Remy,
Thanks for the info. We have attended the Syracuse Home & Garden show the past 2 years and were very disappointed. We may plan to come to the Rochester show. Have you been? I'd like to really take my time there and attend 2 of the seminars, greenhouse gardening and kitchen gardens at 1 & 2:00. I looked through their picture gallery, amazing...I'll have to remember to bring my camera with me.

Do you know if they have a snack bar there to get lunch?

Hi Pat,
I went to the Rochester Show last year. There were some very nice displays. It was full of people, but I was still able to get a good look at everything. I also remember some bonsai group had displays on the way to the vendor area. Those plants were really neat to look at. The vendor area was nice. I actually got 2 really cool plants, Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' and Chameacyparis pisifera 'Curly Top', for $5 a piece there.
I don't remember food. I'm sure there was something. Someone else will probably respond.
Remy

Buffalo Home and Garden Show Mar. 4-12 (this week end)

Penny

Thanks for the links, I am definitely heading out to ROchester! I hate the buffalo home show. It's just a bunch of people selling gadgets and a huge mess of people every year.

We are going to the Rochester Show too. Last year was our first year and I didn't know what to expect. I had never been to an exclusive garden show before. At first I was disappointed, but then after attending other shows after that one, I realized just how nice a show it is. I have a friend in Canada who says the Canada Blooms show is great and we plan on attending next year.

Here's a link to last year's pictures for the Rochester Show.

Here is a link that might be useful: 2005 Rochester Flower Show Pics

Went to the Rochester Show a few years back, thought it was great, but this year it's on St. Patrick's Day weekend,hmmmmmmmmm beer?/gardenshow?, think the beer wins lol. Will definitely catch Plantasia since it's so closeby.

Husky, LOL!

Adina, Thanks for posting the pics including the bonsai!
Remy

ROchester does have a snack bar, but it is packed at noon. SO try to eat earlier or later, hard to find a place to sit from 11:45 to 1:00.

We may go to the Buffalo H & G show today just to get out of the house.

Penny

Penny, If you went, how was it?

Well we didn't make it to the Buffalo show. We decided to redo the downstairs bathroom. Spent half of Saturday at Lowe's and the rest of the week-end installing the new vanity, painting and installing the new towels bars, etc.

Penny

That's too funny. We're redoing our upstairs bathroom. We were at Lowes from 1:00 until 3:30. Ugh!

I have to tell you there must be a lot of people reodoing bathrooms right now b/c I think half the people at Lowe's were buying bathroom vanities, hardware, etc. We were at the one out on Transit Road and Maple in Amherst/Clarence.

penny

if youre coming to rochester, theres plenty of chain places by the show in henrietta to eat or even better, you should go to the dinosaur bbq in the city (better than syracuses, food and atmosphere)or to tahous and get a garbage plate.

Pat,
What didn't you like about the Syracuse show? I see it's coming up next week and DH and I were talking about going.
What do they usually have there?

I'm not Pat, but just wanted to say that the Syracuse Home and Garden show is geared more towards people who are remodeling and/or redecorating their homes...the garden part is just a small addition and no large scale displays to speak off (at least the last time I was there). If you are interested in windows, siding, hot tubs, sheds or sun rooms, this is your place. I had heard that they wanted to expand the gardening portion, but don't know if that has happened in the last couple of years.

Yuuch. I won't waste my time on the Syracuse show then.
It might be fun to go Gardenscape. All the time I lived in Rochester, I wasn't a gardener, so I didn't go.
I have family who live right in Henrietta, not far from the Dome. Maybe we'll take a trip up there, go to the show, and visit.

I went to the Rochester show. I enjoyed it. I thought they had some really nice plants in the displays this year. And there was a massive pond in the middle of all the displays! The bonsai group was there again. Those little trees are truly unbelievable! They had a nice vendor area too. I picked a painted tin bucket welcome display thing and it cost $16. I figured it was well worth the price.
Oh, and I saw Brent Heath speak. You can really tell he love his bulbs! I had to buy his daffodil book and have him sign it. I told him that I spend more money on his daffodils than anything else I buy during the year. Obviously he was happy to hear that, lol.

I'm hoping to go Sunday but not sure because of the portable greenhouse and these FRIGID temps. I worry about leaving the heater on while I'm gone.

Hi: From Amherst area and I did attend the Toronto Show last year. Quite large and impressive with two large buildings. I wanted to try out my new digital on close-ups of the unusual flowers. In winter, it felt good to get away and see some bloomers! Now I'm getting "the itch." I pray this is the last of the white stuff with a light dusting this a.m.

Hi Everyone !
We did go to the show on the 17th and really enjoyed all the display gardens. We attended 2 seminars. I wasn't as impressed with the first one we attended but that was probably because I was a little bored, it was mostly what I had already learned through research. The 2nd one was Barbara Damrosch who was wonderful and witty. I purchased her book Garden Primer at the show and had her autograph it for me. My little one was excellent during the seminars but was a tad unruly while we were touring all the gardens. We had stopped for lunch on the thruway, but we did make time to sit and have a snack, they had super nachos. We enjoyed looking at all the things the vendors had to offer and I had to rip myself away from the African Violets. They were sooo pretty, I could have adopted once of each LOL. We were there for about 5 hrs and by the time we were done viewing the gardens I was stuffy, eyes itchy and feeling quite sneezy from all the pollen and couldn't wait to get outside and get some fresh air.
We'll definately go again next year as it was sooo much better than the Syracuse show.
Thanks for all the info everyone !!!
Pat

Pat,
I'm glad you thought it was worth the trip!
I went to the Buffalo one yesterday. It isn't as nice as the Rochester one, but I still enjoyed it. They did have a great, big, set up of a children's garden that the kids really did love. You're little one could of got some of their energy out there!
Remy

I also went to Plantasia on Friday night, it was enjoyable, didn't see anything to buy but was amazing what they hauled into that AgriCenter.

I miss so many garden themed shows/festivals. I get so frustrated when I find out there was one I could have attended 'LAST' weekend...
How do you find out these things??

You know I don't remember how I originally found out about them. I did get a flyer in the mail this year for Plantasia. They must of mailed to people who've attended before.
I know the shows are in March, so I look them up on the computer during the winter. Most everything has a web site these days.
Remy

I check the paper and I also get People Places and Plants magazine, and they list the majority of shows in the New England Area.

I also bookmark the sites of my favorite ones and schedule a reminder on my Yahoo calender once I know the date for next year.
Here are some links for you.
Rochester - http://www.rochesterflowershow.com/sitemap.htm
Garden Web List of Events - http://calendar.gardenweb.com/display/?1101
Upstate Gardener's Journal - http://upstategardenersjournal.com/

Thanks to you both.