Saturday, August 22, 2009
The Independent Garden Center Show
Last Tuesday I got to attend the 2009 IGC Trade Show at Navy Pier. Mr.Brown Thumb and I hung out together visiting the booths, meeting lots of new folks and renewing acquaintances with familiar faces including a few 2009 Spring Fling sponsors.
Although not open to the public, we were able to attend with press passes by virtue of being garden bloggers. The show was a delight to attend, and I hope to make it again next year. Although these slide shows sacrifice photo quality, they're a good way to share a lot of photos without using too much photo memory on Blogger.
Thanks to Mr.Brown Thumb for his help getting a press pass! You can check out his perspectives on the show at two of his blogs, Mr.Brown Thumb, and Chicago Garden.
22 comments:
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Linda,
ReplyDeleteThink you have to check your video settings. I tried to watch and it says it is set to private.
BTW, I finally got to meet Clint and he seemed interested in somehow incorporating Garden Bloggers for next year.
I was at the show on Tuesday also; it was a lot of fun! Sorry we missed each other!
ReplyDeleteOops. . .thanks for the heads-up MBT. I wish it didn't default to private. I forget to change that.
ReplyDeleteGlad you got to meet Clint! Hopefully it will be easier for garden bloggers to attend next year.
Hi Rose, I heard you were there - sorry we missed each other too!
I would love to be able to go to a show like that. So many neat things!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to bee a great show to visit. Thanks for charing / gittan
ReplyDeleteIt was pretty cool Catherine. Next year I'd like to go for more than one day. . . so much to see, it's hard to pack it all in to just one day.
ReplyDeleteGittan, it was! Glad you enjoyed the pics.
What fun! Looks like many birdhouses were the word of the day. They are all so pretty.
ReplyDeleteIt was great fun Tina. There was so much stuff there it was almost overwhelming. The birdhouses definitely caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't noticed the birdhouses with the license plates, those are really nice. Also, didn't spot the Galileo thermometers, which I buy often because I break them.
ReplyDeleteI still think you should have taken the pic with Mel B. It probably would have ended up famous like the one of Monica and Paul James.
I backed up the video a few times to check out those tools. Wow, those look nice! Who said you can have too many garden tools? Not me!
ReplyDeleteAnd almost all of my tomato seeds are from Baker Creek. Love them!
Thanks for the video, it really was a good way to show us the show.
Carol, May Dreams Gardens
MBT, I was wondering where the box went that I have a few old licence plates in when I saw those.
ReplyDeleteLOL. . . I'm not sure that photo would be in near as much demand as one with the heart-throb Mr. James. ;)
Those tools were really beautiful Carol - my blurry photos don't do them justice. They were as sturdy-looking as they were beautiful.
I can't wait to try my sample seeds from Baker Creek next spring. I chose a purple and yellow pepper, and an Italian and Green Zebra tomato. I'm sure I'll be picking out a few more things from their amazing catalog too. I would really love to visit their pioneer village - sounds like a really neat place. I love historic villages like Greenfield Village, Colonial Williamsburg, etc, with all the crafts, costumes, and gardens.
Glad you enjoyed the video!
Hello Garden Girl, yes that's the Crown of Thorns you were interested in. Nowadays there are a lot of new hybrids that have bigger blooms and more colours. Watched your slides... lots of nice good stuffs! TQ for posting the pictures. They are all informative to me. Happy gardening!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I'm interested in that reblooming lilac. Thanks for sharing your trip with us and how cool is that that you get 'press pass' status, Linda! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Stephanie! Crown of Thorns is a quite distinctive plant. Yours is lovely.
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed the slides.
Hi Lynn, it's pretty amazing what they're doing with plant breeding these days!
A group of garden bloggers had press passes for the Chicago Flower and Garden Show last March too. We think it's pretty cool too!
I didnt have any trouble with the video. What a cool show! Garden paradise. Did you buy anything? Or just have to look longingly?
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie, it was just a matter of changing the setting on the video from private to public. I just need to remember to do that BEFORE I post YouTube videos, :O since it automatically defaults to private.
ReplyDeleteIt was very cool - definitely a gardeners paradise! Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it!) nothing is for sale at the show. It's aimed at independent garden centers owners and buyers - a showcase of retail items available for them to order for the 2010 season. I'll be looking for some of this stuff at local nurseries next year!
Garden bloggers were able to get press passes. The industry is recognizing the influence we can have on gardening trends. Being able to attend and blog about events such as this (closed to the public,) helps us keep up with the cutting edge of what's happening in the gardening world.
That sounds like it was a lot of fun. I love all the ideas you can get--any kind of old basket, for example, would be similar to those elegant British seed/plant sowing container doohickeythingamabobs. :)
ReplyDeleteIt really was fun Monica. I agree - so many inspiring ideas at shows like this, and so many ideas for stuff we already have sitting around. We have a bunch of baskets in the basement that would make wonderful planters, and I'm still thinking about digging through some of the boxes down there to find my collection of old licence plates.
ReplyDeleteYou have the most fun Linda~~it's one of the advantages of living close to "the big city";) Don't tell St Louis (where I grew up), but Chicago is my favorite city! gail
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun trip into the city Gail! I do feel fortunate being so close to Chicago, where there's so much to see and do, especially gardening-related.
ReplyDeleteSt. Louis holds a special place in my heart, too. Now I know why your accent sounds so familiar - reminds me a little bit of my St. Louis cousins. Grandma and Grandpa had a touch of it too after living there so many years.
Hi Linda, thanks for showing us the show. The seed booths were especially interesting. Love Baker Creek too, they are going to get plenty of business from me, their catalog is a piece of art.
ReplyDeleteFrances
My pleasure Frances. All the folks at the seed booths were so friendly and nice. It was a pleasure visiting with them. I'd heard of Baker Creek before (vaguely,) and am really glad I learned more of what they're all about - what a cool company, and I'm totally impressed with Jere and all he's accomplished in his young life.
ReplyDelete