Flower show previews spring bloom

On March 4–6, Green Works, also called the Vermont Nursery and Landscape Association (VNLA), put on its 15th annual Vermont Flower Show at the Champlain Valley Exposition in Essex Junction, Vt. Hundreds of Green Works volunteers contributed more than 2,000 hours of work for the show, which sought to “educate, entertain and inspire” individuals. Green Works is a non-profit, statewide organization and is comprised of garden centers, greenhouses, landscapers, landscape designers and nurseries, among others. The goal of the group is to “advocate for positive change” and to “serve Vermont’s green industry professionals.”
The theme for this year’s garden show was “Sweet Dreams.” According to Green Works it was made to represent a “fantastical garden journey that relaxes the mind, body and spirit and brings us back to childhood memories of fantasy and imagination.” The show featured more than 80 gardening and food vendors, a flower competition, a medieval themed garden and seminars. Vendors included florists, landscapers, “foodies”, jewelry-makers and greenhouse designers. Some, like Mark Moss of East End Foodies, had never sold at the flower show before. Nonetheless, Moss was delighted to offer customers a taste of his artisan balsamic vinegars, which he dubs “a taste of heaven.”
Other vendors, such as Paul Green of Stowe Tree Experts, had previously attended the flower show. Green, whose business works to maintain healthy trees, said that the flower show “directly and indirectly helps business by getting the company name out there.”
“Some people we meet at the show turn into long time customers,” said Green.
In addition to the vendors, another main attraction at the show was the live, medieval themed garden, planted by Green Works volunteers who were helped by the University of Vermont Master Gardeners. The garden used 400 square feet of sod, 140 cubic yards of mulch, 305 trees and shrubs, 11,746-forced spring bulbs and seven yards of compost. In addition to story-reading “fairies” scattered throughout the garden, the plot housed a Buddhist Shrine, a hobbit house, a medieval castle, a rainforest, a bridge, a flower mountain and a walk-in bird’s nest. Lou Nop, a featured artist at the show, crafted this nest and the bridge. Nop owns Nop’s Metalworks in Middlebury. He also recently completed the new marquee situated outside the Middlebury Town Hall Theater.
The National Garden Club Standard Flower Show, a floral arranging contest, also took place at the festival. The contest had two divisions; one was for design and the other was for horticulture. Within each division there were different classes, and there were four floral arrangements per class. Garden Club members judged each. The design division included categories, like “daydreams,” “gardening gummy bears” and “chocolate sundaes.” Contestants were required to make arrangements that somehow expressed the theme of their category.
“The horticulture division is more educational,” said Jane Murphy of the Burlington Garden Club. “Contestants make arrangements in a way that best represents the genus and species.”
The Vermont Flower Show also offered over 15 educational seminars. Topics included: “Best Practices in Dry Stone Work,” “20 Ways to Be a Green Gardener,” “Growing Grapes in Home Gardens,” “Yes, You Can Paint Flowers,” “Tree Pruning Basics” and “Canning 101.” There were also several cooking demonstrations by Vermont chefs. Classes in local cooking, as well as Italian cuisine, were available.
The Vermont Chamber of Commerce has repeatedly named the Vermont Flower Show one of the state’s Top 10 Winter Events, and it proved to be successful for yet another year.