Growers’ Efforts to Show True Colors Are Taking Bloom

While gardeners in many other parts of the country wait for warmer weather, many are whetting their appetites at colorful flower and garden shows.

“The shows are meant to be big, extravagant teasers,” says Maureen Heffernan, director of education for the American Horticultural Society.

Garden centers, individual landscape designers and nurseries create knockout gardens in best-of-show competitions; amateurs often compete with smaller exhibits. The shows also include up-to-the-minute information and products.

The prestigious Philadelphia Flower Show, which began in 1829, remains the country’s largest flower show. In 1995, the show will invite guests to wander among six indoor acres of gardens created to reflect the show’s theme of “Moments in Time . . . a Galaxy of Gardens.”

At Cleveland’s National Home and Garden Show, visitors will enjoy “The Romance of France” theme, which will include a re-creation of Monet’s grande allee, the walkway of trellises with climbing roses that led from the artist’s gardens to his home in Giverny. The setting will be replete with a variety of perennials imported from French growers.

Shows that support nonprofit organizations often kick off with a gala ceremony to benefit the charity. (Tickets can cost from $25 to $200.)

If you’d like more information, consult “The Garden Tourist.” Published by Timber Press, it is a guide to all the major garden shows as well as large and small garden fairs.

Listed by state, each entry includes addresses, phone numbers and hours. Call the American Horticultural Society at (800) 777-7931 to order a copy for $10.15.