Have a good time! I went 4 years ago and haven't gone back, though I don't regret going. Lots of machinery, hardscape and tools, a few wholesale plant dealers, a few talks. Maybe it has changed since then, but it was not enough to draw me down to Boston again. I think my biggest frustration was that much of it didn't deal with anyone but landscapers and wholesale sales to nurseries, etc and I don't have a nursery license. There are dealers who will sell to the public as long as they are buying in wholesale quantities, but not ones near me who went to NEG.

Well, that was fun, and well worth the trip to Boston for me. I went with a couple of pals; we enjoyed 2 talks and spent the rest of the time on the exhibition floor.

True, there were no plants for sale, but there were some that had been forced to show off to the LAs, garden center managers and contractors who were there. My friends bought tools, there were several vendors who had thing that you can't find locally that are more expensive in catalogs. I did fall in love with some big scissors that turned out to be bonsai shears; they looked like they'd be great for cutting back bushy perennials. At $90, I passed on them but I suspect I'll be dreaming about them next summer when I can't find just the right tool for shearing spent nepeta and salvia.

The talks I attended were

Artscaping: The Design and Installation of Land-Made Sculpture, by Dan Snow (author of In the Company of Stone). His photos were lovely, and he had some interesting slides on the history of the use of stone.

Promising Perennials, by David Culp, of Sunny Border Nurseries. That one was really interesting; he went through all the Perennial Plant of the Year winners and explained what improved varieties have been developed since each won its award. He's a very dynamic speaker, and a devoted plant collector.

Now I can't wait for a "real" flower show!

I used to go to this show when I owned a small nursery. I always thought you had to be in the business to get in. They had great talks and lots of good products to see. Are they not restricting it anymore?

I went with a friend who's in a "related business" - my tag had the name of her real estate company on it, minus the words "real estate".

We met other people from our town there, who aren't incorporated but who do gardening for other people - they just used business names like Jane Doe Gardening.

At the farm trade show they had "for credit" pesticide classes. It was free from university of maine. (you need 18 credit hours to keep your license every 3 years) You walk in and sit down no questions asked. If you have to have the credit they look at your license and wright it on the sheet. I find the impute from real growers as important as the class. The neighbor, real grower I road down with years ago told me "sit down ,take notes and shut up. your questions will be answered by other growers." In the 10 years I have been going with him he has never said a word . I wonder when his 40 years of farming will make him experienced enough to add to the teaching?