It’s a Good Time to Force Branches to Bloom
Spring is the traditional time to sell your home. To make your home stand out among all the others, Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener, who is also a Home Stager with Dan Cooper’s Royal LePage Real Estate team, likes forcing branches to bloom indoors for an inspiring and unique look.

 

Repeat a theme, Create a thread
Potted spring bulbs bring spring right into our homes. The grocery store variety, in their green plastic containers can be elevated to designer arrangement status using these ideas from Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener.

 

Spring on your doorstep
When the evergreens have turned brown and its time to make a spring statement on your doorstep, Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener has some simple ideas that will say welcome in style.

 

Create A Hydrangea Wreath for Your Home
With Spring just around the corner, thoughts turn to the outdoors and to gardening. It’s a good time to get a jump on your Spring decorating by freshening up your front door with a Hydrangea Wreath, designed by Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener.

 

Inspired by England’s Sissinghurst Garden
The magnificent gardens of England are the inspiration for many gardeners in this country. For Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener, it is Sissinghurst, a garden created by Vita Sackville-West that coloured her vision of a planter featuring only two colours.

 

Grandma's Garden

Elaine Martin credits her grandmother for much of her education as a gardener and flower arranger. She’s paid tribute to her in the naming of Vintage Gardener, the studio in Toronto’s Distillery District where she sells and designs her signature botanical creations.

 

Pretty in Pink Peonies
Gardeners have their favourite flowers and for Elaine Martin, when June arrives it’s the appearance of the perennial peony that tops her list. She fills her home with fragrant bouquets in June and July and also manages to extend their stay by creating dry arrangements.

 

Blossoming Baskets  
A basket is something you are more likely to take to the garden to gather flowers in rather than use it as a container for arrangements. In order for baskets to take on this job, they need to be modified if the idea - and the basket - are going to hold water.

 

Herbs spice up Decor
Pots of culinary herbs populate kitchens and patios for practical purposes but these edible plants also provide a feast for the eyes. Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener uses potted herbs as the ingredients in decorative arrangements.

 

Bring the Garden Indoors
Summer is the time when we appreciate nature in all its abundance. The flower garden, bursting with blooms is a celebration of the season and a party that we want to carry on into our homes. Cutting fresh flowers from the garden to arrange in vases is one of a gardener’s rewards. The display is a trophy that acknowledges the efforts that go into creating a beautiful garden.

 

Seven Gadgets for the Garden
Have you ever tried cutting a branch, only to have your pruners embed themselves in the stem and no amount of tugging or wiggling could dislodge them? To avoid frustration, you want to make sure you’re equipped with the right tools when working in the garden or arranging flowers in your home. Getting professional results means you need professional tools, but what tools are the right tools for the job? Elaine Martin of Vintage Gardener, shares her favourite cutting devices and gadgets that she can’t work without.
 

 

Decorating for the Holiday Season
While the Christmas tree may be the focal point for holiday decorating, paying attention to the other features of your home, like a staircase or fireplace, can have a huge impact on the overall sense of warmth and hospitality of the season.