Sounds like a huge amount of fun. Count me in. Sandy

I would love to go, and had intended to do so last year, but.... oh well. So count me in for this one as well.

Janine

I'd like to attend also.......anyone near the Baltimore area? We could carpool or something?
Bonnie

I'm interested in going and I would be happy to carpool.

Bonnie, I could always drive up to Bbaltimore from Silver Spring and meet you to carpool

KimKa

You can pre-buy your tickets/admission wristbands online so you won't have to wait at the door. Go to www.hortmag.com and click on GardenFair info. Everything is there from vendor lists to maps of the layout to directions, hours, program schedules, etc. I will be buying my ticket online (must be before Sept. 1) beforehand to save time at the gate, as I plan on being there early - although traffic will stink going up there in the morning on a Fri.

Kim, it sounds like a plan. Are you thinking of going up Thursday...Friday... or which day?
Bonnie

Bonnie, what's good for you and anyone else we might entice to join us. My schedule is flexible that week. Round trip in one day is a bit of a drive.

Just an fyi - there are oodles of bed and breakfasts in the Brandywine River Valley. If you're heading to Winterthur anyway, it would be a shame to miss Longwood Gardens - they're really close to each other. :) And there's a nice winery and the Brandywine River Museum and all kinds of neat antique shops in that area...... I live in northeastern Baltimore County (Cub Hill) and it takes me about 90 minutes to get to Winterthur.

Kim et al... My schedule is flexible too...Thursday is the earlybird sale..spending an overnight somewhere is fine with me. Friday is also good for me and ditto the overnight.. I'm easy. I could do some antique shops...winery.. museums..whatever.

Rachelacey.. are you going to the fair? Cub Hill is about 10 minutes from Middle River,( Balt. county) where I live.
Whatsay we try to rendevous together everyone and all go up together? Buying tickets online seems the best way to go. I subscribe to Horticulture mag also.. so getting a discount on tickets will be nice. Does that mean we can buy multiple tickets using our discount advantages?

Bonnie

Another flexible schedule here. Thursday earlybird sounds good, overnight with antiquing, Longwood, etc. sounds even better. I'm flexible and could drive/carpool. I'm in Bel Air, MD.

Lesley

I'd love to join the excitement too. I am about 40 min from Winterthur. I'll meet you there. Let me know where.

Jan

Although I have no idea where Winterhur or Brandywine is, I have a flexible schedule and could do Thursday/Friday, too.
I think, at this point, I can say, "Count me in!"

Christine

This is REAL tempting....I have been eyeballing the GardenFair for a couple of months now......hmmm.....need to check into hotel availability.....Suz

Ok, we are getting closer to getting tickets. Just checked with gardening pal, Bec_No_VA.....says she's in. Let us know were everyone is staying. Suz

OK, I can finally start focusing on September...

Has any one come up with a hotel for Thursday night?

Anyone have a strong plan for how to spend Friday..antiquing, other gardens etc.

And can we get a commited count of who wants a hotel room, so we can see if we have enough for a block book discount?

Actually I was just looking at the Fair schedule on Winterthur's webpage and Thursday night is a gala at $125. We probably want to be there for the Friday early bird which opens at 10 a.m. So do want to drive up Thursday, do our "other" and then go to Winterthur on Friday or go up early Friday morning tot he Fair and then stay over and spend Saturday having other fun?

Here is a link that might be useful: Garden fair schedule

My schedule is tight that week so I will just drive up Friday morning, shop, and come home. Glad to see there will be some revelry going on with you all though !! We will have to catch up and compare purchases at the MAG swap.

I think I will have to skip the three day thing also and just go up Friday morning to shop and look around for a few hours and then come home. Anybody want to meet somewhere and carpool for the day?
Bonnie

My weekend got over scheduled too. I'd also be happy to carpool up just for Friday. I live in Silver Spring by 495, and I will be happy to meet up with people. Do we have some one who subscribes to Hort mag so get us discount tickets?

Kim Ka

Sorry. I have to cancel out altogether.
Hope whoever goes has a great time.
Bonnie

Cruising posts while I wait for my ride to Winterthur. Could be interesting if Ophelia takes a turn west.....(with my luck it will). Suz

To those of you who got to go to the Fair.....please let us know how it went.

Bonnie

think the show is great! not too late to go - lots of great selections still - if weather holds up....

I went early on Friday, stayed around 1.5 hrs, there were some good vendors there, but they were expensive. I ended up spending most all of my $$ at Mason Hollow's booth. I bought:
1 Caryopteris "Sunshine Blue"
1 Callicarpa "Early Amethyst"
1 Tricyrtis "Lightning Strike"
1 Hosta "Avocado"
1 Hosta "Time Tunnel"
1 weeping Japanese Maple - green, filigree

So, was it worth the trip ? In my opinion, not really. It cost me $40 in gas, $9 in tolls, $25 to get in, and I thought it was going to be bigger. Oh well... at least I got to see it and bought two hostas not locally available, so that was good. I was disappointed in Plant Delights tables, I thought they would have more unusual hostas but they didn't have anything that caught my eye as a standout.

How did everyone else fare ???
Amy

I went on Saturday, and had a wonderful time. The vendors were great, and I even saw a little of Winterthur. It was not crowded, and extremely well organized. They just need a add a PortaPotty in the parking lot! There could always be more vendors, but I was able to find enough to spend almost all my money. I got some ferns from PD, and some Epimediums. I was disappointed in the hostas too, but maybe that's because very few these days make the 10' rule for me. It was a very enjoyable, relaxing day. Of course it is closer for me, Saturday is cheaper, and I went with a gardening friend. We also stopped at every nursery all the way home. Althogether it was a very enjoyable day.

Just found this thread. A friend and I turned it into a road trip and stayed up in DE for two nights. Like Amy, I was somewhat disappointed. Found our local GreenSprings sale (without an admission fee) a better option. However, I really needed to get away from the grind. Took in two lectures. Rebecca Kohls is not what you see on TV and I will leave it at that.

My purchases included, 3 callicarpas, 2 climbing asters, 3 gound cover clematis', gaura, and an unusual (probably invasive, too) lysmachia. Some just in the ground yesterday before the big rains, the rest in a pan of water (guess I can take them out now that it's raining).

Would I go again? Maybe for the getting away factor, but not for the plant shopping experience.

Thanks for your input and observations of the fair.
I will think again next year about going. I'm a sucker for plant sales, but it's nice if the whole experience is worth the trip.
Thanks.....
Bonnie

Annie - What were some of the nurseries you stopped at on the way home? I live near Aberdeen and I'm not familiar with the options north of Aberdeen, on the way to Winterthur. Would love to have some ideas!

I second that.....what nurseries are north ?
I would love to make a" whole day " kind of trip.
thanks......
Bonnie

I just happened on this thread, too. I have been too busy to read GardenWeb like I should!! I went with my mother -- we enjoyed having the time to talk in peace. I agree that the sale wasn't all that exciting, but I enjoyed it anyhow. Green Spring's sale this past spring was bigger. However, at Winterthur, I did get a [Big Sky] Sunset coneflower, three chartreuse tricyrtis and three sedges from PDN. Maybe they'll even come back rustfree next year, Lord willing and the creek don't rise!

Also found a clematis, and two American wisteria (just gets about 10', unlike out-of-control imports) for a client. I'm glad I found that vine grower!

I also enjoyed the booths of Rare Find Nursery and Broken Arrow Nursery -- good ideas. Broken Arrow had some SWEET kalmias, variegated pieris, and dogwoods, among other plants -- anyone here ever grow dusty zenobia? I might go again just to see the northern growers' stocks. Southern hellebore breeders were there, too, but of course it wasn't the best time of year to showcase their stock.

Happy planting...

Julia

Hi all, sorry I haven't been around, working too hard.

We went north on Rt 52, and then north on RT 1 until RT 322. I don't remember the names of the nurseries, except for Styers. Large selection of accessories, nice plants, not especially good prices except for the 1/2 sale. There was another nursery in Chadds Ford, south side of Rt 1 which had huge mums for $5. They mostly carry seasonal plants, and some tropicals. The PA or DE folks may be able to help you out.

Anyone who eats at Hanks in Chadds Ford - the food is great, but they take cash only. We found out the hard way, but it was great for laughs.

Annie,
Thanks! I'll make that route a day trip during the spring.

JuliaT, you must have found Brushwood Nursery for the vines! Brushwood has quite a few of the native Clematis, too.

Zenobia grows well at Chanticleer. Near their bog garden is a large Zenobia with very silvery foliage. It's grown there for years. I think it has to be in the right spot to do well.

I enjoyed GardenFair.