Yesterday mister gardener and I decided to hop a chartered bus to the 2017 Boston Flower Show at the Seaport World Trade Center, a show that’s a harbinger of spring in these parts. Taking a comfortable chartered bus the hour and a half to door of the show was the wise thing to do. Boston traffic, Boston tunnels, parking…. yikes!

The theme “Superheroes in the Garden,” those plants that we can depend on to bring color and staying power in the garden, met us at the entrance and carried up through all the exhibits. We tiptoed through tulips of various shapes and colors, a pale blue muscari, and tete-a-tete daffodils that seemed to dominate landscapes giving us that blast of color we love in the spring.

Oh how I love water in the garden and we saw plenty of exhibits featuring waterfalls, ponds, and goldfish… and stone paths galore!

The most whimiscal water feature was a fountain of cascading water from a garden table into a pool that would be perfect for soaking your feet after a long day working in the garden. I didn’t ask if the flip-flops came with the setting.

I’ve been looking at pergola designs for our property so it was fun to see the different exhibits featuring them. Attracting lots of attention under a pergola was this feature that simulated flames. Everyone, young and old, felt the ‘flames’ and I saw a few check to see if there was wine in the bottle.

The crème de la crème was a dry stone house by Maine Stonework, patterned after a miniature version of superhero Tinkerbell’s fairy neighborhood in Neverland. Nestled in a moss forest full of conifers, it was a creative work of art and deservedly won Best of Show plus several other awards. Want to see it being assembled in a time-lapse?

We saw a chicken coop with clucking chickens, a ‘she-shed,’ an actual tiny house that one could tour, lots of wonderful stonework, lots of lectures and demos, and plenty of plants, woody shrubs, and trees that would do well in our zone 5+ gardens. All good.

We meandered up and down the maze of commercial vendors, many not garden themed yet it was entertaining and business was brisk. We saw booths featuring jewelry, scarves, jams and preserves, soaps, moisturizing lotions, tea towels, sweaters, shoes. We sampled a variety of foods from nuts to honey and if we had worn boots, we could have them conditioned and sealed as we saw other do.

Garden themed vendors were numerous: flowers, fountains, garden seeds, bulbs, patio furniture, containers, pots, statuary, baskets, garden tools, and antiques for the garden. We especially enjoyed visiting Gardens Alive, Walpole Woodworkers, Fine Gardens magazine (a sponsor), and a variety of other garden related booths. We chatted with folks at the master gardener booth and those at the Mass Hort booth and were even serenaded by the Sweet Adelines… and they were sweet!

A tiny tree in the Bonsai Display caught my attention. I had young Cornus mas trees in my Virginia landscape and a son had a large and beautiful 25′ Cornus mas in his Ohio yard. So unique and beautiful a tree, I did not know what to think about this thick trunked mini-version. I certainly admire the skill and creativity involved in keeping this amazing Bonsai version healthy and in full bloom for the show!

The judged floral arrangements featuring superheroes were impressive…. and had to smile at the “Brace Yourself” competition featuring bracelets of dried plant material designed for superhero and champion Wonder Woman.

Click photos to enlarge

Our day ended in late afternoon and we were ready to make the journey home. This wonderful Boston outing helped us flirt with spring… at least for a day until we returned home and were greeted by another day of snow and sleet.

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