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Lush Display Gardens Tips From Top Gardeners
Saturday, February 2, 2008
– If winter’s cold short days leave you longing for summer evenings spent in lush gardens, treat yourself to a great escape amid the drifts of daffodils, grape hyacinths, Jersey tomatoes, and swaths of blooming bee balm at MAC Events 6th Annual New Jersey Flower & Garden Show, February 14-17 at the New Jersey Convention Center in Raritan Center.
“The Garden State’s top gardeners and horticulturists transform the Convention Center into a botanical oasis of color and fragrance,” said show director James McLaughlin, president of MAC Events.
Following this year’s show theme of the Entertaining Garden...Party Among the Petals, exhibits include lush, full-scale display gardens of dazzling color, bubbling fountains, creative lighting, and garden pavilions full of great ideas for outdoor living.
The Garden Club of New Jersey is presenting a standard flower competition, Entertaining All Around the World, which challenges entrants to design arrangements in the manner of European ambiance, Asian flair and American heritage. Others will compete for a Table Artistry Award with themes that include Relaxing on the Patio, Dining on the Deck and Join Me on the Porch.
Show visitors will find orchids, rakes, bulbs, lighting, gloves, pavers and pretty much every garden amenity and hard-to-find gardening tools at the more than 100 booths of exhibitors that make up the Marketplace section of the show.
“Whether you are looking for a more innovative cultivator or a bouquet of fresh flowers you will find a selection in the Marketplace,” McLaughlin said.
The Flower & Garden Show’s free lecture series includes presentation by Paul Tukey, founding editor and publisher of People, Places and Plants Magazine and host of the HGTV show by the same name. Tukey will speak Friday about SafeLawns.org, an international coalition of for-profit and non-profit organizations promoting environmentally friendly lawn care and resource conservation.
Ralph Snodsmith, host of the nationally syndicated radio show, The Garden Hotline, and author of many books including Ralph Snodsmith’s Fundamentals of Gardening and Tips from The Garden Hotline will appear each day of the show to share his tips on techniques and tools for organic gardening.
Joe Lamp’l, a master gardener, certified landscape professional, author, syndicated columnist, and national television host and radio personality, will offer tips on eco-friendly gardening. Lamp’l hosts GardenSMART on PBS and is a frequent guest on The Today Show.
Melinda Myers, television host, contributing editor and columnist for Birds and Blooms and Backyard Living and author of nine books including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening will share her experiences
Show guests are invited to shop the show with the one they love on Valentine’s Day with special two-for one admission after 5:00 p.m. Make it a date. Sip a glass of wine from the Balic Winery and sample tasty cheeses from Cabot Creamery as you enjoy the scents and sights of spring.
Young gardeners are an important element of the show and the NJ Garden Club will present Youth Division ribbons for floral creations on the themes of Party at the Amusement Park, Circus Circus, Let the Good Times Roll and Happy Birthday to You. Rutgers Gardens will conduct hands-on activities for tots through pre-teens during Growing Up Green.
The Home & Garden Show’s display gardens are a focal point of the four-day event and this year’s offerings demonstrate the creativity of some of the state’s most thoughtful gardeners.
The garden should be a source of fun as well as relaxation as Rutgers University students from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences will demonstrate in their display garden of outdoor games and entertainment ideas for a family. Those ideas range from simple games such as checkers and hopscotch to an interactive tic-tac-toe-fountain.
Frank Sarcona and Frank Perkins of Brick will demonstrate how well a garden can serve as entertaining space in a display garden that includes an in-ground pool and surrounding patio along with an outdoor kitchen.
Jay Eriv and the staff of GROUNDS KEEPER inc. of Matawan will present great music and cocktails in a fun and funky atmosphere. Their garden will have two water features, blue stone patios, painted pergolas and a fireplace as well as wide variety of plants.
Richard Snediker of Growing Concern in Cranbury will take visitors on a journey of reflection and relaxation in a garden that includes a patio with fountains and exotic plants as well as an outdoor kitchen.
Bill Brash and his colleagues at the New Jersey Conservation Partnership will present a quaint setting boasting a bounty of New Jersey Fresh produce and flora that also demonstrates conservation techniques including the use of drip irrigation and integrated pest management.
Taking an environmentally friendly approaching is a theme that runs through the exhibits and displays at the NJ Flower & Garden Show and MAC Events is dedicating all of Friday, Feb. 15, to GO GREENER.
“The entire day will be dedicated to green gardening with all aspects of the show focused on protecting the environment,” McLaughlin said. “This is an opportunity to learn how to do your part in the fight against global warming while exploring the latest eco-friendly gardening techniques.”
PSE&G is sponsoring GO GREENER and will display
WorryFree replacement equipment to help fight gas emissions, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and keep energy costs in check. PSE&G also will offer free estimates for the latest energy-efficient replacement heating and air conditioning equipment.
In addition to Lamp’l, Tukey and Snodsmith, GO GREENER speakers include Tom Castronovo, host of the “Backyard Gardener” on NEWS 12 New Jersey and publisher of the Gardener News.
Show guests can get ideas for arranging flowers from gardening gurus when they visit the Bouquet of the Day area on the show floor.
“This show has something for every gardener. Our guests will have an opportunity to bounce their ideas off of the experts they see and hear on television and radio as well as local specialists they can hire and whose stores they can visit,” McLaughlin noted. “You can learn as much in a few hours of hands-on activities at the NJ Flower & Garden Show as you can in a winter’s worth of thumbing through gardening books and magazines.”
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