There's nothing quite like attending a flower and garden show in late winter to reinvigorate your gardening spirit! We recently had the privilege of visiting the Vermont Flower and Garden Show, where this year's theme, "The Story of Gardening," provided a perfect backdrop for exploration, inspiration, and connection with fellow garden enthusiasts.

We arrived early before the doors opened to the public, allowing us a rare opportunity to explore the spectacular display gardens in peaceful solitude. Today, we're taking you on a virtual tour of our favorite moments and discoveries from this extraordinary event.

Magnificent Display Gardens

The moment we stepped into the show, we were greeted by an impressive Regency-style entrance that set the tone for the visual feast ahead. The display gardens transported visitors through different eras and garden styles from around the world, each meticulously crafted with blooming plants that seemed to defy the March calendar.

The Victorian Glasshouse and Rocky Glen

The first display that captured our attention featured an elegant Victorian glasshouse surrounded by a breathtaking array of spring flowers. What made this particularly remarkable was the collection of actual blooming wisteria filling the air with fragrance alongside beds of hyacinths, anemones, and tulips emerging from real grass.

The Rocky Glen area showcased one of our favorite features of the entire show: ingenious water features designed to create the illusion of rocks being held up by streams of water. This area emphasized cool color tones—deep purples from PJM rhododendrons paired with blue hyacinths created a tranquil atmosphere that drew visitors in.

We were particularly struck by how the designers incorporated bursts of white flowers to provide contrast against the deeper jewel tones, creating visual relief and heightening the impact of the rich colors.

The Cottage Garden

As cottage garden enthusiasts ourselves, we felt right at home in this display that featured many elements similar to our own garden. Curving lines, natural stone pathways, and a profusion of daffodils in varying colors created that characteristic cottage garden charm.

The fragrant blooming lilacs (in March!) added an irresistible sensory element, demonstrating how important scent is to the complete garden experience. Cardinal red dogwood stems provided structural interest, similar to what we've incorporated in our own front yard containers.

From Dutch Tulips to Victory Gardens

The Dutch tulip field display brought a smile to our faces with its colorful rows of tulips and charming windmill. This vibrant section carried us straight to the Netherlands without leaving Vermont.

In contrast, the Victory Garden display impressed us with its practicality and nostalgia. Featuring fully grown corn, kale, and other vegetables alongside a (decorative) chicken coop, this garden celebrated the rich history of growing food during challenging times.

Medieval Gardens and Japanese Tea Houses

The medieval garden captured our imagination with its chessboard-inspired design and ornate flags reminiscent of Disney's Sleeping Beauty. We particularly loved the decorative containers with faces carved into them and the simple but elegant mono-plantings of daffodils.

The Japanese Tea Garden offered a complete change of atmosphere, with its serene tea house and carefully composed plantings demonstrating how diverse garden styles can each create their own emotional experience.

The Islamic Garden and More

Completing our tour was the Islamic Garden with its central water feature, surrounded by palms, cacti, and ferns—a dramatic departure from the plant palette of other displays. This garden reminded us that drawing inspiration from different cultural traditions can introduce exciting new elements to our own spaces.

Gardener's Supply Company: A Showcase of Possibilities

After exploring the display gardens, we spent time at the Gardener's Supply Company booth, where our friends had created a beautiful representation of their retail and online offerings. The booth featured houseplant collections, seed-starting displays, and even a special section highlighting our story—a touching and unexpected honor!

We were particularly drawn to their elevated bed displays, which showed the natural cedar before staining (ours at home are finished in a dark charcoal stain). It inspired us to consider incorporating ornamental plants among our vegetables in our own raised beds—proving that even experienced gardeners can find fresh ideas at every turn.

Connecting with the Community

One of the highlights of attending a garden show is meeting the people who make up our local gardening community. We had the pleasure of connecting with several organizations and businesses:

Common Roots

This 17-year-old nonprofit focuses on food education, equity, and land stewardship. They grow food for three local food shelves and provide educational programs in elementary schools, bringing local Vermont ingredients into classrooms for cooking and tasting experiences. Their work reminds us that gardening can be a powerful force for community good.

Savor Cookies

We enjoyed meeting Andre from Savor Cookies, whose unique shortbread creations ranging from lavender to hot pepper and onion were the talk of the show. The coconut lime hot pepper cookie delivered a surprising and delightful flavor experience!

Phoenix Bookstore

The Phoenix Bookstore's booth offered a treasure trove of gardening literature. We couldn't resist picking up "Botanist's Vocabulary" to expand our gardening terminology and admired their selection of beautifully photographed books from Floret Farm.

Sharing Our Gardening Journey

We were honored to present a seminar at the show about our own gardening journey since 2018. It was a joy to share photos of how our garden has evolved and to discuss our approach to creating a contemporary cottage garden that reflects our personal style.

Some key points from our presentation included:

• The importance of garden structures, like our square elevated beds juxtaposed with curved arches, in creating visual interest
• How limiting color palettes to about four tones can prevent a garden from feeling overwhelming
• The value of creating vignettes or "garden rooms" to establish different experiences throughout the space
• Our philosophy of embracing what you love and melding different styles to create a garden that's uniquely yours

Bringing the Inspiration Home

As we reflect on our experience at the Vermont Flower and Garden Show, several themes stand out that we're excited to incorporate into our own garden this season:

1. The power of fragrance: The show reminded us how important scent is to the garden experience, from lilacs to hyacinths to even the earthy smell of mulch.
2. Ornamental elements: We're feeling inspired to add more decorative touches like the urns on pedestals and whimsical statuary we saw throughout the displays.
3. Contrasting colors: The strategic use of white flowers to provide relief and contrast against deeper tones is a technique we'll definitely be applying.
4. Cultural inspiration: Seeing how different garden traditions from around the world create unique atmospheres has encouraged us to think more broadly about our design influences.
5. Thoughtful plant combinations: The display gardens showcased masterful pairings of plants with complementary textures and colors—a reminder to consider these relationships in our own planting plans.

The show provided that perfect late-winter boost of inspiration just as we're beginning to plan and prepare for the upcoming growing season. There's something magical about seeing flowers in bloom when your own garden is still awakening from winter slumber—it builds anticipation and reminds us of the beauty to come.

Thanks for growing with us!