Thumbs up: Removing truly invasive, non-native plants (japanse honeysuckle for instance.) Thumbs up: Using plants that (once established) can get by (most years) on whatever rain falls. Thumbs up: Plants that provide food and shelter for birds--and realizing that snakes and hawks gotta eat too. (One of my neighbors asked me if I'd figured out a way to keep the resident hawk from eating the birds who came to my feeders (I've never seen this happen.) Same neighbor was horrified when she learned that Fred the Black Snake had gotten the second round of cardinal nestlings that were in my Rose bush. Nature at it's finest! Thumbs down: Rubber mulch (except in a playground situation)and synthetic pinestraw. Thumbs down: Neighbors who ask me to design THEIR gardens...just becasue mine "looks so good." I could be flattered, but-- 1) I garden by "feel"--my designs are the product of trial, error, plant obsession, plantwalking, and some great guidance from THIS group. 2) I actually TAKE CARE of my garden. Neighbors in question will not. 3) My garden is built around serious hardscape--it provides the structure for what I plunk in place. The yards in question have little-to-no hardscape. melanie

Do you think that the city lets the vendors have those spaces for nothing? There is a charge to "rent" those spaces and the bigger the space the more the cost. Green Thumb prices increase larger than any other sale in the Tampa/St. Pete area every year where as some other sales such as USF and UT in March have retained a more stable fee for the vendore. Green Thumb has always been expensive in the first place for the tiny spaces they give the vendor and is strict about enforcing the "Don't go outside of the space you have rented" or they will charge you a double space. Do you not think that it is a hell of a lot more effort to transport plants from the normal vendors venue of retail sales? Are fuel prices and cost of operating vehicles to move to a sale not incredible compared to the years past, and they weren't cheap in those years. Do you not think that both the large and smaller growers have time put into both labor (i.e. employees that want to be paid, not a labor of love to work), or have vested time to produce a commercial living product that is not like selling dead TV sets, or jeans which don't require constant care to keep alive and in good condition and even if not sold like the TV or jeans requires this care everyday? Do you not think that insurance, utilities (including water, electric) & labor cost have gone up in gross gains over the past year? Do you not think that potting materials (plastic, pesticides, potting mediums) have not increased along with other petroleum based products and transport fees to get these to wholesale trade market? Do you believe that the state doesn't always want a larger slice of the pie from any business including the grower? Do you not want to get paid for your time when you work and produce what ever you produce? Time is all one has to sell rather a Burger king worker or a airline pilot, it is time that we sell based on the skill. While you enjoy the hobby and volunteer your time which is what most of the vendors do it it is not the same, though it is a labor of love. Agriculture rather a farmer or nursery of any type cannot be held to the same minimum wage standard as one gets working at Home Depot or Best Buys. You, as a grower will spend many more hours growing plants then the punk at home depot working 4 PM to 8 PM watering and loading muclh then going home at 8 PM. The grower applies the same amount of time as any small business owner yet his stock often doesn't have a survival rate like the guy selling TV's or jeans. This is called "spoilage", just like if someone at Best Buys drops a TV set and cannot sell it. Spoilage is a loss and is expected from a grower, yet it is a loss. It can be from bugs or disease. What you descibe you could have applied to CVS or Walgreens verse Wal-mart. The small grower verse the mega generic Home Depot, Lowes, or Wal-Mart who buy in mass and expect the grower to take all "spoilage" back and be bonded thus the grower has to be huge and only offer generic plants grown in huge numbers for the most part. Post like yours are not all that good, though you like the nice plants what you really are saying is you are cheap and don't want to support the small grower. Thats okay but why brag about it and have no understanding for things you don't consider the little guy has to go through who doesn't have a billion dollars to spend such as the big box stores?? Thats okay too as the small growers fall like all small business to the big box's your choice will be further narrowed, don't expect Lowes to carry those pretty Hibiscus you liked, and if they do you better get there the day they arrive because they will be in the TLC in a few days, or dead. Expect more growers that sell to the box stores continue to be imported. Did you not know that many nurseries have moved to out of USA shores? Buy one of those huge barrel cactus from time to time Home Depot sells at very low prices for such a slow and space taking plant it doesn't come from a desert USA cactus grower but rather from some central American or Island grower outside of the USA, even if imported by the cactus coral wholesaler which is a genric succulent grower (broker) in the USA. Thank you for allowing me to vent, but don't complain that every thing comes from China when you don't support USA business. That does include the nursery business not just fruits and vegatables!!! Mike ST. Petersburg

Hi All, I am more of a "lurker" here but really wanted to comment about the Green Thumb Festival this past week end. I am a vendor (not plants) and travel all over the state to a lot of the plant sales for my business. Out of all of them, I have to say Green Thumb is in my top three picks for shows, if not usually my number one show for the season. I strongly disagree with the statement that most of the plant material there was "common" and could be easlier purchased for less money at the big box stores. Yes, there was, and always will be, let's call it general/generic plants, at the show. A huge part of the customer base calls for that. I was only able to socialize and walk around Sunday morning, and have to say that even then, there was a ton of dif plants that you would be hard pressed to find outside a very good nursery, if even then. What about the Japanese hollyhocks in dif colors?, All the dif irises, the Grand Duke Jasmine I purchased (and he sold out both Saturday and Sunday with that plant), the 30 plus varieties of mint at the herb booth, the dif. gingers everywhere, do any of you have a dancing lady ginger? I couldn't find mine at HD or Lowes.And what about the white desert roses? These are just a small example of what's at Green Thumb. you can find small starts for a buck to a palm for $700. Plants,are not cheap for these vendors. If they are not either starting them at their nursery(think containers, soil, starters, water, etc...) or tracking down and purchasing a special find for a show, it's gotten much more expensive. Plus the cost of setting up a booth, traveling to you the consumer, staying over night if you don't live there, the list goes on. Yup, it's crowded, and it takes a lot of patience to get through the crowd and search out what you really, really, want. But it's a nice day out, you get to see so much, talk to some experts in their field, and for the most part have a nice day outside, searching out that special plant. And as for big huge bargins Sunday afternoon. This show is notorious for people asking for that. Maybe some plant vendors can do that, if it's the end of the season, they have no more shows, etc...BUT, I must add that for the majority, me included, I really strive to give my customer a fair price right up front.A lot of times that discount is already there, or as low as it can go for that vendor's bottom line. Most of us doing these shows are never going to be wealthy with money, it's not going to happen. But we are very wealthy with other friends/vendors at shows, beautiful plants and garden related objects to see and talk about. Thanks for letting me "vent".

Pathfinders is doing the tree climbing activity this year - I think they said it's $5. And an arborist is supposed to be doing demonstrations on the trees behind the gym. Plus a garden wagon parade w/ $$ prizes. BTW, 10 am to 3 pm is the kids' crafts (my gig); the festival hours are 9am to 4 pm. Flower show theme this year is 'Wild West'.