals Regency La Toc Golf Resort and Spa – in St. Lucia!
For more information visit http://www.sandals.com/
For more information on St. Lucia go to http://www.stlucia.org/ or call 1 800-869-0277
For more information on Air Canada Vacations log on to http://www.aircanadavacations.com/