Art Crawl, Lavender and the Environment

Between the good weather, the Lister Block grand opening and the April Art Crawl - James Street North was buzzing with activity on Friday. Time and again, throughout the evening, people said to me, "This is the first time I have come to an Art Crawl - I had no idea how terrific it was!"

Hmmmm. Perhaps the secret is finally getting out?

During the crawl i fiori partnered up with the ECOScene people to help them fund-raise in order to support their endeavours. Founded in 2008, the ECOScene Film & Arts Festival is a collaboration between the local arts and environmental communities to raise awareness of environmental issues through the arts. ECOScene is the only festival of its kind in Canada dedicated to supporting the local creative community. The festival’s charitable partner, Arts Hamilton, assists local filmmakers and artists in creating environmentally-inspired works that will be featured at upcoming festivals.

Films, workshops and exhibits continue this week and until the end of the month and are worth investigating:
http://ecofestival.ca/
For my part, i fiori featured lavender plants (who doesn't want a lavender plant?) Net proceeds from the sale of each plant during the Art Crawl last Friday and throughout this week will be donated to the ECOScene festival.
I have 4 types of lavender in the shop, each with its own purpose and attraction. Scroll down to the 'lavender post' for more information.

more than chocolate bunnies

By now you should know to expect something a little bit different at i fiori, and you can forget the mass produced chocolate rabbits (and I use that term 'chocolate' loosely...).
For the next few weeks only, we will have chocolates and truffles and marshmallows from Saxon Chocolates. Hand made in small batches, natural ingredients, Belgian chocolate... all beautifully presented and ready to give as a little treat.

sweet little hatboxes filled with hazelnut truffles

marshmallows made with tahitian vanilla and rolled in coconut

delicately flavoured lemon marshmallows
...move over marshmallow peeps!

shop hours during Passover & Easter

Just a reminder that the hours i fiori will be open this week are a little different. If you are thinking of picking up flowers or plants, I will be open friday and saturday. If you want something in particular, please give me a call or email me so that I can have it ready for you!

sunday 1 / monday 2: closed as usual

tuesday april 3: open from 11 to 6pm
wednesday april 4: open from 11 to 6pm
thursday april 5: open from 11 to 1:30 & 4:30 to 7pm
friday april 6: open from 11am to 5pm
saturday april 7: open from 10am to 5pm

sunday 8 / monday 9 / tuesday 10: i fiori will be closed

the lavender is here

The first lavender is in, and I have 4 varieties to choose from:



jagged or fern-leaf lavender

• compact foliage with tall graceful stems
• subtle fragrance
• plant outdoors if you like, this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected in winter - or brought inside in the fall



english lavender 'munstead'

• the lavender you think about when you think about lavender(!)
• traditional, intense fragrance
• the flowers are edible. Like most herbs, use them fresh for a sweet subtle taste, or dried for a more intense flavour
• plant outdoors if you like, this is a hardy perennial 



 

fragrant butterfly lavender

• this is truly the fancy cousin from the big city
• traditional, intense fragrance, with a very showy flower
• plant outdoors in the summer, this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected in winter or brought inside in the fall

 

lavender 'grosso'

• tall and fragrant French lavender
• excellent for pot pourris, and also used for jams, jellies and baking
• plant outdoors in the summer, but this is a tender perennial and will have to be protected through our winters or brought back inside in the fall