2008 Indianapolis Flower and Patio Show

Hubby and I finally ventured to the fairgrounds for the 2008 Flower & Patio show! My feet now hurt and my husband is napping! I am always a tad disappointed in things like this. There is never quite enough flower and garden resources but always an outrageous amount of random off-the-wall vendors - you got the Vita-Shake people, the Steam-Doohicky people, random flea-market crap tables, Tupperware and Avon were both there - sheesh. Another thing is that half the show is dedicated to people with older homes or homes in neighborhoods that have tall trees that would actually need gutter covers, or restoration - then you have the invisible pet fence people, the window, siding and roof people. I wanted flowers, gardens and patios - not all the stuff in between. And then there are the people who go to these things - it is like everyone forgot their manners upon arrival. I about got knocked to the floor twice with people shoving their way through the crowd. And then there is the random man who decides to stop and stand in the every midhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifdle of the walkway so you must walk around him. Arg!

But we did get what we came for - contact information from a few landscaping companies to come and put in our patio and pergola and two blueberry bushes and one raspberry bush that were 50% off at Dammann's booth - a twisty wind thing for $5 and a free Red Oak sapling! I wanted to get rhubarb and I did find some - but it was $7.99 and I am convinced I can find it at Lowes for that price.

I have been wanting to recreate the yards of my childhood (I want a combination of my parents and my grandparent's yard) - complete with raspberry and blueberry bushes, rhubarb, and other specific flowers and bushes. I am getting pretty far in obtaining most everything on my list - and then some! I already have two lilac bushes, I love the smell of them, beautiful 4-O-Clock bushes that I remember growing so big in my grandma's backyard, hostas, day lilies, hibiscus, various decorative grasses, gerber daisies, hydrangeas, pear trees, tulips, daffodils, and crocus! Wow, we have quite a lot in our yard already - and there is only going to be more! I am a big fan of the 50% tables at Lowes and Home Depot in their plant section - I will take home those sad plants that have outgrown their pots and give them a home!

We also came across a place at the show that sells rain barrels, Green Way Supply who actually has a store here in Indianapolis - Matthew and I would like to get on those to save up on our water bill in the summer - especially if we have a summer like we did last year.