Don't be fooled. Inside this thin coating of sweetness is a fiery core of total insanity.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Reminiscing About Past New England Flower Shows

When I lived in Massachusetts, I often went to the New England Flower Show. I was recently looking through old pictures, and thought it might be interesting, entertaining, and informative to post some of the pictures I took back then of the show. I barely knew which end of the point-and-shoot camera to point back then, so if the pictures are blurry or crappy, please be patient. I hope you can at least peer at them and find something of interest.

The New England Flower show always had big display gardens and forced plenty of bulbs and trees for color, just like the Northwest Flower and Garden Show does. Looking through these, I noticed that there was more emphasis on garden and less on outdoor living than we have here in the Seattle show. With the milder, albeit wetter climate here, people do spend a lot more time outside in their yards, on their patios, cooking out, or in the hot tub, even with all the rain. You can't do that in New England, when you are under snow and ice for 3 or 4 months, and most of the winter it's too cold to be outside for long, unless you're a skier.

 















The sign says "You can eat, drink, ferment or apply some part of every plant here."







Sadly, the New England Flower Show is no more. The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, which held the show for 138 years, could not keep it going because of deteriorating finances. The last one was in 2008. It was replaced a couple of years later by the Boston Flower and Garden Show, which is run by an event marketer called Paragon Group, Inc. This year it takes place on March 13-17 at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston, and will have more than 25 display gardens. Check out their Gallery Page here. I've never been to that show, but the website makes it sound like fun!