2003 Vermont Flower Show Blooms in Burlington

Author: Kelsey Rinehart

From Feb. 28 to March 2, thousands of flower fans flocked to the Sheraton Conference Center in Burlington for the annual Vermont Flower Show. The Vermont Association of Professional Horticulturists and the University of Vermont (UVM) sponsored the show, which was rated one of Vermont's top 10 winter events by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce. The theme for 2003 was "Over the River and Through the Woods." The show featured educational seminars, flower displays with a model train layout, a professional floral competition including the floral artwork category, both non-profit and commercial exhibitors, children's activities and other sights and diversions.
One of the featured speakers was Carol Ann Margolis, a teacher, museum educator, horticulture lecturer at UVM and the University of North Carolina and consultant to the National Gardening Association. Margolis has horticulture in her blood, and has been in love with plants all her life. "I still remember growing a bean (red scarlet runner bean) up to the second floor window of my house. Unlike Jack, I never climbed it, but was amazed how it grew. I also had the experience of having a pumpkin seed grow out of a bathroom sink. It happened because we washed and cleaned pumpkin seeds before roasting them in the oven. I was happy since my mom helped me pull the seedling out and transplant it into soil. No pumpkins grew, but I guess it was the beginnings of my horticultural career."
She graduated from UVM with a double major in botany and plant and soil science and received her Master of Science from Michigan State University. She has spread her enthusiasm for the world of flowers and insects to eager listeners at libraries, schools, daycare centers and garden clubs. On her invitation to speak at the 2002 Vermont Flower Show, Margolis said, "I was delighted to do a talk on butterflies and blooms since I was involved in creating a live, outdoor, 600-square-foot native butterfly house at the Virginia Living Museum. Monarch butterflies are my specialty."
This year, Margolis chose a different path. "I decided it would be fun to do a talk for adults on 'Sex in the Garden.' I dressed in a full bee costume with antennas on my head. I brought slides, puppets and additional bee costumes to make the presentation come alive," she said. She described "the vectors of pollination: wind, water, and the most common, animal," the "results of floral sex (fruits are the mature ovaries and the fertilized eggs become seeds)," and the "common Vermont pollinators: bees, butterflies, hummingbirds, beetles, flies (no fruit bats here)." Margolis also tried to convey the importance and fragility of the balance between pollinators and plants.
"I encouraged the audience to plant a pollinator garden since many pollinators' habitat has been destroyed for shopping malls and new homes. It is said that one out of every four honey bee colonies has died since 1990. In many cases, this is due to pesticides, disease, loss of habitat, etc." she noted.
Margolis said, "I think they all had fun learning about sex in the garden. I did keep it mostly G-rated. Garden-rated is what I told them!" She recalled one of the highlights: "You should have seen the six-foot guy I chose to dress in a bee costume on Sunday and help me pollinate some flowers. It was great fun."
Sandy Burkholder, who runs the Blossom Basket, a flower and gift shop in Middlebury, said, "I think it's a great show for this area. We're lucky that we have people that are willing to put the effort forward. I'd love to see more people involved with it. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for people to get involved with something that's so worthwhile." Burkholder entered a floral design piece in the show's competition. "The design thing is a great experience because I think you learn from doing it, whether you win or not. It's an exciting feature," she said.
Thirty presentations scheduled throughout the weekend gave curious visitors and aspiring gardeners and horticulturists a diversion from the exhibits themselves. In addition to "Sex and the Garden," seminars such as "Vermont's Most Wanted Invasive Plants and What We Can Do About Them," "Extending the Day: A Guide to Gaining Time by Lighting the Landscape," "Gardening with Wildlife," "Growing the Best Vegetable Garden Ever," "Growing Fruits Successfully" and "Bonsai" intrigued listeners.
Words of wisdom were given by landscape designers, horticulturists, professors, private nursery and garden owners and representatives from the Nature Conservancy, the Vermont Departments of Agriculture and of Fish and Wildlife and the Woodstock Historical Society.
Both Burkholder and Margolis are excited about the 2004 Vermont Flower Show. "Hopefully it will continue and grow into something even bigger and better," Burkholder remarked. "The Vermont Flower Show is a wonderful event that allows everyone (usually 8,000 people enjoy the three-day show) to share their passion for gardening. Kudos to the VAPH for putting it on each year! Next year, I am hoping to do a family program with the topic 'Garbage Can Horticulture' - growing things from your dinner table - oranges, papayas, pineapples etc."