As if it did not feel like spring already, “Gateway to Spring”, the Connecticut Garden Show, opens Thursday in Hartford featuring blossoms and bulbs enough to get gardeners excited for the growing season.
The CT Convention Center has been turned into a 150,000-square-foot indoor greenhouse with gardens, seminars and demonstrations. This year’s show admission is $20. That gets you in the door to see 23 garden and landscape exhibits, all in full bloom, designed and put together by teams of landscape designers. Naturalistic, low-maintenance, native, container, vegetable, organic, herb, and pollinator gardens are displayed. The Federated Garden Clubs of Connecticut host a flower display of 12,500 square feet showing various horticultural skills and botanical arts. There is a photography competition with entries statewide.
During the four-day event, seminars and demonstrations by expert horticulturalists, landscapers, and industry professionals are scheduled. Booths offer displays, activities and shopping with artisans, crafts, flowers, plants, ornaments, outdoor sculptures, herbs, bulbs, seeds, fertilizers, soils, books, furniture and lawn and garden tools. Find out what grows best in your yard or garden before buying plants and seeds by bringing a 1/2 cup of soil from your growing area for a free soil testing at the UConn Home & Garden Education Center booth. That alone is worth the price of admission considering the cost of plants.
There are discounted $17 admission tickets sold online right up to the days of the show. And bring the kids. Five and under are admitted free.
The best place to park is right here in the garden spot of New England: East Hartford. Just stroll across the Founders Bridge and you’re right at the Convention Center.
If you drive across the river, Convention Center Garage parking is $9 all day; or $3 plus $2 an hour. On Thursday and Friday, park free and take the shuttle from a Propark South lot located at 63-89 Capitol Avenue at Hudson St., Hartford. On Saturday and Sunday there is $5 all-day parking in the Front Street North and South garages located right across the street from the Convention Center, then you can stop in one of the Front Street restaurants and relax.
The discounted tickets and full schedule with all the seminar speakers and topics can be found online at www.CTFlowerShow.com or call 860-844-8461.
