Breakfast TV’s Frankie Flowers headlines at Seasons Christmas Show and Fall Cottage Life Show
If you run into Frankie Flowers anytime from about August to December, don’t be surprised if he’s covered in sparkles or snowflakes. Not on his morning appearance on Breakfast Television of course, but while he’s at his family’s Bradford Greenhouses & Garden Gallery (in Bradford and Barrie), helping to create some of the largest holiday displays in Ontario. When it comes to Christmas, Frankie Flowers is like a kid in a candy store, excited to talk about holiday décor trends. In fact, Frankie is a celebrity guest speaker at the Seasons Christmas Show, talking about “The Christmas Trend: From Indoors to Outdoors”. He’ll be on the Main Stage at Noon on Saturday November 11th.
Seasons Christmas Show will run alongside The Fall Cottage Life Show, happening from November 10-12 at the International Centre in Mississauga. It offers you access to both shows for the price of one admission. Frankie will also be a guest speaker at the Fall Cottage Life Show, appearing on the Main Stage on Sunday, November 12th at 1 p.m. He’ll be speaking about “Protecting Your Gardens and Cottages from Pests.”
Canada’s Garden Expert
Frankie Flowers (a.k.a. Frank Ferragine) is best known as Canada’s Garden Expert and his family business, Bradford Greenhouses & Garden Gallery, is one of Ontario’s leading retailers in Christmas décor. During his talk, Frankie will talk about the décor trends this year, both indoors and out, while giving tips on how to make this Christmas the jolliest one you’ve ever decorated!
Seasons Christmas Show – Outdoor décor trends
“At the Seasons Christmas Show we’ll focus on outdoor décor trends,” says Frankie Flowers. “I’ll talk about decorating that front entranceway and how that entranceway can create a theme to welcome visitors. Number one, I want to tell people about how easy it is to do and not to get overwhelmed. I hope to build confidence in even the non-decorator and to inspire the one that is the decorator. And then share ways to find things from around your property or things you can go out and get to save some money. The main thing is to inspire people to get into the spirit of Christmas.”
Christmas traditions at Bradford Greenhouses & Garden Gallery
If someone visits one of the Bradford Greenhouses & Garden Gallery locations from fall to Christmas, expect to discover a Christmas wonderland. Says Frankie: “There’s everything from an upside-down Christmas tree and every theme you can think of. There’s a full tree of owls, plus traditional nutcrackers; there’s snowmen, there’s little Christmas villages, so everything you can think about for Christmas is there. My family and staff work on Christmas all year long. It takes months to prepare.”
This Year’s Christmas Decorating Trends
Asked about the trends for this season, Frankie answers: “This year we are seeing a lot of bright colours. With the way this world is right now, the market is going for more traditional warm colours. You are going to be seeing a lot of red, but one thing that’s big this year is a lot of pink because the biggest movie of the year was Barbie. So pink trees, pink décor, pink ribbons and more for that girly, girly look. This year we are seeing a lot of bright colours. With the way this world is right now, the market is going for more traditional warm colours. You are going to be seeing a lot of red, but one thing that’s big this year is a lot of pink because the biggest movie of the year was BarbieFrankie flowers
There is also a big Gothic theme that has been happening with some of the blacks and darker colours. And then the natural theme where people are using things that they are finding in their environment and using them as part of their exterior or interior décor. And then reclaiming—looking at different decorations you may already have. People right now want to be a bit more conservative with their dollars and this is reflected in the way they decorate, and it’s also about expressing personality. You don’t have to be on trend, it’s about what your preference and personality is.”
Watch Frankie on BT
Frankie Flowers is a household name, having appeared on Breakfast Television on City TV every morning since 2005 (he gets up at 3 a.m. each day). Frankie is also a four-time best-selling author of gardening books. (Get Growing, Pot it Up, Power Plants and Food to Grow). The award-winning author/TV celebrity has also won the award for Toronto’s Favourite Weather Personality nine times! He is a three-time award winner at Canada Blooms and has been named Landscape Ontario’s Communicator of the Year, also three times. Frankie was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for Volunteer Service.
How did Frankie Flowers get into gardening?
Frankie discovered his love of plants at a young age as his family home was attached to a greenhouse.
“Right away from a young age it seems I gravitated toward getting dirty!” says Frankie. “When we were farming in the Cookstown Marsh they called me Rabbit because I would just grab lettuce out of the field and start eating it. I’ve always been connected to plants and still am to this day. Gardening is a physical outdoor activity and I like being busy and being outdoors. It’s something I can do and feel like I’ve accomplished something during the day. There’s nothing like watching a full growing season. When you think of something as simple as zucchini, you plant the seeds in June and all sudden it grows flowers, and you can eat those flowers and stuff them with ricotta or watch the zucchini grow into a large vegetable and then at the end of the season, watch it die back. I love it—it is satisfying, but it also challenges me.” Gardening is a physical outdoor activity and I like being busy and being outdoors. It’s something I can do and feel like I’ve accomplished something during the day.Frankie Flowers
Don’t give up on gardening if something you grow doesn’t turn out, advises Frankie. “No matter what, something I planted last year may not work this year. You may have deer or rabbits or different weather conditions. I plant a lot of plants and I kill a lot of plants. I’m okay to say that if you kill a plant, it’s okay—you are just giving back to the compost pile, and you just start over.”
Frankie gives advice on low maintenance indoor plants for beginners
From outdoor plants to indoor plants, we asked Frankie to recommend a few easy care, low maintenance indoor plants for beginners.
“If we go back to the 70’s one of the most popular plants was the spider plant and it’s still popular today. It’s great for air purification, super easy to grow and easy to propagate. There’s also ZZ Plants which is known as Zamiifolia. The ZZ Plant is drought tolerant and hearty. That plant even survived in the City TV newsroom, so if it can survive there it can survive anywhere! All these plants are usually affordable and can be found at your local greenhouse or home improvement store. You have to get your confidence up, that’s the main thing. I think anyone can develop a green thumb. Often, we kill plants with kindness when we are trying too hard. If we have the right plant for the right place, it does take some time and effort. If you have some time and want to do it, great. But if you want some green and don’t want to do anything that’s when you go faux. Plants are living things, and every living thing needs a little bit of care.”
Frankie has a blog… of course
On his blog, Frankie invites people to email him questions about plant care. Some of the questions he gets no doubt pertain to his decades of being a renowned personality on Breakfast Television and CityLine. “The biggest highlight is that every day is a different day. It’s really the people. I love meeting the people that watch every day and they share stories that made them smile. We are making smile and that’s the greatest memory there is. I love the people and love making people smile.”
No doubt there will be plenty of smiling faces as Frankie Flowers takes to the stage at this year’s Seasons Christmas Show and the Fall Cottage Life Show happening November 10-12 at the International Centre in Mississauga. Shoppers get access to both shows for the price of one admission. Tickets are available now via the seasonsshow.com.
by Laurie Wallace-Lynch
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