Had my first visit to the Cincinnati Flower Show this morning before it opened. Beautiful sunny crisp day and perfect for a stroll.
Loved this view of the Marquees. In the foreground is the Tulip 'Carl Lindner'. A very lovely carmine red long stemmed variety.
A pretty window box planted by the Indian Hill Garden Club
A ready made Folly for your garden. Sculpted in England. This hut inspires me to get going on woodland garden. A great place to hide out.
Will post more pics later on.
See you at the show!
Garden club members entered their best blooms
...
Some displays from horticultural suppliers and designers...
It won't appear in the photo as unique and fun as it was in the show, but the Munich Germany Parks display was colorful and fun.
A close-up of a German Children's birthday party in the park...
One of the gold medal winners--- a deliciously fun ladies' party...
And Tiffany's Garden Party entry. Quite an eye-catcher with the Emilio Pucci fabrics and all the flowers.
...
Pictures are great!
Is the show through next weekend?
Mary, I believe so.
Here is the link http://www.cincyflowershow.com/
An exhibit for 'alternative fuels'-- very cute and garnered lots of attention.
Looks KILLER t!
We will be going down Saturday.
Ric
I was there Wednesday morning as well. Actually I have been there every day as I have a couple of windowbox exhibitions and tidy it up every morning or evening. Both have received gold and one won a special award.
I probably will go when it closes tonight. I hope my plants survived the cold last night.
What are the box #'s I want to be sure to see them?
Ric
Ric,
They don't have numbers but the titles are:
Are you going to Scarborough Faire?
and
Dancing in the Sunset
The first one I did alone and the second one my garden club.
There is a windowbox and hanging basket for each exhibition. It is by Moonlight Gardens.
A couple of years ago won Gold on container exhibition. I think I am going to enter the container exhibition next year. I like it better and I have come up with a neat theme which I think will do good.
....another pretty window box
....
...moonlit--did I happen to snap your entry? There were so many entries and all so pretty...
One of them was the herbal entry. Here is one of my entries "Are You Going to Scarborough Faire" and the Designers comments:
Are you going to Scarborough Fair?
Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme
Remember me to one who lives there
For she was once a true love of mine.....
Scarborough Fair” is a traditional English ballad made popular in the 1960’s by Simon and Garfunkel. This song dates back to late medieval times, when the English seaside resort of Scarborough held its annual 45 day fair where tradesmen from all over the world sold or traded their wares including exotic spices, herbs, plants and flowers. Along with the herbs mentioned in the ballad, we have included some exotic and some local flowers which could have been sold or traded at this fair that was held annually until late 19th century.
The song tells the tale of a young man, jilted by his lover, who jokingly tells the listener to ask her to perform for him a series of impossible tasks before he will take her back. The refrain of "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" is full of symbolism. Parsley symbolizes hope and renewal and was used by medieval doctors as a digestive aid to take away the bitterness. Sage has been known to symbolize strength for thousands of years. Rosemary represents faithfulness, love and remembrance, and the custom of a bride wearing twigs of rosemary in her hair is still practiced in England. Thyme symbolizes courage, and at the time this song was written, knights would often wear images of thyme on their shields when they went to combat. The jilted lover in the song, by mentioning these four herbs, wishes his true love mildness to soothe the bitterness which is between them, strength to stand firm in the time of their being apart from each other, faithfulness to stay with him during this period of loneliness and paradoxically courage to fulfill her impossible tasks and to come back to him by the time she can. In one of the last verses of this ballad, the jilted lover is willing to release his true love from fulfilling the impossible tasks if she at least tries to accomplish them.
We chose the color purple for the flowers as purple symbolizes loyalty, beauty and passion.
Plant Materials:
Parsley, Curly Leaf - Petroselinum crispum
Sage - Salvia ‘Berggarten’
Rosemary - Rosmarinus officinalis
Thyme, Creeping - Thymus herba-barona ‘Lemon’
Society Garlic – Tulbaghia violacea
Mullein - Verbascum phoeniceum ‘Violetta’
Blue Salvia – Salvia farinacea ‘Rhea’
Lisianthus - Eustoma grandiflorum ‘Sapphire Blue Chip’
Angelonia - Angelonia angustifolia ‘Angelface Blue’
Ground Orchid - Spathoglottis plicata
Australian Violet - Viola hederacea
Alyssum - Lobularia maritima ‘Easter Bonnet White’
Here is the matching hanging basket.
Here is the other one from my garden club. It won a special award for the use of color and texture.
Nicely done all of them.
Is that Tiarella in the last one?
Which cultivar?
Ric
If you go and check out the windowbox, take a moment and smell the herbal windowbox "Scarborough Faire". It smells heavenly. The other window box showed some damage from the cold night and it doesn't look as nice as it did the first few days.
Here is a link to my web page that shows a picture of the container garden we did a couple of years ago. We also got a gold for that one. I loved it. The theme that year was Monet's garden.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/136171560/1136173318049371157YkHCwG
Ric,
Here is the list of the plants in that box. The 'Blackie' sweet potato is not doing too well with these cold nights. All plants were bought at Marvins Organic Gardens. Marvin is one of the greatest people I have ever met.
Mountain Flax, Phormium cookianum 'Flamingo'
New Zealand Flax, Phormium Tenax 'Bronze'
Coral Bells, Heuchera 'Marmalade'
Foamy Bells, Heucherella 'Stoplight'
Coral Bells, Heuchera 'Sparkling Burgundy'
Iresine, Iresine Herbstii 'Bloodleaf'
Coleus, Coleus 'Solar Sunrise'
Coleus, Coleus 'Super Ducksfoot'
Bacopa, Sutera Hybrid 'Gold & Pearls'
Sweet Potato Vine, Ipomoea Batatas 'Blackie'
Sweet Potato Vine, Ipomoea Batatas 'Margarita'
Super Bells, Calibrachoa Hybrid 'Peach and Cherry Red'
Oops I forgot to mention that my garden club also won a gold for container garden.
Sorry to boast! Here is the entry if you go. It is called the spice of life. It's an herbal container garden. hehehehe!
Here is the side view.
Moonlit--
love your Scarborough Faire window box. So lovely and romantic. It caught my eye the day I was there, but there were people around it so I couldn't get a pic...(maybe you were there?) You certainly have a gift for garden art and container designs. Interesting, fun and beautiful!
I like the out house too, clever name, but you didn't give us the 'Designers Comments' for that one! I wonder what they (you) said about visiting the outhouse!?! LOL
Are you a member of the Cincinnati Hort. Society? Seems like an energetic group to take on planning the Flower Show. I am a newish member, but couldn't volunteer this year because of family matters. Hope to next year.
Aw geez, thank you Tabasco, (blush) =) I enjoy creating things especially if I can make them whimsical.
I am not a member of the Horticultural Society. I probably should join. I am a member of 2 garden clubs and a Herbal group. I did the Scarborough faire windowbox and basket myself while another girl in my club did the outhouse for the herbal group hence the title names. I usually go there after hours to check on the boxes and baskets. I was there today to check and it still looks good although volunteers have been watering, they may have overdone it. Both boxes and baskets were waterlogged. So I hope they make it through Sunday.
Have you been to the Fall Flower Show or Fall Fest at Coney?
Well we'll see how they did tomorrow.
We will be there brigghhtt and early.
Ric
We had a marvelous time at the show today.
Some displays were showing the age but all in all a great show!
I've started a Set of show pictures on Flickr.
I still have over a hundred to add. lol
(including some mind blowers)
I haven't had time to name them so bear w/ me.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnranimals/sets/72057594120462267/
The next set will be shots of every windowbox and hanging basket.
moolit I heard some GREAT comments on yours! Kudoos and it's holding up well.
The outhouse was perfect.
Several people we making notes to do one of their own..
The most asked question...."Why the oil cans?" lol
Ric
Thanks. It's good to know what people think about your stuff. Everytime I enter something for the herbal group, I have to write this long comment so it is understood. It is hard to decorate with herbs because they look weedy so you have to really come up with something that looks good yet incorporates herbs. So I am glad someone liked it.
That's what makes it all worthwhile. I am also glad it is holding up. This is the first time that the flower show runs two weekends. I used to enter the Philly flower show before I moved to Cincinnati. It was inside and you didn't have to worry about the weather. Cincinnati flower show can be a challenge with the rain, wind and frost.
Your pictures are great. I have to tell you a story. When I was living in South Jersey, I saw a picture of a park in Alaska that had upside down tree stumps as planters. So I made one and loved it. When I moved here and we built our home, I took a tree from the woods and also had it turned upside down. Later when I went to Coney Island, I saw that they also had an upside down tree stump as a planter. That was so strange but what was stranger was that I also had a dead tree that I hung flower pots from.
I had bought some hooks at the Philadelphia Flower show and used them. I was surprised to see the same people at the Cincinnati flower show selling the hooks and seeing a tree dressed up the same way with flower pots. That was so cool to see that. Of course theirs looks so much better.
The only disappointment was them moving the pieces like the Outhouse and such indoors.
They have been out around Lake Como till now.
What an impact it would have had in a natural setting.
Ric
Here's the link to my Windowbox Set from the Show.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rnranimals/sets/72057594120476284/
OUTSTANDING boxes all of them.
Great place to get ideas.
Ric
Finally window box and hanging basket made it in one piece. Some browning on leaves and a few droopy flowers but it will survive.
Ric - Your pictures are great. You do have the wrong title for my garden clubs window box and basket. It is called 'Dancing in the Sunset'. I think you have 'Garden Party Pleasures' ; )
I also did not like the container garden exhibition inside. I do like it outside better but a lot of the exhibitors complained of ruined entrys due to wind, rain and cold weather. One year the wind blew part of an exhibition into the lake.
Maybe next year, the Ohio River Valley Gardening Forum should enter the container garden exhibition. I am sure we have very talented people in the forum.
See ya at the Round up on Saturday. I will be there for a while at least. It is my birthday and I think I am being taken out to dinner!
Nice pond!
The box looks perfect there!
Ric
Very interesting and great pics, Ric! And Moonlit, Congratulations again on all of your creativity and bravery to enter the show. (And I like your last pic, too!)
Interesting about the tree trunk story. I was not aware that there was so much interest in those (tree stumps) in the states--I think I counted three different 'stumperie' displays at the Show this week, at least.
In recent history, I think HRH Prince Charles popularized them at his estate and then there was a big Stumperie display at the Chelsea Show, too, a few years ago. Lots of fun and very creative, I heard.
I didn't have the nerve to ask Mr. Taylor (of Taylor Tree) to leave me the whole trunk when our trees came down last year, but he did leave me a big piece of it. He said when we wanted a whole trunk though, we should call him. I think he thought I was totally nuts. But they do make a nice ferny garden container. Should we make a field trip over there to pick out a couple of them and we could really start a rage.
I guess no one else went to the show. Any one else have pics?
Here is a picture from my web site of my upside down tree when I first put it up. I have since changed it somewhat. I call it the fairy house. When my granddaughter visits she loves to sit and watch to see if she sees the fairies. I have tiny fairies inside nooks and crannies in the stump and when the fireflies are out, she thinks that they are the fairies flying around.
I have a large picture of her and a friend sitting at dusk dressed in fairy outfits with all these fireflies surrounding them and sitting watching the fairy house. It's cute.
http://community.webshots.com/photo/89404573/1091272918049371157nidXiW
Here is the website that I got the idea for the upside down tree.
I would love to visit there someday.
http://www.glaciergardens.com/Tours.htm
