'It's perfect this year': Green thumbs and greenhouses ready for busy weekend

London gardeners are flocking to local greenhouses to gather supplies for a fun-filled long May weekend, while staff eagerly prepare for the rush.

Late spring is when people tend to get serious about their gardens, and as the weather warms up, the risk of a sudden frost wiping out new plants is much lower. Victoria Day weekend, which falls on May 17 to 19 this year, typically makes for a good opportunity to get things growing in the ground in time for summer. 

With the recent warm temperatures, Bronwyn Powell said she's feeling optimistic about a weekend of gardening while out shopping for begonias at Van Lujk Greenhouses and Garden Centre in London's east end.

"We're on the home stretch now," she said. "I think this you'll see lots of people planting and playing in the dirt." 

Across town at Parkway Garden Centres, Luba Adamson was busy filling her cart with flowers. She admitted this wasn't her first shopping spree of the week. 

"It's perfect this year," she said. "The ground is nice and moist, and we've had this extended spring." 

Adamson said the fun of gardening is getting out of her comfort zone, so every year she challenges herself to try something new. This year, she's planting dahlias. She said even though her garden lacks the sunlight they love so much, she's feeling up to the challenge.

"Every year, my motto is: 'This will be my best garden yet' and every year it's been true." 

At Van Lujk's, greenhouse worker Santhosh Kumar Shanmuga Sundaram has been preparing for the rush. He expects to sell lots of vegetable plants, garden maintenance tools and fertilizer for soil, he said. 

Every year, certain plants can be more popular than others, he said, and this year he's already picked up on a few trends.  

"David Austin roses are really popular, and we've almost sold out of them already,"  he said, referring to the high-end English roses. "Bougainvilleas are really famous this year, too." 

A busy weekend for garden centres

Nikolai Jacobsen is the new CEO of Parkway Garden Centre, where they've been busy stocking shelves, getting orders in and making sure they're fully staffed for the weekend. 

"This is the time to plant if you want to get that full summer of colour," he said.  

At Parkway, Jacobsen said container gardening is getting more popular for people living in apartments.

"Pottery neutral tones are big," he said. "People are going for your greys, beiges and terracotta—nothing too bright, nothing too fancy." 

For homeowners with lots of outdoor space, he's noticed a surge in native trees and perennials, like the sugar maple and trillium. Both are iconic Canadian plants, he added. 

Advice for new gardeners

For anyone planting their first garden this weekend, Jacobsen's words of wisdom are to start small and ask questions.

"It's a lot of work," he said. "You've got to really know what you're doing." 

Knowing what type of fertilizer to use, when to use it and how often to water your different plants are all important for a successful garden, he said. 

If it all seems a bit daunting, Adamson said not to worry too much.

"Learning from the school of hard knocks is fun," she said. "And I find that gardeners are the most generous people in the world with their plants and with their advice."