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Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Shopping

Hate to disappoint all the horticulturists out there, but shopping is one of the bigger draws of the show. No apologies! Last year I wrote about the shopping and an emailer named "Anonymous" criticized me for talking about it. No apologies, Anonymous. This is one place where I am happy to shop. Apparently plenty of visitors agree with me. The aisles are jammed, and no wonder. I found many things - fresh flowers, African violets (the sign on the booth said "That's amore"), orchids, garden gloves, Irish riding boots, jewelry galore. So much you can't take it all in. Friends who are here told me they split up and passed each other in the aisle. Both were so dazed, they walked right by without recognition!

Too many things to mention, but I did find some wind chimes in Booth 434 made of obsidian needles. Obsidian is a glassy rock that Deborah and Richard Bloom from Portland dig up - with permits, of course. They also use seed pods, cones, flowers, wood, antler and bone in their chimes, which have a delicate sound but which, the Blooms assure, are extremely tough. Forty mph winds? I asked. "I've had mine up for 20 years, no problem," Deborah said.

When I come back to the show on Saturday - this time on my own time - I just might stop back. Ciao.
Posted by virginia smith @ 4:35 PM  Permalink | 4 comments
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:43 PM, 03/04/2009
    My favorite part is next week.
    — FlyerNut
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:47 PM, 03/04/2009
    Rich Main Line A-*oles. Can't figure out what to spend their money on. Here's a thought - give it to the hungry...
    — Bobphxville
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:14 PM, 03/04/2009
    What is wrong with you people? This isn't just a draw for the immediate area, this is a regional draw, and bigger. And frankly our economy could use the extra tweak that these people bring with them.
    — anon


4 comments
About Virginia A. Smith
Ginny Smith, a Philadelphia native, worked as a reporter at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Ohio – with six short months at the end of the Bulletin tossed in – before returning to Philadelphia in 1985 to join the Inquirer. Her favorite beats here have included Center City, roving around Pennsylvania (and getting paid for it!) and alternative medicine. She’s also been City Editor and Pennsylvania Editor. Ginny has been happily writing – and learning - about gardening fulltime since 2006. She’s won two silver medals of achievement from the national Garden Writers Association and in 2011, Bartram’s Garden honored her with its Green Exemplar award for her stories about “the region’s deeply rooted horticultural history, cultural attractions and bountiful gardens.”
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