The Spring Flower Shows

I’m a little spoiled this winter: I got to go to Maui in January for 10 days. You would think that I’d be ready for all the icy roads and driveways, having been given some respite. But I’m not. I want more warm sunny days. But I know the cure: the spring flower shows. I’ll go to as many as I can. Here’s this year’s lineup.

The first is the New Hampshire Orchid Society’s “Orchid Fantasy Escape” in Nashua, NH at the Radisson Hotel from February 13 to 15. Admission is just $10, $8 for seniors and free for kids under 12. I think getting kids interested in orchids is a good idea and will try to get my grandchildren to accompany me. George, age 11, already collects succulents, and may find orchids even better. Or perhaps Casey, who loves anything pink, will be the orchid fan. For more info: www.nhorchids.org/show.

Rhode Island Show

Next up is the Rhode Island Flower Show February 19-22 at the RI Convention Center in downtown Providence. This is always one of my favorite shows because it has something new each year, along with favorite displays like the sand sculpture and the displays by the Carnivorous Plant Society and the RI Wild Plant Society. I love the competition among flower arrangers – one year they had a competition for best bikini made of leaves and flowers (on mannequins)!

Admission to the Providence Show is $19 for adults, $16 for seniors and $7 for children 7 to 12. I like being there on Thursday or Friday as the floor is less crowded than on the weekend. And for me, one of the best parts of the show are the educational workshops. This year Barbara Damrosch, author of The Garden Primer, a great basic gardening text, will be lecturing on Thursday and Friday. I’m not presenting there this year, maybe next year. For more, go to www.flowershow.com.

Rhode Island Flower Show sand sculpture

That same weekend is the Connecticut Flower & Garden Show at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford. This year’s theme is “The Spirit of Spring” with over 300 booths, great landscape displays and over 80 educational workshops. Admission is $16 for adults, $4 for kids 5 to 12, and $14 for seniors over 62 on Thursday and Friday. If you are traveling from out of state, think about combining the Rhode Island and Connecticut shows with an overnight in one town or the other. For info, www.ctflowershow.com.

Then comes the Vermont Flower Show on February 27 to March 1, one of my favorites. I like that the main landscape display is a collaborative effort, and that the show has many interesting events for children, including a model train display. It is held in the Champlain Valley Exposition Hall in Essex Junction. Tickets are $ 15, or $12 for seniors (age 60) and $3 for kids 3 to 17. For more info, go to www.greenworksvermont.org.

Although Ringling Brothers circus claimed to be the Greatest Show on Earth, the honor should go to the Philadelphia Flower Show, which this year is from February 28 to March 8. Held each year in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, more than 250,000 visitors will walk through the 33 acres of show. Tickets are expensive – $32 for an adult, $27 if bought in advance. Even kids are $17. Still, you gotta see it at least once. Info at www.theflowershow.com.

This year I hope to make it to the Portland Flower Show as I’ve never gotten to it and hear it’s nice. This year’s theme is “A Taste of Spring” and will be March 5 to March 8 at 58 Fore Street. Tickets are $15. More info at www.portlandcompany.com.

Boston is another grand event held this year March 11 to 15 at the Seaport World Trade Center. The theme this year is “Season of Enchantment”, which will bring out the magic of flowers by top ranked garden designers and floral arrangers from all over New England. Like all the big shows, I recommend going on a weekday, as it can get pretty crowded. Tickets are $20, or $17 over age 65.

I called my friend Jill Nooney who has competed at the Boston Flower Show several times. She said she usually spent about 9 months giving birth to her displays – growing the materials needed for them, and putting it all together. And although she has created amazing displays and won blue ribbons, all she really got out if it was bragging rights. So she’s not competing this year. Still, if you want to do a display, go to the show, and start your planning now for next year. For more info: www.bostonflowershow.com.

After a short break, the next show is the Seacoast Home and Garden Show at the Whittemore Center Arena in Durham, NH on March 28 and 29. This show will have 225 exhibitors showcasing their products and services. Seminars and a “Meet the Chef” program round out the schedule. Tickets are $8, just $6 over 65 years of age. More info at www.whittcenter.com.

There’s not much info yet on the last show, in Bangor. Just that it’s April 11 and 12 at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor and the theme this year is “Naturally Nautical”. For info later, www.bdmainegardenshow.com

We can’t all escape the snow and cold, but we can get a day’s vacation from it – at a flower show. And it’s cheaper than therapy!

Henry Homeyer is the author of 4 gardening books and a UNH master Gardener. His web site is www.Gardening-Guy.com.