2019

 

It’s Time For the Home and Garden Show!

 

 

For two weekends in late February and early March, the annual Southern Spring Home and Garden Show, charlottespringhomeandgardenshow.com, comes to the Park Expo and Conference Center, in Charlotte NC. It arrives at that time of the year when many of us gardeners are itching to get out into the garden.

For years, my little horticultural company, Wellspring Gardens, set up at the Washington (D.C.) Home and Garden Show and then at the Maryland Home and Garden Show, in Timonium, Maryland. For several years I did both shows, and then decided to rent space at just the Maryland show.

There were many other local venues where I sold plants, such as Green Spring Gardens Park (Annandale, VA), Towson Gardens Day, Brookside Gardens Herb Fair, the Carroll County Farmers’ Market, the Leesburg VA Garden Festival, and the Garden Festival at Ladew in Monkton MD. These events were held rain or shine. So much fun…and so much work! Most of these occurred before the weekly farmers’ markets started up for the season.

 

 

 

 

Liberty Hall

 

A few hundred exhibitors set up throughout the show, either selling directly to customers or setting up consultations for home improvement. Since time was limited, I didn’t spend it in this section. But when there’s a house to fix up, this is the place to be. Here you can view products and speak with contractors.

 

 

King’s Greenhouse

 

King’s Greenhouse’s booth was located near the front entrance of the home and garden show, with the home improvement contractors. They had lots of plant material that could be planted outdoors now, including pansies and  Heuchera cultivars (coral bells) in various colors, shrubs, and indoor plants. Hardening off the plants first will prevent damage to their foliage.

Kingsgardencenter.com. Phone: (704) 821-7507.

And food vendors were located in a couple of places, so shoppers need never go hungry. I took home a hot dog for Mother (she’d been begging for one) and we shared a really good cheese pastry.

 

 

Freedom Hall

 

Landscape companies set up full-scale gardens in this section of the show, complete with large trees, flowering shrubs, perennials, bulbs, and flowers. There are waterfalls, ponds, pergolas, she-sheds, and a chicken coop! I like to visit this area first, before it becomes crowded. Belgard is one of this home and garden show’s sponsors, so their paving materials feature prominently in the landscape displays.

Here are some of the booths I visited:

 

 

Ikebana International, Charlotte, Chapter 49

 

At the entrance to this section was an exhibit with Ikebana flower arrangements designed by members of Chapter 49. Those who are interested in this ancient Japanese art of flower arranging may attend meetings, held on the first Thursday of September, October, November, February, April, and May. Meetings are open to the public and are free to attend. Marcia and I had a lovely conversation, some of it on the subject of flowers!

www.ikebana49.org.

 

 

 

 

All Natural Streams Landscaping, Billy Provett

 

 

Owner Billy Provett always does a fabulous job with his water gardens. The sound of splashing water, the lure of nighttime illumination, and a restful garden ambiance create a magical place…right in your own back yard!

This pondless waterfall cascades down a slope and into a basin filled with rocks. A pump recirculates the water, sending it back to the top of the stream. This is perfect for a family who would enjoy the sound of water but not the high maintenance of a fish pond. People’s Choice Award.

www.naturalstreams.com. Phone: (704) 577-4306.

 

 

Southern Showplace Landscapes, B. J. Fisher

 

A beautifully illuminated coral-bark maple, seen through the stems of a birch tree (photo, below), got everyone’s attention. So did this firepot, atop a large stone sculpture with water trickling down its sides. Environmental Award.

www.southernshowplace.com. Phone: (704) 699-0815.

 

 

 

 

Plant Man, Elton Liles

 

 

Another beautiful water garden, with a blooming camellia on the right. An important detail is using stone of similar color and varying sizes. Note that in the waterfall, flat horizontal stones make an effective fall. The void behind the cascade magnifies the rich tones of the water spilling into the pond. Best in Show Award.

www.plantmancharlotte.com. Phone: (704) 219-0160.

 

 

Southern Stonescapes, Daniel Flynn

 

 

 

Every landscape is improved by adding some hardscape, whether it’s a gazebo, a paved patio, a boulder outcroppping (with a pond?), or simply a large pot. Landscape the front yard for curb appeal, and personalize the private spaces.

I love this old lichen-encrusted bench. A great way to personalize your garden is to use items that might be gathering dust in the basement or the shed. Best of Outdoor Living Space Award.

 www.sstonescapesunlimited.com. Phone: (704) 309-9117.

 

 

Bushwackers Landscaping, Chad Little

 

 

Part of this display includes an assemblage of stones, plumbed up the center to create a gentle cascade of water spilling over the edge, into a pondless reservoir. Just what thirsty songbirds need in our hot summers!

www.bushwackerslandscaping.com. Phone: (704) 463-0174.

 

 

Old Hickory Buildings of Monroe, Tim Beane, Betty Beane, Amanda Beane

 

A few sheds were on display, one with a couple of chickens! In the back of the shed was a door that led to a covered outdoor run, where the chickens could enjoy some sunshine and pick in the grass whatever it is that chickens pick.

Another looked like the perfect get-away to finish that book, with a cup of coffee and the dog for company. Uh-huh: She-Shed! Or use it for a comfortable potting area, regardless of the weather outside.

ohbofmonroe.com. Phone: (704) 289-5147.

 

 

 

 

The Market Place in Independence Hall

 

I encourage you to visit and shop at these home and garden shows. I know how much work goes into setting up and preparing enough material to keep the booth well-stocked. This one ran for two 3-day weekends, and that requires a tremendous effort to produce inventory!

All kinds of products are available for purchase from the vendors. You can find a couple of companies selling plants, of course, and also artwork, antiques, clothing, housewares, birdhouses, goodies for the kitchen, pottery, wood products, tools, and furniture. Much of it is garden-themed, and some of it is not. And you can order sod and compost, a security system…or book a vacation to get away from it all.

There are fewer plant booths than we gardeners prefer, but that’s nothing new. That’s a perennial problem at home and garden shows such as this one. In February and early March, the weather is a gamble, especially in the colder region back in Maryland. But we had so many more “green” booths! There was the bonsai man, and a few herb vendors, several selling early flowering plants (pansies, ranunculus, forced spring-flowering bulbs, hellebores), perennials, houseplants, the African violet lady, the Plumeria person, and carnivorous plants. I hope this show’s organizers will try to bring in more plant vendors.

 

 

Guest Speakers

 

Just when I needed a break, the YouTube gardening video “sensation” Laura LeBoutillier (“Garden Answer”) and Proven Winners’ director of marketing Marshall Dirks conducted a lively talk to an engaged crowd. Ty Pennington (“Trading Spaces”), Julia Collin Davison (“America’s Test Kitchen” and “Cook’s Country”), and Matt Fox (HGTV’s “Room by Room”) also gave presentations this year.

Several other speakers conducted programs and DIY workshops with topics ranging from aquaponics to bees, cooking to curb appeal, dog training to cake decorating, and chalk paint to herb gardening, among others.

These are just a few of the many booths I visited in Independence Hall:

 

Juice Plus Tower Garden®, Cathy Melesh

You can harvest an impressive amount of produce from this ingenious hydroponic (soilless) system using a vertical growing “field”, where many pockets hold various plants.

A reservoir on the bottom (photo, right) pumps nutrient-rich water to the top of the tower, where the plants’ roots inside absorb what they need. LED lights supply illumination for herbs and greens (or houseplants) indoors.

Or, used outdoors without the lights, you can grow your own salad all summer long!

Bonus: Cathy’s sister, helping at the booth, was a customer at the garden center where I used to work. Small world!

cathymelesh.towergarden.com. Phone: (704) 560-0994.

 

The Card Gallery, Abby D. Morgan

 

 

There really are some of us who still write letters…yes, on paper. So, when I saw these laser-cut pop-up greeting cards, I had to take a few home with me. There wasn’t a pop-up children’s book that I could resist, when my kids were little, so…

http://alexnbo.com/thecardgallery.pdf. Phone: (919) 593-7270.

 

Oakdale Greenhouses, LLC

 

 

A wide variety of plants—Serissa and juniper bonsai, hanging plants with roots enclosed in a ball of moss and twine (Kokedama), succulent gardens, air plants (large and small Tillandsia) in hanging glass globes and other bromeliads, Nepenthes, houseplants both unusual and common—it’s all here!

Every year I end up buying a few. This year I bought a succulent I’d never seen before. It grows in a rosette, like an Echeveria, and it has thick blue-gray leaves with small burgundy dots. And I bought a tiny Ficus pumila quercifolia, with variegated leaves. You’ll find inexpensive 2″ starter pots and larger dish gardens and terrariums.

https://oakdalegreenhouses.com. Phone: (704) 596-4052.

 

 

DirtWorks Pottery, Dan Triece, with Ben Vanpelt

I love pottery. In front of me is a glazed blue coffee mug I bought almost 30 years ago, when my brother and I went to a craft show in New Paltz, New York. No, not from Dan. But this illustrates how these items become members of the family, integrated into our lives…mine anyway. There’s something about bringing home a piece of art that was handcrafted by a “real person” instead of by a machine.

Dan and I chatted while he fashioned tiny ceramic vases on the potter’s wheel. They will have to be glazed and fired, of course, but there were hundreds more ready to sell. I bought two of them, deep blue. As soon as I returned home, I filled the vases with a few violas plucked from the garden. Perfect! Mother and I can enjoy them while we’re working the jigsaw puzzle.

 

 

Also for sale were bowls of all colors and styles, platters, vases, bread dishes, artistically styled pitchers with curved handles, small teabag rests…just beautiful! Phone: (336) 873-8979, Seagrove NC.

https://www.facebook.com/Dirtworks-Pottery-429257577168804/

 

 

 

BBC Expressions, Billie Colley

 

If you like color, take a look at these uniquely painted table tops. Billie paints on plywood rounds, from 22″ to 28″ in diameter. And then they’re coated with a few layers of protective epoxy, a process that takes weeks for completion. But they’re not for outdoor living…treat them as works of art, which they are, and keep them indoors.

I was mesmerized— by the color combinations, by the sinuous swirls, by their simple-but-precise beauty! A cherry base is normally attached when a table is purchased, except when on display at shows.

Certainly this must be a skill that Billie has honed over the years. Born in Turkey and raised in Britain, all these influences must have contributed to her aesthetic. But, no! Although she really enjoys painting and designing mosaics, architecture is her trade, and this is a relatively new endeavor!

 

 

The top row photographs are close-up details of 3 tables. The center bottom photograph shows pendants employing the same technique. On the bottom right is the table top that first drew my attention. Gorgeous!

Billie at work, and explaining the technique to some customers.

Website for jewelry: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BBCExpressionsGifts. Phone: (704) 256-4000.

 

 

Come for a Visit

 

The next time a home and garden show comes to town, take advantage of the opportunity to talk with the vendors. It’s a great introduction to the projects you might want to get underway this year. The owners and personnel representing the companies are eager to help with your questions and to provide solutions to those nagging problems that never seem to get properly fixed.

And don’t forget to pick up that weird plant or the piece you fell in love with, for the finishing touch…because it might be gone tomorrow. Happy Spring!

 

 

 

 

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