Will you be making photographs to share with those of us who won't be going?

Nell

Going tomorrow, Wednesday. That is Garden Club Day, cheap tickets and Dan Hinkley of Heronswood Nursery will be speaking. Heard him once at Hosta Convention in Raleigh and he is a very interesting person, having travelled around the world collecting seeds and plants that he often introduces into American horticulture after trials indicate they aren't invasive.
Rb

It's more of a Yardsale than a Flower Show!

I don't think I'm going this year since I always spend too much money there!! Will someone who is going please do me a big favor....Take some pics of the helleborus at the GA Perennial Plant Associations display and e-mail them to me. They came from around the opening of the cave I have in my yard and I'm curios to see them.

The DW and I will be going Friday. We always take lots o' pics, too. Liks most, we usually load up the truck with yard stuff we really don't need. Than again, shopping for it is half the fun of being at the show anyway.

Razorback, I was also thinking of going tomorrow to see Dan Hinckley who, for some reason they haven't really advertised, and I think he would be a huge draw. Also Peter Loewer is speaking on how to create an italianesque garden with native plants. I saw him last year, and he was a suprisingly good speaker. I think his topic is one of the most relevant of all at the show!
Now, that said, I've not been all that interested in going this year. Last year I was very hopped up to go (I loved the theme of the show) but wasn't all that impressed with the show in general. The speakers were the draw last year. This year I think they are very weak on speakers.
Still not sure if I can make it. THat's a lot of walking and something I haven't been able to manage lately...so we'll see.
Please let us know how the talk goes!!

GGG

Well, it was so-so. Dan wasn't that interesting, IMO, as his talk was too long(1-1/2 Hrs.and the chairs were hard!) and the subject was his new private digs(5 acres on the Western shore of Puget Sound). I was hoping to hear about his travels and some of the exotic plants he had discovered and planned to introduce. The rest of the show was typical SEFS. Spent some time in the vendor area, mostly looking and only spent $7.50, a record low!
Be sure to check out the Helleborus for wildflower and Don Jacobs of Eco Gardens also has a collection there. He will be talking about Helleborus on Friday(1PM, I think). He has been growing, hybridizing and propagating Helleborus for more than 25 years and has excellent slides of some of his named cultivars.
Rb

I have one of Don Jacobs' Helleborus. It is a beautiful pink. While it doesn't look a whole lot different from my others, it blooms a full month before any of the others. It's been blooming for well over a month now. The others are just now catching up. Have you seen his gardens? They're wonderful. He lives right off Covington Hwy.

I hadn't planned on going but one of the speakers, Nellie Neal, contacted me from Louisiana and now it looks like I will try to catch Walter and her talks. See you there. How will you know me? Look for trademark green shoes.

pins2006
Fortunately, I have many of Don's cultivars and will have at least one more this weekend. He has a Christmas Rose, H. niger, with a huge white bloom that I have been waiting for to do some crosses. Have known Don for about 30 years and have been a frequent visitor to his expansive garden during those years. First met him back when he was in the Wholesale Tropical Bird & Fish and pet supply business, that he later sold. Purchased a pair of Lovebirds from him then.
I also have many other plants from his extraordinary garden, that I purchased, traded for or received as gifts. From his trips throughout North America and abroad, he has selected many unusual plants and ecotypes that are available no where else in this country and he frequently shares them with Botanical Gardens and Arboretums, here and abroad, including the US National Arboretun.
One could spend many hours there and still not see every plant he has! and it's constantly expanding.
Rb

Rb, thanks for letting me know. You are so fortunate to have known him for so long. What a character he is! I love the trilliums I got from him. And the ferns! They are just so different from what you can find in the nurseries. Will he have any hellebores for sale this weekend to the general public? I'd love to get more from his collection.

I have also been interested in going to see Don Jacobs and buying some of his shade plants. Just been waiting until the back actually is hospitable for plants!

GGG

pins2006___
As you know, Don does not operate a retail nursery, with scheduled hours of operation or open house. He mostly does mail-order.
He has a list of Plants, including Helleborus, that he regularly propagates. I would call him and he may be able to Fax or email the list to you. His email has not been working well lately, since converting to DSL. I sent him a couple of articles from the London Sunday Times about the untimely death of Christopher Lloyd and he never received them, so it would be best to call.
BTW, do not ask him for a certain rare Woodwardia species.
I have been waiting two years for that one!
Rb

That's one of the reasons I love to buy things from him. You order and a few days later he's ready with your plants. I'm sorry to hear about his computer. How odd. Thanks for giving me a heads up.

My wife and I are thinking about going down tomorrow. What sould we expect?
What do you mean by, "It's more of a Yardsale than a Flower Show!"?
Italian gardens are not a big draw for us, but plants are!

This was our sixth year going and I hate to admit it, but it was a disappointment. We always looked forward to the displays and then shopping for a half day or so and getting some real bargains in the process. To all that, it used to be a blue jeans and overalls kind of crowd -- down home gardening and all. We went through all the displays and exhibitions and I believe my wife bought some chocolate pasta noodles for about $10. An all time low SE Flower Show spending spree for us as well.

With the move to GWCC the show has gotten much more upscale each year and there are few deals in the vendors area. Matter of fact, my wife said it was more like a tourist trap than a gardening venue with all the trinkets, jewelery, snake oil and bionic foot massagers for sale.

Now, I'm not against upscale. Those events are nice, too. Wine and piano music in a garden setting definatley has its own allure. If that's your expectation then dress up a tad and go to the SE Flower show. However, if you're looking for the down home atmosphere like shows gone by and bargains from the past shows, you're better off spending the day going to the many independently owned gardening centers around town.

My humble opinion, of course.

I just got back and I loved it! The gardens were so different from previous years when all we saw were tulips, pierris, hyacinths, and the like. This year there were very interesting flowers and plants. The sculpture was wonderful, as was the terra cotta. They used many more herbs, as well as different plants. Gardens were more like pictures, so you could get ideas for small parts of your landscape. The usual retailers were there, so we bought gloriosa lilies, double tuberoses, etc. I just loved it all. And - the food was to die for!

Did you mean "food to die for" or "to die from"?
Kidding, of course! We didn't buy any food there, as our daughter went along, she is diabetic and also has numerous food allergies, so she prepared a lunch to take along and we shared. A friend from Sandy Springs was there on Friday and said the food she purchased was not very good, but you have to consider she has been preparing food for herself and husband for more than 70 years and it ain't home cookin' there!
Rb

I went Saturday but I didn't get to see the Show at all, I was helping Nellie Neal find her way around to give her presentation plus sell her books. She has a gardening radio program 5 days a week in Louisiana plus writes a weekly column. Then I dropped her off at her hotel. You would think the Show Committee would take care of these details.

Razorback,
I am so jealous I would have LOVED to have seen pictures of Dan Hinkley's new garden. His old one was gorgeous. I am sure this one will be a vision of loveliness. Too bad many of his plants will not grow here.

Eddie, you are absolutely right! The flower show should have taken far more care of one of their speakers. You should contact them.
Somewhere, (plant delights website maybe) is an outline of what speakers should be requesting from their hosts. It is not too much to ask for! At least one should be notified that they will or will not be recieving transportation or food etc. in their contract so they can make the decision of payment based on the services provided...or possibly not speak at the venue if it is not accessable enough for them!

GGG

Since I asked about it, I'll say that we did go, and had a good time. It was my first so I don't have any previous ones to compare it with. But we would have enjoyed something more "down home" or less "classy." We didn't buy much.

We enjoyed seeing people like the no Lomger Bound nursery and Fern Ridge Farms. So, all in all, we had fun.

chezron-
I have a number of Dan's plants from his collection of Asian & European species and they do well here, it's the Pac NW plants that are troublesome. I fault the summer soil temperature, which often reach the high 70's and low 80's during extremely hot & dry summers, but there may be another reason. In many locations in the Western US, there is a trace element, Selenium(Se) present in the soil, that is not found in our soil. Studies indicate that some plants require that element for survival. My attempt to have some rare NW plant material from the Trinity Mtns., tested for presence and level of Se by the UGA lab was fruitless. The plants later died. I have no expectations of ever replacing them as my late friend that collected them, told no one where he found the isolated colony.
I suppose Dan and his partner are trying to establish a replica of Heronswood's exciting gardens, with the realization that someday in the future, their services and expertise will no longer be required. Sad to contemplate!
Rb

RB, pls. start new thread of Heronswood success plants. I am also interested.

GGG

GGG
Wish I could remember all of them, but my records were lost in a fire in 2002. However, the plants I purchased from Dan were mostly Aroids(Arisaema, Arum). Helleborus and Asarum.
Of course, the Aroids he had were non-native and were Japanese & Chinese species, which I now import directly and most do well here. All of the Helleborus, except one species, has survived, The one that didn't was H. x nigercors and I can't determine the cause, as I grow about a dozen other species(including both of it's parents). without establishing special growing conditions for them. The Asarum's were from the PNW, China and Japan. Most of the Asian species do well, but there are tender species, that have to be overwintered in the GH. The PNW species(five) require special attention and then there is no guarantee of success, I still have 3 of those(as of last year!) that are growing. A fungus, of unknown type or origin, killed about 30 species of my Asarum collection a few years ago. Included in the carnage were hundreds of SE natives, including, but not limited to, the so-called Callaway Ginger(Asarum shuttleworthii, var. harperi), a rhizomatous species. Application of every available type of fungicide was usless. An Ecologist who examined the area, surmised that the origin of the fungus was from decaying tree roots of a nearby tree that was struck by lightning or a dormant soil fungus energized by the tremendous heat generated by the electrical current flow of the lightning bolt. He also stated that it would probably require several years for the infection to subside, so the area remains fallow, except for a few Hosta and Ferns, which weren't affected. But, I digress!
Sorry that I can't be more specific, but without records and the considerable damage to the garden by fireman(very excusable!) and the subsequent reconstruction by 3 successive, uncaring(& mostly unqualified!) contractors, our garden (and our lives) were changed tremendously. Am hopefully looking forward to a day when all of that is a distant memory.
Rb

It was my first show and I enjoyed it. I didn't know what to expect, so I wasn't disappointed.
I did receive a lot of comments about how "my mom dragged me there", when it was actually the other way around! :)

Razorback,
I have ordered and grown many plants from Heronswood. I have found that anything from upper elevations or plants that are happy in England don't do too well here. Exceptions in Heronswood's old catalog, are like you said, Asarum, Aroids, Crocosmia, some lilies (except those that love limestone soil, most hellebores,epimediums, Distylium, Deutzia,some clematis,some geraniums, Schizophragma,some Polygonatums and their kin Disporum, Hydrangeas, Viburnums,Sambucus, Sarcococca, Hepatica, Persicaria, Berberis, some Heucheras,Hesperaloe,Hedychiums,some Cyclamen,Camellia,some Abutilons,some Kniphofia and some Agave, some Podophyllum, some Phlomis. Plants that don't like it here are: Cephalaria, Drimys,Codonopsis, Cardiocrinum, Watsonia, Acacias, Hebes, Romneya coulteri, Buddleia colvilei, Papaver orientale, Roscoea, Rheum, Astelia,some Pulmonarias,Primulas,Lobelia tupa, Francoa, Cistus, Astrantia, Eryngium, Thamnocortus, most Penstemon, Myosotidium,most Peony species,Meconopsis,Olearia, Morina,Moraea,Incarvillea,Gunnera!, Grevillea, Eucryphia,Escallonia, Fuchsia, most Gentians,Delphiniums, Ceanothus and anything with nepalense, thibetica, capensis, delavayi,or sibiricum in the species name. I have killed many plants, and my experience is by no means definitive.If you have had different experiences let me know. The selenium angle is not one i have thought about. I know in San Francisco marine shales contain Selenium, but many times the element is a toxic byproduct of mining and some industry.

First, let me apologize to efam! It wasn't my intention to hi-jack your post about the flower show, I guess one thing led to another and the show almost got lost in the verbage. Sorry!

chezron--
That is a fairly accurate summation of species that will or will not do well in this area, but as you know , there are exceptions. For example,I haven't been able to grow Incarvillea either, but other's in my area have had success with it, You mentioned some species and specific epithet's of plants that are unlikely to thrive here, Again, I suppose a few degrees in latitude & longitude and a few meters in elevation can determine success or failure. I have grown Watsonia for years and a gardener near Loganville had a large collection of them. I also grow Hepatica sibirica, Asarum delavayi(has a very attractive flower(calyx) and am expecting some Helleborus thibetanus this week. Don Jacobs has some of those ready to flower and I thought I might try growing them, using his method and advice. I often push the envelope on hardiness zones and usually disregard those recommended by nurseries, preferring, instead to do my own research about the plants I'm interested in growing. I will try almost any interesting plant once...or thrice!
Sounds as if you are my type of gardener, also!
Rb