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New Jersey Flower & Garden Show Press

2010 NJ Flower & Garden Show Comes to the Garden State!

Monday, February 8, 2010

Edison, NJ - Step into a new season of living color and scented blossoms when the 8th annual New Jersey Flower and Garden Show offers a sneak peek at spring Feb. 18 – 21 at the New Jersey Convention Center in Edison.

The flower show’s irresistible appeal is a welcome chance to leave dreary winter behind and bask in the sights and sounds of nature renewed. Under a canopy of cherry blossoms, beside sparkling fountains and beneath vine-laden arbors, visitors will find an enchanted world abloom in rainbow colors. This year celebrating “Glorious Gardens, Great and Small,” the show offers inspiration to all garden-lovers, whether they have expansive acreage or a backyard the size of a postage stamp.

New Jersey’s show is notable for defying the decline in flower and garden shows nationwide, a trend blamed on the challenging economy and changing demographics of the gardening public.

Long-running exhibitions in Boston, Seattle, San Francisco and Atlanta have changed hands or shut their doors in the past year, caught between the daunting logistics of mounting these shows and declining ticket sales. But the Garden State’s prime gardening showcase just keeps growing, with a 25 percent increase in attendance reported last year. It’s the little garden show that could.

“Staying relevant is the key,” says James McLaughlin, president of MAC Events in Spring Lake, the show’s producer. Bolstered by partnerships with the region’s top horticultural institutions and supported by the state’s green industries, this exhibition grows a little bigger and better every year.

In tune with the times, keynote speakers in the show’s free seminar series focus on the boom in grow-your-own vegetable gardening and the need for cost-conscious gardening strategies. Mel Bartholomew, innovator of “Square Foot Gardening” explains his simple, low-maintenance method for boosting home harvests. Ken Druse, award-winning author of 17 volumes on gardening, demonstrates how to generate more (free!) plants by multiplying favorites with easy propagation techniques.

New this year is a lively competition inspired by the popular Iron Chef cooking face-offs. In the show’s Container Challenge, talented designers will assemble striking gardens-in-a-pot while the clock ticks and the crowds cheer on their favorites.

Other show highlights:

Glorious gardens
The show’s biggest draw is the delight of garden-hopping among 10 full-scale gardens with flowering trees, vivid green grass and dazzling swaths of gorgeous flowers. Created by the state’s talented landscape designers, these glorious gardens chase away the winter doldrums with an early taste of spring. Keep in mind this boon for the bargain-conscious – plant material and accessories from selected gardens go on sale in the show’s final hour on Feb. 21.

Green Thumb Seminars
Get a pre-season tune-up of your gardening skills in the show’s educational program, a free series including more than 30 talks, tips and demonstrations. “Bouquet of the Day” offers quick takes on eco-friendly gardening techniques – organic lawn care to backyard beekeeping – and features the all-new Container Challenge. “Gardeners Go to School” is a more in-depth lecture series presenting expert advice from top horticulturalists.

In addition to Bartholomew and Druse, featured speakers include Melinda Myers, TV host of PBS’ “Melinda’s Garden Moments” and author of 20 books, including “Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening;” Ray Rogers, founder of the Coleus Society and author of “Coleus: Rainbow Foliage for Containers and Gardens,” and Bruce Crawford, instructor in Rutgers University’s Landscape Architecture Department and director of the 180-acre Rutgers Gardens in New Brunswick.

Expanded Marketplace
The Great Garden Marketplace is the perfect place to browse for the latest in tools, ornaments, unusual plants and garden-themed home décor items. New this year is an expanded section devoted to outdoor living.

Here’s where you’ll find professionals who can outfit your backyard with outdoor kitchens and fireplaces, water features and decks or patios ideal for entertaining. Also featured are products and services aimed at critical energy-savings, including windows, awnings and patio doors.

Date Night Specials
Grab your sweetheart and treat him or her to an evening spent strolling down fragrant garden paths. Don’t settle for a single bouquet when you can serve up dozens of award-winning arrangements in the Garden Club of New Jersey’s standard flower competition, an annual highlight of the show.

Two-for-one adult admissions after 5 p.m. Feb. 18 - 20 make this an affordable night out. Hint for romantics: Flower show tickets make a fabulous Valentine’s Day gift.

Gardener’s Dream Vacation
A visit to the flower show leads directly to garden-hopping abroad for lucky winners of the show’s trip-of-a-lifetime -- a visit to the world-famous Chelsea Flower Show and some of England’s best-known gardens. Launched last year, the giveaway is back, with an exciting itinerary planned for May 22-29. Look for the kiosk on the show floor or enter on-line by visiting njflowershow.com or MacEvents.com.

Visitor Information
Admission at the door is $14 for adults with a $2 discount offered for advance purchase at njflowershow.com or by calling (800) 332-3976 ext. 120. Tickets are $6 for children 12 through 17 (kids 11 and younger enter free), and $10 for seniors on Feb. 18 and 19 only. Discount rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

Show hours are 1 to 9 p.m. Feb. 18, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Feb. 19 and 20, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 21 at the New Jersey Convention Center, 97 Sunfield Ave., Edison. For updates on the show, a full schedule of events and directions to the site, visit njflowershow.com or see macevents.com and click on “Flower Shows.”

Hi-resolution photos available on request

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