Good Morning Everyone,

I’m sharing some of my iPhone quick pics from yesterday’s visit to the CT Flower and Garden Show in Hartford, CT.

But fair warning – If you are the type that doesn’t want to see anything revealed before you attend, this is your spoiler alert!

What I found that was different this year:

• Some “new” booths/vendors – New faces, antiques, roses, coir, etc. It was nice to see new vendors and visit with them. Especially friendly was Helen at Yoga Unfettered (she may do a workshop for me this year), Valerie at Garden Guardians (amazing head face pots – love them and was very tempted to buy another as I have purchased her pots before), Sam at FibreDust showing coir as a potting soil (I will be showcasing this product at my workshops and discussing them at my garden talks.)
• Enhanced food court sitting area – Nicely organized with a long bar area, couches, more tables for sitting and relaxing (located by the landscape display areas). It is larger this year, well situated, and relaxing between walking the show floor. Just be careful, if you sit on one of the cozy couches, you may not want to get back up.
• Rearranged vendor spots– While its helpful to be able to locate your favorite vendors in their usual locations on the show floor, there were some vendors located in new spots which made it feel changed up a bit to me. I liked that.

Show Location:

Connecticut Convention Center
100 Columbus Boulevard
Hartford, CT 06103
phone: 860-249-6000
fax: 860-249-6161

Show Hours:

Runs thru Sunday, Feb 21st. Opens at 10 am each day. Tip: Go early, parking in the garage tends to fill up quickly.

Photo Highlights:

In the back row area – Always enjoy the display by Snug Habor – lots of small hand-made hypertufa pots – adorable, small and unique items.

Plant sales by University of CT (left). If you didn’t know, they sell plants from their greenhouses on North Eagleville Road in Storrs by the campus. The photos on the right are from an area at the show on the back right beyond the landscape displays. They have tons of flowering plants and all in full color right now – I believe this is a group of growers that put these out for sale. All healthy.

If you like staghorn ferns – wow – look at this show stopper – was in the back area by Snug Harbor’s booth. Beautiful and tempting.

Over in the far left area is the floral and plant competition space. Look at these amazing cacti and the shoe! There were pieces of significance and really enjoyed browsing this area. Be sure to check out the jewelry pieces made with seeds, plant parts, and earthy finds.

Because of my passion for patio pots and container gardens, I especially enjoyed this piece of art – LOVE how the creator inserted a small pot of a dripping down spiller style plant.

In fact I spotted this plant in the back area in hanging baskets – what are they called again? I’m having a blank moment, but they are adorable, beaded like plants and fun to use in container gardens – as noted above.

Globes, globes, globes are everywhere. Almost every plant related booth had some. They are hot – hot – hot this year and the admiration of these seems to be growing every year. These above are from Natureworks (middle photo) with the adorable bird’s nest with eggs, and Balleck’s on the left and right. We especially liked the thick glass container (left photo) from Balleck’s – a little different, thicker, heavier.

If you are looking for color – it is not in short supply at the flower show. Art and beautiful plants show them off – just look at this moss basket by Balleck’s – Wow, I “almost” purchased that one – it is popping with oranges and yellows.

And I probably shouldn’t have – but I got some of these yummy cookies by Savor. The ladies standing next to me purchasing some told me they enjoy these cookies and return every year to buy some more. They are a small sized cookie which justifies the guilt of eating the extra calories.

And that is all I will post today – as I don’t want to spoil it for you. You should head there today or this weekend. We are lucky this year – no snow to deal with and the sun is shining today. Go check it out – you will enjoy the show.

Cathy Testa
http://www.ContainerCrazyCT.com
860-977-9473

P.S. Lots more photos on my Instagram feed.