[gardeners] spring weather

Barb Rothenberger (gardeners@globalgarden.com)
Sat, 14 Mar 1998 06:45:27 -0600 

Bah humbug.  We still have some of the terrible white stuff on the ground.
what a rude awakening.  Husband has been checking buds - it got down to -2
or 3.  Thinks our marvelous old weeping cherry will NOT bloom this year.
sob.  It is always so gorgeous.  The corcus etc. of course are unharmed and
have to admit, glad we had the snow to help protect all of them.  At least
we dont have a crop of peaches, etc. we need to worry about for our living.
 Just will miss some of these things.  He also thinks the azaleas are a no
show, know for sure the tree peonies will not favor us with their gorgeous
blooms, either.  
	I have been waiting to post about the flower show hoping I would hear from
the photo place where I sent my pictures and could direct you all to their
web site to view them, but so far no photos.  
	Will have to tell you that the show was VERY crowded - on the Sunday it
opened (we went on tuesday) the news said 32,000 people were in attendance.
 Not sure how many were there on Tuesday, but quite a few.  It was
difficult to see some of the exhibits - had to inch your way in or stand in
line to shuffle thru.  
	It was beautiful, of course.  The theme this year was a passion du jardin
or if you don't know French (like me, but this wasn't hard to figure out)
the Passion of the Garden.   The main garden as you walk in was desiged
after Chateau de Villandry's potager or kitchen garden.  It was lovely, but
not terribly colorful.  The show stopper as far as we were concerned was
the copy of the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.  This didn't have mirrors as
much as huge lavish flower arranagements down both sides = absolutely
stunning.  I took quite a few pictures of this - do hope they turn out, but
there were soooo many people!
	Of course, there was a mini Eiffel tower with a garden around it.  Several
rooms were set up to simulate the French home - kitchen and dining room
with authentic 17th and 18th century pieces - all with appropriate floral
arrangements, of course.  You could even have had a dinner cooked by
students of the cooking school La Varenne for only $100 (we took along a
banana and crackers for our gourmet meal).  
	One thing I liked the best was that the commercial section was way off to
the side - plus all were plant related. I have been to some where they sold
EVERYTHING.  The only thing we bought was a coffee mug that said Phila
flower show.  My sister-in-law bought a little african violet.  People were
buying stems of pussy willy like mad as well as many many cut flowers.  Ray
looked at the orchids and was tempted, but the thought of carrying them
back to MO with us on the plane.......
	Anyway, we enjoyed the show, wish there weren
t so many other people there as well, but also know if there weren't the
crowds, there wouldn't be a flower show!
We have both decided once was a enough, however.  NEXT year we plan to
attend the Chelsea Flower show.  Already made our reservations!  Saving up
our frequent flyer miles!
	One other thing to mention - if you go, they say the best time of day is
between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. we took a bus tour from my sister-in-law's home
- it got us there at 10:30 and we left at 3:00 and it looks like a LOT of
other buses were doing the same!
	Barab
Barb Rothenberger
Columbia, Mo,