I would recommend attending this event this year. The line up of speakers is very good. I went Thursday and it was great! I went to the hour long talk by Dr. Micheal Dirr. It was entitled: New Plant Introductions and it was standing room only! And they ran out of hand outs, twice. Luckily, I got one. (You can get the info. at www.plantintroductions.com) Plus, I sat next to a UGA volunteer that told me about a special open house on July 11th at the UGA Trial Garden that will be hosted by Dr. Allen Armitage. I thought some of y'all might be interested in that cool bit of info. I'm going if at all possible!
Anyway, back to the show info., I love it being at the Galleria. (I live in Cobb). Free parking makes a HUGE difference. I got $2 off the entrance fee since I showed my Atlanta Botanical Garden Membership card. So instead of $16 + $10 parking at the Congress center downtown, it only cost $14. So naturally I bought more plants! I was there from 11:30 am to 4:15 pm!
Thursday is my day off from work and the kids, so I spent it doing just what I wanted. I went to a couple talks, slowly mosied around the gardens and did some lazy shopping. I finally bought a garden hat that has a flap to protect my neck. I also made my annual purchase of Euphorbias from No Longer Bound. It was a great day that I had been looking forward to for a very long time!
Southeastern Flower Show at the Galleria - go if you can!
Sounds great.
Danita and I met up Friday at the show. I had a great time. This is my first time going to the show, so it was a little overwhelming at first. My favorite is the exhibit immediately to the right as you come in the door.
I bought my ticket online on Tuesday for $12. Got there around 10:30am, so it wasn't too crowded and I didn't have to wait in line since I had my e-ticket already. If my schedule permitted, I could have gone in the evening for $10.
Yes, the free parking is fantastic. I'm glad they were thinking of our pocketbook as well. I was determine to get out w/o buying anything but was not successful. After seeing the Daphne at the Oakland exhibit, I bought one. I also bought a small container for Geranium Vancouver Centennial. Very pretty. I saw lots of things I wanted but I thought I did pretty good with just 2 plants. My favorite thing was this lady from Texas with a booth in the far back corner. She sold these nice and heavy iron garden accessories - trellis and arbor and planters and all kinds of cool stuff. She only does shows and they don't ship, so if you don't buy it this year, you'll have to wait until next year or another garden show somewhere. I thought her prices were very reasonable. I didn't buy anything. I've already bought a few pieces a couple of weeks ago at Hobby Lobby, so I didn't need anything else.
Oh and if you go and this is your first time - BRING YOUR CAMERA! I couldn't believe I forgot mine.
This was my first year at the show and I enjoyed every minute I spent there. I just wish that I could find a source for some of the plants that I saw.
Beth