So, I didn’t make it to the Northwest Flower and Garden Show. Although I knew it would be a disappointing alternative, I hauled my pregnant self to the BC Home and Garden Show as a sort of consolation prize.
It’s taken me a while to be able to write about the experience. I’ve needed time to gain some perspective. I’ve needed to simmer down.
When I got back from the show, I tossed a roll of toilet paper to my husband.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“The best thing about the show,” I replied. A free toilet paper sample.
Four days later, I think perhaps I was being a little harsh. But just a little. It was that bad. There’s really no excuse for it, either. A lot of money was put into marketing and executing the event. The show home featured “the latest in sustainable, modular-style architecture.” The display gardens featured a series of “urban decks.”
Then why did I find myself wandering through aisle after aisle of uninspired booths hawking vinyl siding, closet organization systems and gutters? How come so few of the booths were interactive? Why didn’t they offer anything back to the consumer? So many booths were promoting a service – why does that seem to mean their booths don’t have to engage the consumer? Why would I want to learn about a new credit card offering, chiropractic treatment, or newspaper subscription? And why on earth were there four booths selling massage chairs?
So I guess my gripe is both with the vendors’ lack of creativity and effort, and the event organizers for being indiscriminate in their vendor acceptance process.
Now I’ll say something nice.
Juliet Lin did a nice little patio display using ELT green wall panels. It’s great to see how green walls can be adapted to a small space. Juliet even used edibles in her panels.
Continuing the green wall trend, gsky Anne Talbot-Kelly Garden Design went for drama with this simple panel featuring black mondo grass (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’). See Anne’s comment on the thought process behind her design as well as a description of all the suppliers involved.
This display, by The Great Canadian Landscaping Company and Cedar Rim Nurseries, merged two of the top trends – the living wall, or, in this case, a living arbour – and the fire bowl.
Worth the price of admission? I’d say no. But I’m sure I’ll be back in a few years – if only to see if the show has improved!
Jim/ArtofGardening says
I think this has happened at all home & garden shows around the country. Much like HGTV, the emphasis is on home, rather than garden. Well, that, and chiropractic & massage needs.
I’m not going to our Home & Garden show. I will be at the local landscape & nurseryman’s version, Plantasia. I’ll be manning a booth for Garden Walk Buffalo for a bit. It gets me in for free!
ricki says
Amen to that. In Portland OR, the Yard, Garden & Patio Show (with many commercial booths, but mostly garden-centric wares) and the Homes & Garden Show (a cousin to the show you so vividly describe) have for many years fallen on the same weekend. This year they were a week apart, so I bestirred myself to H&G. The plant sale and landscaping displays were an oasis in a sea of aluminum and plastic…horrors!…never again!
kate says
It sounds remarkably like the home and garden show here … I will find out soon if there are at least some living plants featured now.
I stopped going because there hasn’t been any greenery shown at all – patios, outdoor furniture, but nothing about gardening.
Anne Talbot -Kelly says
Hi,
Thank you for the compliment on our display….I just wanted to make a wee correction. The display was not done by G-Sky but myself…Anne Talbot -Kelly. G-Sky loaned me their system and we adapted it to fit our structure. It was a communal effort…which is why I put all of our names onto the sign. So, the order of things were Anne Talbot-Kelly Garden Design (me ) designed it,( this is somewhat of a replica I did at the Bentall Center” Gardens in the City” project last spring with “Fireworks”,and Tom Stulberg…that garden was featured in Georgia Straight last weekend with an interview with G-Sky ) Ray Lachance’s Handcrafted built the wall structure,G-Sky supplied the plant system, Moonshadows installed the lighting, Northwest Landscape Supply loaned the stones, my kids,and friends supplied their feet for my sparkling, green footprint wall,and the ocean lent us the seaweed to scatter along the shoreline of the display.
I’m interested to hear your feedback as I feel the show always lacks in innovation but this one I did feel was the best so far……I wanted to do an interactive display but logistically could not as my space kept changing (which I love!)and I had to improvise even on the day of installation! So I hoped to leave people wondering about the wall and using Art as a message to walk lightly on our Earth as the footprints went from big to tiny newborn size. I’m curious if anyone got it as I did not want to spell it out , that seemed too easy…let the imagination work….
Thanx, Anne Talbot-Kelly
Andrea Bellamy says
Thanks for the correction, Anne. Sorry I goofed that up. I will make a note in the post. I did enjoy the display gardens; my comments about lack of innovation were more directed toward the tradeshow booths.
Juliet Lin says
Thank you for including our patio under “nice”, we agree with you whole heartedly. This is a first in many ways for Peter Toews and myself. Our first co-designed and collaborated effort, our first display at the BC Home and Garden Show.
We are grateful to Uli Rasehorn of Spirithouse for the loan of the Thai sculptures and decor, ELT for the living wall panels, Rona for cedar strips, indoor/outdoor carpet and lights and Roberta for the loan of her patio chairs.
The dismantled living wall has provided me with a fresh salad, some herbs, an indoor zen moss garden and….do you know anyone who has a wheatgrass juicer?