Herb Women Take a Day Off (well, sort of :-)

Thinking of a title for this entry, it occurs to me that since nature is everywhere and what we do is so nature-related, thankfully (!!!) there is never truly a day "off". Even past trips to NYC have involved checking out roof gardens, the flowers offered at the Bodegas, great restaurant offerings, and trade shows revolving around business.

But anyhow - yesterday was a day that was mostly computer-free.

We started out early, especially since Daylight Savings Time started the day before, on the 2 hour drive to Hagerstown for a Flower & Garden Show. We were going with our friend Sharon, who lives near there. Along the way, we were treated to the sight of a bald eagle watching the rain-swollen Susquehanna River just beside the turnpike.

Me (sure, everyone else looks normal), Sharon, Maryanne...

Arriving at Sharon's, we were treated to a breakfast smorgasbord of 3 different kinds of scones, cream, breakfast roll-ups, fruit, tea - and more. It was delicious. Eventually we wandered over to the show. Once there, we had a great time talking to Barb Steele of Alloway Creek Gardens who had a lovely booth filled with herb plants and perennials. There were some other interesting things there, but the most interesting thing of all was the HUGE number of vendors that had nothing to do with flowers or gardens, and the complete dearth of display gardens and FLOWERS! It was my first and last time visiting that show. More and more, I see organizers shooting themselves in the foot by bringing in multi-level marketers, unrelated vendors, and ignoring what people came to see. If they are having trouble bringing in appropriate vendors, perhaps finding a more reasonable ($$$) venue or scaling back would make sense? Don't drag me across state lines with promises of flowers, only to show me tractors, purses, and jewelry (MLM jewelry, to boot!).

But it was still a great time since the company was so enjoyable.

We headed back to Sharon's for a late lunch. I don't know how that woman does it! The table was once again laid with a vast array of delectable treats, and we stuffed ourselves.

Next out to the garden, where she has created beautiful nooks and spacious areas filled with imagination and a lot of hard work. The gardens are well marked, so we took a good amount of time to see what has started to come up, what survived... and wonder about some weeds.

Then, we went into her sales room. She is dismantling the in-house shop this week, so I got to be her last customer! I've been wanting one of her larger plates for a long time, so there was no better time to pick it out.

We drove home later in the light rain, and talked a bit (as we had throughout the day) about shows in general. Everything changes over time, and certainly the internet is part of it. I just hope that smart organizers see the trend and act instead of laying down and becoming less than mediocre.