2007 Ft. Wayne Home & Garden Show

Okay, I'm pumped.

Mom and I attended the Ft. Wayne Home and Garden Show today. There was a little bit of everything to whet our appetites for all the garden-y fun that awaits us in a few weeks, which was the point of it all. Just the smell of the mulch used in the landscaping displays was enough to make me wish it was May instead of March, not that I wasn't feeling that way already.






The orchids and ferns hanging in the entrance to the garden room set the mood immediately. That led to a lovely stone patio and water feature surrounded by tulips, daffodils, and hydrangeas. Ahhhhh...Spring!





Program books and shopping bags were provided, but Mom didn't think she'd need a bag. I was pretty sure I would, and we didn't get far before she'd changed her mind. We were taken in by the copper and glass hanging rooting vases for sale at one booth. There were so many different designs, it was hard to decide on one to take home, but we somehow managed. Next, we spent some time looking over the plant offerings by Country View Greenhouse. I was tempted by some hellebores and heucheras, but managed to resist buying potted plants just yet, since they can't be planted outside for awhile.




It seemed to me that the 'it' thing at the show was water features. There were displays from several different companies that will construct them for you. We saw some neat basalt stone pillar fountains that Mom was pretty taken with. The $800 price tag just for a group of three in graduated sizes puts them out of my range, but they were unique and just my style.







We then made our way to the Butterfly Pavilion. There, you could go into a small enclosed area, where Painted Ladies and Monarchs were fluttering about.

The Painted Ladies were very friendly and they not only landed on you, but you could put your hand near one and it would crawl on and let you hold it.



For eight dollars, you could buy two Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) caterpillars to take home and raise through the butterfly stage. These were being sold here to benefit the American Cancer Society, so not only was it an easy way to try a fun thing, but it was for a good cause.

Next, we bought some Foxtail Lily (Eremurus stenophyllus) bulbs in both yellow and orange, six for twenty dollars, which included two starter pots, liquid plant fertilizer and bonus gladiolus bulbs and anemone corms. We sniffed the tuberose (mmmmmmm...) at the same place, but didn't buy any.

We took our purchases to the car, then returned to listen to Martha Ferguson tell about the gardens and their restoration that she oversees at the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site near Rome City, Indiana. It was fascinating and she enticed us to visit when the weather is warmer. Martha is also known as 'Earth Girl' and is the author of one of our favorite garden blogs, The Good Earth. It was a joy to meet her!

We made a quick run-through in the second large room of displays, where I found and purchased a packet of seeds for the Himalayan Blue Poppy (Meconopsis betonicifolia). Now I've not yet been able to grow a poppy, let alone these somewhat temperamental ones. The seed packet says it's 'somewhat challenging', but for most gardeners, that's just an engraved invitation to try and grow it. Wish me luck.

We bought some teriyaki beef jerky and cinnamon roasted pecans and munched our way around the rest of the displays before deciding to call it a day well spent. And we're going to do it again tomorrow, when we travel to our state capital, Columbus, for the Central Ohio Home & Garden Show.