I'll be at the Jersey Shore Rose Society table, which will probably be next to the Rutgers Extention area at the back of the hall. Stop by and say hello and ask rose questions!

Did the show move from Somerset to Edison or is this a completely different garden show?

Not absolutely certain, but I believe this is a re-incarnation of the old show (Somerset) with a new event
producer (MAC Events). . .I've been attending at the new
location (Edison) for the last three years. While the
overall quality has definitely improved each year, the name of the show is a bit disingenuous - it really ought to be called the Landscape and Contractor Trade Show. It
is a bit unsettling to be hussled at so many of the exhibits by guys selling concrete block products!

Next week, after she's had a chance to catch her breath,
our own GW poster, "miss_rumphius_rules", (she's an
exhibitor in the NJ Flower & Garden Show) should be
checking in and she could probably give us a much more
accurate history of this event. . .

I went and I got to meet Diane at the rose table.
It was better than I expected. They even had a few nice competitions but they need more. What they need is some more participation from individual societies to display examples of plants. After all, it is a flower show. You want to be entertained at least in part by plants. The displays are much fewer than Philly and it doesn't take long to see them. Obviously less money is being spent overall which is understandable. But you knew that. And that being said, it was more than I expected. It looks like it is a good growth stage and has the potential of getting better if some of the participants can stick it out.
One vendor was complaining that they weren't sure it was worth traveling here from out of state for the amount of business they got. But this vendor was selling their plants double that of their competition. They did have a nicer selection and slightly larger, blooming plants.
Most of the plant materials in most of the exhibits were common, just what you see at the greenhouse department. Daffodils and primrose come to mind. Yikes, I even saw silk flowers in the Rutgers exhibit - just the irises that I noticed (overall, a sweet exhibit though). No budget to be shipping from across the country. Hey, you do the best you can with what you got. However, there were exceptions . For best in show, I voted for the Secret Garden which had a real variety along a very nice display.
I thought there was a nice mix of vendors, not just paving blocks. Atlock had a booth where I spent most of my money. But there were bulbs, seeds, orchids, and various plants for sale, garden sculpture, painted wrought iron, furnishing, copper gutters and leaders, art work, photography, mounted butterflies, soaps, sauces and dips, fudge, wind hangings, etc. Some vendors could stand to make their booths more visually attractive instead of looking like a trade show. It might attract some attention.
All in all, it is a nice way to spend an afternoon in February. Don't go in there expecting Philadelphia but you can expect more than the County Fair, at least the fairs I've been to.

I am indeed an exhibtor at the NJ Flower and Garden Show. For the past 4 years I have created a garden for the centeral garden displays. Here's some thoughts and a brief history of the show...

In 1994 there was a wonderful flower show at the Morristown Armory. My understanding is that it as it got bigger it moved to the Garden State Exhibit Center in Sommerset where it's quality declined over several years. Ultimately it turned into a patio show. Five years ago MAC Events revived the flower show in a larger venue in Edison as a commercial venture. Their original partners/sponsors was Clayton Block who saw the show as an opportunity to sell pavers. For the first several years, the show has heavily hardscaped with paver products because they were provided to the gardens free of charge. Fast forward 5 years...

The show is growing, and each year the quality of the gardens improved although this year there were two or three gardens that stood out from the rest. If those of us who mount display gardens can stick it out, the show will ultimately be a good one. My garden which was awarded several prizes, took 8 months of planning , 3 contractors and thousands of dollars to create. The crowd that currently attends the show is not my customer base--they are folks who are out for a bit of spring on a cold winter day. The show needs to attract a more upscale clientel so that the garden builders have a chance to land some lucrative work in exchange for creating the central feature.

New Jersey deserves a show of its own that will feature local talent. The state plant societies and organizations need to exhibit and support it. New this year were the Van Vleck Gardens and the Association of Professional Landscape Designers NJ Chapter. Freylinghausen Arboretum sponsored children's workshops and the Garden Club of NJ had a standard flower show competition. Speakers and seminars were varied and interesting. The selling exhibitors were also varied in quality and type.

Miss_Rumphius_Rules, how much do they charge the societies to display?
The sand castle building was a very clever display and they let the kids help. And the vignettes in the competition area were a nice surprise including the shadowbox miniatures and the fairytale settings - forgot what each was called exactly.

I believe the plant societies get a donated space. Regular booth price is about 500. We have some great groups and societies in the state that should participate--the Rhododendron Society, The Native Plant Society, etc. The more of these that particpate the more legitimate the show.

Thanks for all the info and historical data, Miss R/R. . .
Your revelation that Clayton Concrete was one of the
original sponsors certainly explained all the building
materials! And, if, as you suggest, plant societies get
FREE space, then you're quite right, ALL of them should be there. . .time for some letter-writing around the State,
urging them to consider it. And if a booth is only $500.,
wouldn't you think more of the quality nurseries in NJ
would want to be a part of it - imagine that delightful
little Barlow's Nursery cart (which just screams "Flower
Show"!) times 10, or even 20. . .time for me to start
dropping hints to Rare Find, and Ambleside, and Sickle's,
and Fairweather, and Well-Sweep Herb Farm, there must be
just dozens and dozens.

One last question: is there anyone in particular, or
possibly a planning committee, at MAC Events, that is
interested in feedback from their traget audience?

Cindy Napp and Jim McLaughlin.