Me too. Going for the first time due to GW'ers saying it's the best one in Florida. Trying to find a wagon (cheap).

Would love to know the layout of vendors since I am easily confused and overwhelmed by masses of plants for sale.

Denise

WHEN exactly?
tanya

the 21st and 22nd. Ill be there, and cant hardly wait. Im hoping for a meyers lemon, Im sure there will be too much that I will want to take home with me!

Denise, print out the vendor map here:
http://www.leugardens.org/events.html

I wish I could go, but car repairs have eaten all my money :(

tampasteve
THANKS so much. that map will be in my hand! sorry about your car repairs.

I'm thrilled to see the Historical Rose Society and Cool Roses and Biosphere (oh my). And there are so many vendors I've never heard of.
And of course there's the gardens to see too.

Thanks again.

Denise

Thanks for the map and links!! I did not see those before.

Being in a tough financial spot myself this year, I don't think I'll be attending either. Not sure how I could be there and not spend some money!

Here's advice for anyone going:

DON'T FORGET TO BRING A WAGON!!!

You'll have lots more fun if you don't have to carry your plants around with you. And you may have to park a few blocks from the entrance to the gardens, too. A wagon or some kind of wheeled cart is absolutely necessary.

Enjoy, enjoy. It's a wonderful event!

Kate

Hi All
We will be at the sale, and have labels that says Willy and Silvia.
If anybody wants to say hello, we will be happy to meet you!

Denise, after going last year without a wagon. We bought one in Ace. Later on we found one much cheaper in Big Lots.

Hope to see you there.

Thanks for the Big Lots tip Willy. I will start there.

Denise

Willy, Steve and I will be there Sat morning first thing! Hope we can see you guys there!

Denise!

Check out the roses for me, please... Lol.

If I am able to get there it won't be until late Sunday. :-[

Veronica

Kathy
We will be happy to see you and Steve. We will try to be there at 8am. See you Saturday!

I'll be going for the first time...hoping to find some rare tropicals. I don't have a wagon!

Last year, after lifting our banana plants to the car. I saw that there were volunteers with a wagon helping the gardeners. Ask somebody at the Leu gardens about this.

I found my little red wagon at Big Lots in the children's toy section. It was $11 I think. It holds up to 85 pounds and is very light weight. Easy to lift in and out of the car. (I decorated the wheels a little and wrote "Happy Solstice" on the back because when I'm hauling plants around in it, I am happy.)

Kate

Great pictures Kate! And your doggies are so beautiful! They sure know how to pose for the camera :o)

Hi all, the Exotic Tropical Plants of Mitch Armstrong Nursery will be back at Leu this weekend for our 12th year bringing all sorts of great things: Pink Tropical Hollyhocks, Louisiana Iris, a new plant called "Joey" which has taken the plant world by storm, Passion Vines, Perennials, and much more! Tip for plant pick up....use the back gate to stage your purchases and have friend look out for them while you bring your car around..saves having to lug everything up all the way to front gate. Can't wait to see you all. Look for us in spot #5 behind the Rose Gardens.

Forgot to tell you all, we have a new blogspot..check it out!
www.heyplantman.blogspot.com

Kate
I am jealous of your cute wagon ($11 !!! that's great). I stopped at 2 Big Lots yesterday and no wagons of any kind. I think there are too many oldsters here and no kids so no wagons.

I'll keep trying.
denise

heyplantman
thanks for the backdoor pickup tip. I know that's where the DH will be sitting guarding the plants :-)

Short report: nice show and nice gardens although the roses weren't in bloom this early. It was nice to be IN Orlando instead of driving thru it going somehwere else. Nice city. Lake Eola (sp?) is so pretty with it's swan boats (for rent?)and fountain in the middle.

Good selection of OGR roses as well as roses on fortuniana, hard to find stuff. Bamboo,lots of tropicals, fruit trees, blueberries, butterfly and hummingbird plants, flowers, etc.

Gardeners walking around in a daze, not looking where they are walking due to head swivelling constantly, lol.
Babies being pulled in wagons and being displaced by plants, so added to the pedestrian melee.

I never got MY wagon (stopped at many many places, too much $$) but saw what someone else did to imitate (photo to follow in another thread).

tampasteve-thanks again for the vendor map link. parking was INSANE (9:30) but we got lucky. Never would have gotten a map because once you park inside you don't walk past the entrance to get info. Best to come prepared.

Denise

Denise, thanks for the report! This is the first year in forever that I haven't gone and I really missed it. I laughed when you said the gardeners were walking around in a daze - absolutely true!!! LOL I've been run into and done my share of running into others there many times. That, and the finger in the eye when someone suddenly points and says "Oooo! Look at that! What is it??!??". Ah yes, I miss it.

So, what did you buy? I know you left with something.

Kate

I would first like to thank you all for the suggestion on a wagon! I wouldn't have known what to do with out it. Denise is so right! Everything she said is right on. I know I was in a daze, there was just too much to do and see at one time, though after a few hours I made it through, and didn't buy everything! I got exactly what I wanted which was a meyer lemon, along with a few bromeliads from the bromeliad society of central florida, and I also picked out a lovely little desert rose, to add to my very small succulent collection.

OK Kate
Glad you got a laugh :-)

I got 3 daylily fans from the Daylily Society peeps even though I have sworn to never buy another one not in bloom due to them never being what they are labelled (not from them, just generally). I decided to trust them....and they were cheap, I cannot remember now but think it was 3 for $15 but I may be wrong. Names: Last Accomplishment, Blue Moon Rising and Cool Jazz.

Also 3 heirloom roses, Mrs. Dudley Cross, Peggy Martin and another can't remember right now and too dark to look.
A vendor forgot to bring me the Fortuniana I had requested in advance :-(

2 epidendrum radicans, one raspberry color and one light red.

So I didn't go crazy with buying. I've gotten picky and have a yard with not a lot of spaces without radical changes to irrigation.

I really wanted some guara but found none so stopped at Kerby's outside Tampa on the way home (really it was on the way) and got some. Love that place.

Denise

roses in blue pots mean they are on fortuniana roots
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cool vine tunnel
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big bamboo
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I know it doesn't look like there's a lot of people but there were. It's such a big garden that vendors could be spread out but at certain areas the walkways were jammed (near the kettlecorn stand lol).