Flower Show: ‘After the Storm’
by Nancy Brennick, CHS vice president

The call for help with the CHS exhibit in the 2012 Connecticut Flower & Garden Show was answered by more than 100 CHS members and friends. Once again, CHS volunteers presented a show-stopping display for the tens of thousands of show-goers in late February.

More than a dozen volunteers dug from their gardens groundcovers, saplings and mosses; collected woodsy artifacts, including stones and trunks; and saved leaves so the woodland display would mimic the real thing. The display showed that even after the worst of Mother Nature’s ravages, the bulbs will bloom, the peonies will pop, the saplings will sprout.

More than 60 CHS members hosted the CHS exhibit and introduced seminar speakers at the show held at the Connecticut Convention Center.

The CHS Board of Directors would like to thank the volunteers and families who gave their time and resources to the effort. Special thanks go to

* Katie Shipman, who designed the landscape and provided plants, props and construction guidance;

* David Smith, who tended the bulbs and is always a divine resource for horticultural questions;

* Joan and Ken Stubenrauch, who bought and cared for the plants and jumped at opportunities to help; and

* Cathy Testa, who organized show volunteers and provided training.

CHS is especially grateful to the Glastonbury VOAG and Gideon Welles School for the use of their greenhouses, and to the teachers and students who helped care for the plants.

Please help thank donors to the CHS exhibit by supporting their businesses: White Flower Farm, Morris; Cedar Mountain Stone & Mulch, Wethersfield; Broken Arrow Nursery, Hamden; Moore’s Sawmill, Bloomfield; Shipman Nursery, Glastonbury; B&B Landscaping and Design, Glastonbury; and Cricket Hill Garden, Thomaston.

* 2012 AWARDS TO CHS: The CHS landscape exhibit won two awards: the "Best Naturalistic Garden" award from the flower show's host, North East Expos Inc., and the American Horticultural Society's award for "demonstrating and promoting sound horticultural practices."

'After the Storm' Exhibit Description

Experience tells us that no matter how devastating the effect of Mother Nature’s weather, a storm is always followed by rejuvenation and regrowth. A hurricane may wreak havoc, wind-whipping the landscape, toppling natural and man-made structures, causing flooding and changing water’s path. Inhabitants flee, and in the ensuing stillness a new landscape is revealed. 

The Connecticut Horticultural Society’s display considers this different world and invites visitors to ask: Are storms a part of the “traditions of nature?” What about the fledgling woodlands reclaimed from cultivation and the swaths of native plants that thrive because new light reaches the earth? Do the traditions of nature include the saplings that sprout anew, the maimed shrubs that flower despite the damage, the wildlife that returns to build fresh nests and lairs without flinching as the scene changes?

Come and observe with us the seemingly impossible task of recovery. In this new world created from upheaval, the “fittest” plants and animals survive as Mother Nature revives the landscape—“after the storm.”

* 2012 AWARD FROM CHS: The landscape exhibit created by Kevin Rescildo of Pondering Creations, LLC, in Terryville was chosen to receive the CHS award. 

Each year at the flower show, CHS makes an award to the exhibition that best stimulates an interest in horticulture and inspires the home gardener through the use of distinctive plants and design. The display created by Rescildo included repetition of form, texture and color, combined with natural stonework, water features and other structural components. All are important elements of strong garden design.

Rescildo, who also won the CHS award in 2011, has long been interested in gardening and nature. When he was 14, his parents ceded him a corner of their property so that he could build his first pond. He earned a degree in horticulture and design from the University of Massachusetts. Ten years ago he launched his business and focused on building “natural” landscapes. His firm designs custom landscapes and water features and installs plants that emphasize structure, texture and color. A stonemason, Rescildo recently installed a greenhouse on his five-acre property, where he intends to offer unique aquatic and shade plants and unusual conifers.  

A special thank you goes to CHS judges John O’Brien, Nancy Shipman and Kevin Wilcox for their evaluation and perspective.                                                   --Elaine Widmer

                                                          Pondering  Creations exhibit

'After the Storm'…

The following three handouts--on pruning, evicting invasive plants and embracing native plants--are available at the CHS booth at the 2012 Connecticut Flower and Garden Show. Included are links to more information about each subject.

Prune
Pruning promotes healthy growth, good looks and flowering. A general rule is to prune flowering plants after they bloom.
-- Use clean, sharpened tools.
-- Cut away any dead material.
-- Remove crossing, rubbing or wounded branches to thwart pests and infection.
-- Thin crowded stems to promote new growth through increased light and air circulation.

More information:
Margaret Roach blog
Lee Reich blog
Magazine articles, How to Prune and Pruning Tips

Evict Invasives
Invasive plants are species that lack the natural controls on growth and reproduction that would be found in the plant’s native location. Invasives squeeze out native species, changing the biodiversity of their non-native landscape.
-- Become familiar with local invasive plant problems. Identify non-native plants (autumn olive, multiflora rose, Oriental bittersweet, burning bush, Japanese honeysuckle, loosestrife).
-- Remove invasive plants by digging out roots, smothering colonies and/or spot-treating with herbicide in worst cases.
-- Pull plants while they’re small and before they seed.

More information:
Douglas Tallamy “Bringing Nature Home"  
University of Connecticut/Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group
U.S. Department of Agriculture 
U.S. Forest Service

Embrace Natives
Native plant species
-- require fewer resources to stay healthy;
-- have the best survival rates;
-- feed and support native microbes, insects and wildlife; and 
-- support a broader range of life than non-native species from Asia and Europe (the Kousa dogwood from China supports no insect herbivores, while the native Cornus florida supports 117 insect herbivores, which in turn feed the birds).

More information:
The New York Times articles about Doug Tallamy; about Larry Weaner and native meadows 

Calling all 2012 Flower Show Volunteers and Visitors

A landscape exhibit created by CHS again will be the first one visitors see when they enter the Connecticut Convention Center in February for the 2012 flower show, whose theme is “Traditions in Nature.”

“Our creative take-off from the theme is a display we call ‘After the Storm,’ ” says Nancy Brennick, flower show chairman and CHS vice president. “Our experience is that no matter how devastating the effect of Mother Nature’s weather, it is always followed by regrowth. A hurricane may wreak havoc, wind-whipping the landscape, toppling natural and man-made structures, causing flooding and changing water’s path, but it is only then we realize she uncovers a whole new landscape plan.”

One definition of tradition is “a customary practice or set of precedents that continually affects the present,” Nancy says. “We wonder aloud in our display: Is ‘tradition’ the storm? Or the new woodland reclaimed from cultivation, or the swaths of native plants that can grow because new light reaches the earth? Or the damaged, less-than-proportional woody shrubs that flower defiantly? Or the wildlife that takes cover and then returns to make new homes, nests and lairs without flinching as the scene changes?

“Till Feb. 23, we'll keep you guessing where we go with our idea,” she says.  “Come see and decide if we’ve captured the ‘Traditions of Nature.’ ” The show runs from Feb. 23-Feb. 26, 2012, at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

Volunteers

The Flower Show Committee could use an hour or two of your time. Please contact Nancy with your availability, chs.flowershow@gmail.com.