Photos of our 5th Annual Poinsettia Premiere

WOW. What a day. We were so pleased to have over 1000 visitors come through our doors on Wednesday. Everyone was so excited and really feeling the Christmas spirit! We had customers dancing in the aisles and the cookie/cider table was an enormous hit. The door prices as usual were coveted and there was a lot of celebration any time someone won :) We had a great time and now we would like to share some photos with you! Thank You so much for coming. Our staff have worked very hard preparing over the last month, and it was a great pleasure to see everyone enjoying their time here, admiring the Christmas displays. Now to plan for next year!!! ;)

We had people arriving half an hour before the store opened, very exciting!

We have bulk greens for those who like to DIY or ready to go decorated wreaths and swags. 

Outside we just have one Christmas tree, and it's our tallest ever! About 16 feet.

Inside is where we have our Christmas tree displays. Purple is a popular colour this year. 

A unique, upside down silver tree. 

Everyone loves all the different owls we have in store. 

A Christmas display is not complete without Poinsettias! We grow all of ours on site in our greenhouses and you can pick off the bench they have been on since July, which allows for the best quality.

We have many colour and variety options. 

10'' Tri Colour Poinsettias

From 10 to 4pm musicians Roxanna Sabir and Craig McGregor played some upbeat carols with a mixture of their own material. It really completed the festive atmosphere and we had so many compliments about the music from customers. I even saw a few ladies doing a little jig around the garden center! 

Looks like there is something in this corner! I love all the small details you discover in the displays.

Like this gorgeous angel!

Usually it gets pretty quiet after 5pm but we had a busy line up right until 7pm which was amazing! 

Everything in the store gets a beautiful glow in the evening.

From all our staff, thank you so much for all who bared the crowds and came down to enjoy this event with us. See you next year!

Fresh Evergreen Boughs, Wreaths and planters

Fresh wreaths, Christmas planters and hanging baskets. The evergreen displays are so beautiful and the smell puts you in the Christmas spirit! If you like to make your own decorations, come down and be inspired by our designers ideas. You can then find  all the items you need from our evergreen bins. Or, if decorating is not your strong suit, you can pick up a ready made item. Here are just a few samples of whats in store:

Wreath with Magnolia and Cotton

Variegated boxwood, Ilex berries and more

Candy Cane Wreath

Bunches of evergreen boughs, berries, stems etc for those who like to DIY

Pussywillow

Sugar Cones

We have four sizes of basic wreaths, you can use these as a base and complete the decorating yourself!

There is so much to see in the store right now. The outdoor evergreen displays, all the Christmas trees and giftware inside and our beautiful expanse of premium poinsettias. Don't miss the Poinsettia Premiere Open house tomorrow, Wednesday November 23rd. Jason will be giving away a ton of door prizes! There is hot apple cider, cookies and we have a talented duo of musicians, violin and classical guitar, playing carols from 10am to 4pm. We will be open late until 7pm, and make sure you are given one of our one day only sale coupons, as you come in the door!

Another exciting event coming up is the free lecture this Saturday, November 26th. The garden center manager, Jason Vandermey will be doing a talk all about poinsettias. Jason is a poinsettia expert and can answer all your questions about varieties and care. See you soon!

Poinsettias are ready!

Hello Everyone,

 We are into the full swing of Christmas here at West Coast Gardens. The poinsettias have coloured up and are looking great! This is one of our greenhouses that customers can shop in. That means you are picking the plant right off the grower's benches, were it has been since July! Poinsettias are very delicate and can be damaged in transport, so when buying grower direct at West Coast, you know you are getting the best quality poinsettia possible!

We also have a good selection of fresh cut evergreen boughs available in the store. Our talented designers are working away putting together gorgeous christmas planters, centrepieces and hanging baskets using the evergreens. Come in for inspiration and make your own, or you can purchase a ready to go item for easy decorating! Either way your home or entrance way will be festive and welcoming this season for your friends and family. Once the displays are up I will be doing a blog post all about greens so watch for that! 

Here is a picture of the greens from last year, my favourite thing about Christmas at West Coast!

If you are tired of the same old red white and green christmas decorations come check out all the ideas we have in store. Silver and Purple are big colours for Christmas this year:

Last year we had a beautiful red and green upside down tree at the entrance of the garden center. This year I didn't know how the designers would top it! They created this gorgeous silver upside down tree with glass ornaments that drape down. I love the glass icicle ornaments. You could even hang them in a window. 

Something else new we have this year is what the retail decoraters are calling 'crazy string'. It looks like this:

When you unravel it and put it on a tree it makes for a super fun garland. You just let it end up where it lays and it creates a really neat affect. You can see it in these photos:

Here are just a couple cute things I saw well cruising around the store this morning. I love this lantern that Yvonne decorated.

I also think you or the kids could have a lot of fun with this Christmas tree chalk board!!!

See you soon with photos of all the fresh greens

Workshops and Christmas Ornaments

Hello Everyone!

As Fall is coming to a close I wanted to share some photos from Jean's leaf printing workshop last Saturday! Looks like everyone had a great time.

Thank You Celeste for snapping these photos of the workshop!

For information on our lectures and workshops follow this link :
http://www.westcoastgardens.ca/events-workshops/

 We have been away setting up the store for Christmas. It is a long process but the result is gorgeous. This year we have even more decorated trees, so far I've counted forty!! Come in and get inspired. You will leave with so many fun ideas for how to decorate your home and Christmas tree this year.

Here are some of the ornaments that have caught my eye so far. A big trend I am seeing is TEXTURE.

That is just a tiny sample of what is new in store for Christmas 2011. Wait until you see the gorgeous upside down tree decorated in glass and silver ornaments. You can't miss it as you enter the store. Your jaw will drop!

As for the poinsettias they are coming along and a few more leaves have changed colour. The start of the flower is also showing in the center. I can't wait to see them completely finished, in about two weeks time!