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Saturday, May 25, 2002

By Susan Banks, Post-Gazette Gardening Editor

In the mood for a little horticultural road trip? If you weren't able to visit the famed Chelsea Flower Show, which ended yesterday in London, then a visit to the Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show may satisfy your appetite.

	The Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show, which runs through June 2, has 60 to 70 vendors on hand to sell gardening products.

The show, which is patterned on the Chelsea show, opens Thursday and runs through June 2. It's the largest open-air flower show held in the United States, and that makes a huge difference, says show director Scott Corwon.

"At an indoor show, the biggest garden is about 1,500 to 2,000 square feet. Some of our gardens are up to 8,000 square feet."

Larger size, more flexibility in design, and the added bonus of seeing plants in their natural habitat, blooming on their natural cycle, are some of the benefits of being out-of-doors.

Whether you have a large garden or small yard, this year's show should have something to interest you, says Corwon. Visitors will come away with lots of ideas that can be readily applied to home landscapes. So warm up the car and put the brain cells into horticultural gear, because this year the show has 33 gardens, spread over 12 acres that are primped and ready for visitors. Among the highlights:

	Things to know if you go ... The Botanical Garden is within a mile of The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in the University Circle District of Cleveland, making it a great weekend destination. Continuous valet parking is available during the show. There are also a number of parking lots in the area that are an easy 5- to 10-minute walk to the show. Complimentary shuttle service is available to and from designated parking locations. Advance sale or group tickets are available for $12; general admission at the gate is $18; children (ages 4 to 12) are $6; children under 3 are free. Tickets can be purchased, for individuals or groups, by calling 800-766-6048 or visiting the Web site at (www.cbgarden.org). Tickets are also available at the door.

Six "Living Exhibit Gardens" will stay in place after the show closes, so visitors can come back and see the seasonal progression of a garden. These gardens are designed by top landscape architects and green industry leaders from the United States and Britain and range in size from 2,500 to 7,000 square feet

Five gardens have been designed and installed by leading regional landscape companies. These gardens are done by invitation, and competition is fierce. A design review committee chooses the most interesting and engaging plans.

"Of course we look for design excellence and great plant materials," says Corwon, "but [the designs] must also educate the public."

This year, the garden by Barnes Landscaping of Huron, Ohio, is especially whimsical. It's a Hobbit Garden, based on Tolkien's "Lord of Rings."

Five nonprofit organizations, including our own Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden, will design and install educational gardens ranging in size from 600 to 1,500 feet. Phipps, working with the National Aviary and the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, will construct a simulated Victorian glasshouse pavilion with the title of "Kidsburgh." The plantings will include monkey and teddy bear topiaries, tropical plants, palms, pansies, poppies, Ranunculous delphiniums and more.

For the first time, the Ohio Landscapers Association will compete with pocket or courtyard gardens that are each 200 square feet.

Competitions in horticulture, flower arranging, jewelry and youth classes will take place. The horticulture division includes cut specimen classes, container gardens, hanging containers and herbs. The youth division gives children in kindergarten through grade 12 the opportunity to compete in categories such as Mythical Creatures, Rainbows and Magic Bean Seeds. Both the horticulture and youth competitions are open to the public. There will be more than 1,000 individual entries overall.

No show would be complete without a wide assortment of vendors selling garden-related wares. Between 60 and 70 vendors will have everything from lawn tools to ornaments to live plant material.

"We don't try to have as many [vendors] as we can pack in." says Corwon "We want those who participate to offer unique garden merchandise, things that aren't offered elsewhere."

Of course no show would be complete without special guests. This year, besides an array of local experts, the show will feature Billy Jarecki, owner of New York City's famed floral studio Madderlake, which has become synonymous with high style. He opens the show with a demonstration on May 30.

Also, author Michael Pollan, whose book "The Botany of Desire: A Plant's-Eye View of the World," is on the best-seller list, will be at the show on June 1.