Another Flower Show is History

Just finished closing down the Boston Flower Show last night. I entered one plant, my ponytail palm, that looks like a camel. It won a Blue Ribbon and a Cultural Certificate from the MA Horticultural Society. It was interesting bringing the show back in the new location but enjoyable anyway.
Here's my prize winner which won in the Class: Plant propagated by the exhibitor, over 1 year old.
I bought the PTP caudex at a cactus and succulent sale from its previous owner 5 years ago. I potted it up and it took two years to root. Another three to actually look show-worthy. The previous owner saw it at the show last week and was impressed! which is almost as good as the blue ribbon.
Did anybody get down to Boston to see the show?
Martha

No we didn't know the location of the location. Weird way to put it, but that was the problem. congratulations on your win. Any more pictures?

Congrats on your blue ribbon. Well deserved I'm sure. I was glad to see they had revived the Boston show this year. Wish I could have gone to see all the green things. How were the exhibits? Was it as large as the old ones?

good job Martha!!

YAY Martha! I'm so used to getting stepped on, over, and not being able see through people's legs that I stopped trying to go years ago. In my experience, it's hard to come back from a non-year. Was it advertised as much? Were there fewer people? Where was it????

did not get to go either - what does "interesting" mean?

last time i went was like being at large german trade show - which means full contact bumper cars if no one has ever been to a trade show in germany - i was concerned with my recent lack of patience in grocery stores to make the attempt to see the show.

We usually went during 'members' hours. One time we went during those hours on the 2nd weekend & found it much less crowded. Did not go this year as not sure how to get to the location. Since it had changed you would think directions would have been included with the tickets. They are so messed up right now that I'm not sure when they will send membership renewals. I miss Horticulture magazine.

Yay for Martha....the blue ribbon is wonderful! Yes, Iris, I, too, miss Horticulture Mag. I haven't been to a flower show in years...last one was in Providence, & that was incredibly crowded as well.

Congrats on your blue ribbon.

So Martha, WHERE WAS IT??

The Boston Flower Show was at:
Seaport World Trade Center
Boston, MA 02210
http://www.masshort.org/Blooms-2010

I don't think it was as good as past shows. Not a lot of room between Displays and Vendor booths. To much stuff crammed into to small a space. Not as large as past shows.

Horticulture Magazine is still available, Its no longer part of membership to Mass Horticultural Society. You have to buy it.
http://www.hortmag.com/horticulturemagazine/

The Massachusetts Horticultural Society is trying to recover from its problem.
It needs past members to renew their membership, New members, Volunteers and donations so do your thing whatever it is.

John

It would have been helpful if they had given directions on how to get there.

Directions to Boston Flower Show
http://www.masshort.org/Directions-to-Seaport-World-Trade-Center

jeez - just go to mapquest - the seaport hotel is a pretty big place down near pier 4 - not having directions is not an excuse - sorry to be blunt, i do not buy that excuse:)

You may drive into Boston, we do not! We have never used mapquest or even known about it. My husband uses the computer less than I do--am teaching him e-mail wo he can use it while having my eye work done. Not everyone, especially our age is electronic savy.

did not mean to get you upset lucy - the hotel is one of the bigger ones in boston and i'm sure they assumed folks knew where is was did you try calling for directions?

i totally understand the computer savy issue - had to teach my wife how to use one last year when she started taking on-line courses it began with copy and paste - now she only needs occasional help.

We were sent tickets--nothing else. I think it might have been a last minute 'whoops' some of these people were members. Mass hort is not very efficiant. this may surprise you, but we know nothing about Boston hotels except 'Park Street'. Have never stated in boston except for 1983 AIS convention held there.

My computer course 2 yrs ago was at the library, 4 hours. The 4th time we sent e-mail. I had to come back to the library to practice, unlike the other people did not have a computer at home. We did copy & paste, but as I have not done it since, would have to learn all over again. Because of practice here at DG I managed to send someone a picture via e-mail for the first time last week. Even with directions before hand, had not been successful before.

yup it is all very difficult until you learn how easy it is like most everything - had to teach my wife copy and paste about 6 times and it was beginning to try my patience - then she would be typing a paper on the school website and loss the page and all her work was lost - kept telling her to do it in ms word and copy it over when she was done - that only took 3 times - when you loss hours of work the learning curve increases:) she does pretty well now.

I'm totally with you, Lucy, & my DH wouldn't know how to turn on a computer. I had to go to a wedding in Boston 5 years ago.....saw the skyline, & just kept driving toward it...don't know how I ever found the right hotel!

I used to my way around Boston by subway a million years ago, before it was all built-up and dug up and so forth. Now I don't recognize most of the places. I happen to know where the Seaport Hotel is, coincidentally, but in general if it's less than 25 years old I don't know where it is and I CERTAINLY don't know how to get there. I do use MapQuest a lot, by the way, but they give the wrong directions to MY house! So you can't always believe them. They don't say turn right at the third Dunkin' Donuts, turn left - but not SHARP left, just sort of angle left - where that kid is skateboarding across the street. Neither does a GPS by the way.

We have driven through the city to get to the old flower show site, but don't drive IN it. Take commuter rail if we have to go there.

driving in boston is a crap shoot anyway - and my suggestion of mapquest was wrong as you pointed out carrie since they change the flow of traffic so often - and around the seaport can be a problem if you take a wrong turn.

Hey, folks. I leave DG for a couple of days and you get all excited. The seaport WTC is on Seaport boulevard which is right smack off Exit 25 in the Ted Williams Tunnel. It was so much easier to get to for me from Saugus since the ted entrance is right next to the airport in Revere. My son says this is South Boston. The T only goes to South Station then you would have to hop a Silver Line bus which stops right in front. Parking cost the same, except you had to use lots down the block.
I say interesting because I worked the flower show at the Bayside for 17 years. The Bayside was way larger area wise. They did discuss having it at the Convention Center, but it was way too large for our show. Which even a bayside sized one would have tucked neatly away in a corner of that big cave. It was a smaller show. though the vendors were on either side {I would have liked AmHort and Design in the main hall} they were way trimmed down due to space limitations and there weren't any window salesmen, and other less hortucultural vendors. I did miss some of the old exhibitors.
Also, it only went from Wednesday to Sunday. I miss the extra days. AmHort was smaller as there was only one entry day and a great number of the exhibit classes were not there. However, mine was!!
If there is an opportunity to hold this in a larger venue, I think they should do it. But MassHort is still without a director, and the show was put on by a private company cooperating with MassHort. Though the Flower Show boss was the person who ran it at the bayside for 12 years. All I can say was: it was different.
Here's another picture. This was an apple tree espaliered to the side of the Herb Society exhibit. It was lit just right and in perfect bloom. I thought it was lovely.
Martha

I am going to make a Hens and Chickens crocodile for my own yard!! this was from the Newport Flower Show Exhibit. I want to go there this year. maybe I will see my succulent reptilian again.
Martha

This message was edited Apr 5, 2010 1:03 AM

My friend Arthur's dish garden. Art has forgotten more about cacti than most of us put together will ever know. He enters every category he can with cacti and succulents.
Martha

Some camellias from the Camellia Society exhibit. They were gorgeous.
Martha

They had a section of real wedding cakes called "The Garden of Cakes" This one was one of my favorites. The watering can was really metallic looking and the sugarwork flowers were exceptional both in shape and colors.
Martha

Design had an entry class of faux cakes. The work on this one was exceptional. I love the woven palm icing.
Martha

And, last but not least, yours truly on the extreme right with four of the AmHort committee chairmen on the last day of the show. They have been a delight to work with for many years. It's the people that make the show happen.
Martha

Hope you enjoyed these pictures.
Martha

very nice Martha!!

Thank you for the information & the pictures, Martha. Glad that you won your class.Strange, I just got an offer to subscibe to Horticulture Mag in the mail on Sat. Maybe they are chasing MH members.

Thanks, Martha, for the photos....the camellia blooms impressed me, I really love them...& the croc was a hoot.

Thank you, Martha, that was interesting to hear about the history and size and so on, and what lovely pictures! I like the espaliered tree a lot.

I liked the croc also, because the other animals, a lion, a zebra and a giraffe were all made out of dried materials and the croc was made from live ones. The camellia exhibit wasn't large but it had a lot of different varieties floating in the dishes. I enjoy sharing the show with others.
Martha