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Spring Flower Shows
Boston Flower Show
This has been a relatively easy winter for me. No heavy snows requiring me to climb up on my roof to shovel off the flat part above a death-defying 30-foot drop. No temperatures lingering below zero for days on end. Still, it’s winter and I’m a gardener who is already thinking about spring. Thank heavens for the spring flower shows! Here is this year’s schedule. Mark your calendar and get ready to go.
One of my favorite flower shows is on the first weekend of the big shows: the Rhode Island Flower Show (www.flowershow.com) at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence on February 18-21. This year’s extravaganza is called “Spring Fling” and is being promoted as a treat for all your senses: things to see, smell, touch, taste and hear.
So there will be, in addition to the standard flower displays, cooks whipping up treats and teaching tricks, and bands playing Friday and Saturday from 4 to 7 pm. Friday’s band will do tunes from the 50’s and 60’s, while Saturday’s band, Hey 19, is a Steely Dan tribute band. Should be fun. The show sells drinks and has a small dance floor, too.
As with all shows, attending the lectures and slide shows at the Rhode Island Show are an important part of the show for me. Actually, I’ll be speaking both Friday at4pm and Saturday at noon. But I may go hear Roger Swain of Victory Garden fame, or some of the many other speakers. And I love all the displays – from professionals to rank amateurs.
Also on February 18 to 21 is the Connecticut Flower Show (www.ctflowershow.com) at the Convention Center in Hartford. Like the Rhode Island show, this show boasts plenty of flower displays, vendors and lectures. In fact, it boasts 4 lectures at a time (in different rooms) for 4 time slots on the four days! Want to learn how to grow plants for Monarch butterflies? Learn about ground covers or decorative grasses? Build a water garden? An expert will tell you all about it.
Two regular New England flower shows are not scheduled for 2016. The Vermont show, one of my favorites, is on a two-year cycle, and this is an off year. The Portland, Maine show is also not happening this year. They are moving the show out of the ancient warehouse it has been in to new quarters next year.
The biggest show of the east, in Philadelphia, will be held March 5 to 13 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center (www.theflowershow.com). The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society has been holding this event since 1829, when Andrew Jackson was President! It covers about 6 city blocks and will be attended by over a quarter of a million people over a nine-day period. It’s not inexpensive: an adult ticket is $27, kids are $15. No special deals for elders. Still, if you love the flower shows, you should travel to it at least once.
Then comes the Boston Flower Show (www.bostonflowershow.com) March 17 to 20 at the Seaport World Trade Center. This in another big show that is worth seeing. Like the Philly show, don’t go on the weekend if you can avoid it. It starts on a Wednesday, and will be much less crowded then, and on Thursday.
Boston Flower Show
The Boston show has a remarkable number of vendors selling everything from teak furniture to garden tools, plants and pottery. The gardens created for viewing are always interesting, as are the individual entries of potted plants, flower arrangements and more. Tickets are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors. Travel companies often offer package deals including bus fare and admission – which might be nicer than driving in Boston traffic and paying for parking.
The Seacoast Home and Garden Show (http://seacoast.
The last flower show in New England is in Bangor, Maine, the BDN GardenShow (http://bdnmainegardenshow.
Actually, the last – and perhaps the best – of the shows takes place May 24 to 28in London: the iconic Chelsea Flower Show (https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-
The show is less commercial than ours, I gather, and is both indoors and out. The scope of the show is absolutely amazing – it even includes masses of vegetables. And the Queen goes every year, too! Another friend sent me a link to an hour BBC television special on the 2015 Chelsea Show, which got me even more excited about going: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
So go to a show, even if you can’t make it to London.
Henry gardens in Cornish Flat, NH. Reach him by e-mail athenry.homeyer@comcast.net. His website is www.Gardening-Guy.com. He is the author or 4 gardening books.
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.
The Flower Shows
The old timers say that on Groundhog’s Day you should still have half your woodpile left. I say you should have ordered your seeds and made plans to attend at least one spring flower show. I’m still working on my seed orders, but would like to share the details of the flower shows with you now so you can make plans, too.
The first each year on the list of shows is the New Hampshire Orchid Society show in early February, this year February 8-10. It is just orchids. Orchids of all kinds, and paraphernalia for orchid growers. Adults are $10, seniors $6, and you can get a $2 off coupon on their web site ((www.nhorchids.org)). It’s at the Radisson Hotel in Nashua.
Rhode Island Show 2012
The first big shows are in Providence, RI and Hartford, CT on the weekend of February 21-24. I attended the Rhode Island show these last 2 years, and loved it! It has many of the attractions of the Boston show, but not the crowds and crazy drivers of Boston. It has a good menu of speakers, an excellent variety of vendors and plenty of floral displays. I also love the sand sculptors that create magical sand castles – almost life size.
The Providence show is held in the Rhode Island Convention in downtown Providence. Admission is$19 for adults, but you can save $2 by buying in advance. There is also a food and wine show featuring well-known chefs from 1-5 daily; if you intend to attend that, the price for both is $30. Info: www.flowershow.com.
The Connecticut Flower and Garden Show will be at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, February 21-24. The theme this year is “Love in Bloom” and boasts 300 booths and 80 hours of seminars. I went on a Saturday last year, and it was very busy – almost too busy, for me. But there is a lot to see. Admission is $16 for adults and, please note, they only accept cash for tickets at the door. Info: www.ctflowershow.com.
Rhode Island Snow 2012
One of my favorites is the biennial Vermont Flower Show, held this year on March 1-3 at the Champlain Valley Expo Center in Essex Junction, Vermont. I love that the members of the Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association all work together to create special exhibits – rather than competing against each other. This year’s theme is “The Road Not Taken” after the Frost poem. Parking is free and easy, crowds are reasonable, there is plenty to see, and there will be a nice variety of speakers. I’ll be presenting Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Admission is $15, only $3 for kids 3-17 and $12 for seniors over 60.
The Vermont Show is a family-friendly show: There is a nice family activity room where they will have performers as well as art supplies and games. The Vermont Federated Garden Clubs Association encourages children to enter a container-grown plant with interesting foliage or flowers. And, for kids of all ages there is a great display of model trains. This is the smallest of the shows, but full of flowers and flowering shrubs. There will be an excellent show of stonework by Dan Snow, a dry stonewall expert. Info: http://greenworksvermont.org/
Rhode Island Show 2012
The Philadelphia Show is the opposite of the Vermont Show: big, busy, and brassy. It has been in existence since 1829, and hosts over 250,000 visitors each year. It will be held March 2-10 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. Tickets are (ouch!) $27 – but worth it. If you’re a serious gardener, you must go at least once in your life! Info, http://theflowershow.com/.
The Portland, Maine Flower Show is March 7 -10 at the Portland Company Complex on Fore St, downtown. Tickets cost $13. Info: http://portlandcompany.com.
Boston is another big show with lots to offer. Held each year at the Seaport World Trade Center, it is March 13-17. Lots of displays, lots of speakers. Reading the list of talks, I loved this one: “Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Container Gardens” by Deborah Trickett. That alone is almost enough to get me there! There are lectures by plenty of well known garden experts to choose from. Tickets are $20. Info: http://www.bostonflowershow.com.
After Boston comes The Seacoast Home and Garden Show in Durham, NH on March 23-24. A nice small show. Tickets are only $8. Info: www.NewEnglandExpos.com.
The last show of the season is Bangor, Maine April 5 to 7 in the Bangor Auditorium. Their website www.bangorgardenshow.com
We can’t change our weather, but we can change our attitudes about winter – by going to the garden shows. I recommend it. Smell the daffodils, go to a lecture, buy something in bloom. You’ll feel better.
You can reach Henry at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, NH 03746 or henry.homeyer@comcast.net. His websites are www.gardening-guy.com and www.henryhomeyer.com.
Flower Shows of New England
Before we launch into this week’s article…
Gardening Classes with Henry
Lebanon College: Gardening: A Practical Workshop. Garden writer Henry Homeyer will teach you the basics of organic vegetable and flower gardening. From garden design to seed-starting , planting, watering, weeding, mulching, and harvesting, this course will give each student practical knowledge of gardening. Tuesday nights from 6:30-8:30 for 5 weeks, April 3-May 2.Contact Lebanon College to reserve a spot for this5-part workshop www.lebanoncollege.edu or call 603-448-2445.
AVA Gallery, Lebanon. Henry will teach 3 classes at AVA Gallery this spring. You may sign up for one or all of these workshops:
Sculpting the Living Landscape: Starting Flowers from Seed
April 9; Monday, 6:30–8:30pm; One 2-hour class
Sculpting the Living Landscape: Perfect Perennials for the Upper Valley Garden
April 23; Monday, 6:30–8:30pm; One 2-hour class
Sculpting the Living Landscape: Organic Techniques for Enriching Soil and Managing Pests
May 7; Monday, 6:30–8:30pm; One 2-hour class
For more information go to www.avagallery.org or call 603-448-3117.
Each year I rejoice at the coming of the flower shows – they bring a taste of spring. By the time they arrive I‘m more than ready for blooming daffodils and tulips; I hunger for leafy trees and shrubs – even indoors. And I like their ambience: it’s like strolling down the midway at a country fair – but the products are different. Instead of trying to win a bear, I take a chance buying new and different bulbs or plants I can’t get in the ground for another 3 months. The hawkers, instead of selling temporary tattoos and Harley tee shirts, are selling garlic peeler/dicers and handy gadgets for cleaning floors.
The season starts February 11-12 with the New Hampshire Orchid Society’s annual show in Nashua, NH at the Radisson Hotel. Admission is $10, $6 for seniors. It’s a small specialty show, but nice. www.nhorchids.org.
Rhode Island Flower Show Sand Sculpture
The first big one, The Rhode Island Show, occurs February 23-26, and I can’t wait! I went last year for the first time and loved it. They have a wonderful line-up of speakers and educators showing slides and sharing wisdom. There is a real independent bookstore with hundreds of different titles of gardening books – I could stand there all afternoon, just thumbing through them. There are artists, craft producers and –get this – sand castles ten feet tall! (Someone brings in truckloads of sand and artists make a wonderland of castles with moats and gnomes and fairy princesses. It was fabulous last year, and will be there this year, too)
Last year the Rhode Island Show had competitions to see who could make the best sculpture using vegetables and fruit. There were garden hats decorated with flowers and –can you believe it? – women’s bathing suits made of leaves and flowers (displayed on mannequins, not gardeners!) There was beautiful stonework for inspiration, and lots and lots of plants – this year there will be 100,000 blossoms, I’m told. They are adding a food and wine section to the show in conjunction with Johnson and Wales College of Culinary Arts, among others. The show is at the Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence. Tickets $18-15. www.flowershow.com.
That weekend (February 24-26) is also the Connecticut Flower Show in Hartford. I went last year after leaving Providence and it was pretty crowded that Saturday – Saturdays anywhere are the busiest, and to be avoided if possible. It has over 300 booths and 80 workshops to attend over the course of the weekend. This year the theme is “Fabulous Fifties”. Tickets are $16. www.ctflowershow.com.
Next comes the Flower and Patio Show in Worcester, Massachusetts at the DCU Center March 2-4. I’ve never attended, but from what I’ve heard a major emphasis is on patios, outdoor furniture and the like. Tickets are $10. www.centralmaflowershow.com.
The Portland, Maine show is March 8-11 at the Portland Company Complex. Tickets are $15. www.portlandcompany.com.
If you don’t mind traveling, the Philadelphia Flower Show is March 4-11. Admission is $27, but the show is huge – and has gorgeous displays – it’s worth a visit if you can afford the trip. www.theflowershow.com.
Boston Flower Show Stone Sculpture
The Boston Flower Show is always a big event. It’s at the Seaport World Trade Center, March 14-18. I went last year and liked it despite the crowds. Admission is $20. Lots of displays, lots of garden paraphernalia for sale- plan a full day. This year’s theme is “First Impressions” – stressing the “Wow! Factor”. www.masshort.org.
New Hampshire has the Seacoast Home and Garden Show each year at the Whittemore Arena in Durham. This year the dates are March 24-25 and tickets cost $8. www.homegardenflowershow.com.
Bangor, ME has a show April 6-8 at Bangor Auditorium. Tickets are only $5. www.bangorgardenshow.com.
The Vermont show, always one of my favorites, is now held only every other year and is not happening this year.
Whimsy at the Vermont Flower Show
And for those of you with deep pockets, there is the Chelsea Flower Show in London, England May 22-26. Definitely on my list of places to go before I kick the bucket, I’ve never been, alas. It sounds incredible. www.rhs.org.uk/shows.
I try to go to at least 3 flower shows each year. There is something about the scent of flowers in winter that draws me in, and there is always much to learn at the lectures and demonstrations. Maybe I’ll see you at one.
Henry Homeyer’s web site is www.Gardening-guy.com. Go there to see photos of last year’s shows. His e-mail is henry.homeyer@comcast.net
Boston Flower Show
- Rhode Island Flower Show Fashion