The 34th Gardenscape Backyard Living Show helped welcome the spring season in Saskatoon over the weekend. “It’s really the first weekend that we get to celebrate the end of winter and the start of a wonderful gardening season,” Peter Jelinski, the manager of signature events for Prairieland Park, said. The annual show features plants and landscaping products, educational sessions, and a variety of entertainment for visitors to enjoy. Jelinski shared that this year’s show saw a significant spike in attendance. “We’re really proud of our attendance is up...double percentage points this year. So we’re very happy about that. And, people seem to be really enjoying themselves. They’re coming out, they’re having fun, they’re eating, they’re seeing a lot of the new activities that we’ve incorporated into the show here,” Jelinski said. This year was quite special as it was the first time visitors were able to bring their dogs along to the function. “If you’re going to take it for a walk, why not come and walking around in here and enjoy the smell of the wonderful flowers?” Jelinski said. Jelinski added that the SuperDogs show has been a big attraction for several years. The show features incredibly well trained dogs showcasing a variety of tricks and skills for audiences. The connection between dogs and Gardenscape has been a strong one over the years, which prompted organizers to allow for even more furry friends to take part this year. “They’ve been a tradition here, but we didn’t really know. And so we thought about it and it’s like a lot of people’s backyards are for their animals as much as they are for people....and we thought we’re going to embrace it,” Jelinski said. Guests of all ages wandered around Prairieland Park to quite literally stop and smell the roses. Jelinski shared that this year’s crowd appeared to represent a more diverse age range than that of previous years. “Traditionally, the show has gone towards a little bit of older demographic, but we looked at that and said no, this should be about a family friendly event. And so what we did is we looked at programming and events that all ages and families could take part in. We’re pleased to see that it actually resonated with the community, and we’re seeing a lot more young people,” Jelinski said. That sentiment also applies to the vendors at the show. Eleven-year-old Carson Verstegen works in both production and sales at his family’s business, Canadian Wool Pellets, which saw many customers at the show. “They’re fertilizer for house plants, raised bed gardens, anything that has soil and roots. We shear the wool off the sheep, and then we shred it, and then we pelletize them...We’ve been doing it for about three years.” Verstegen said. The young salesman added that he’s learned a lot in his three years with the family business. “I like just helping with my family and coming to shows like this...it’s really fun doing it,” Verstegen said.
