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Beyond Wellesley: a visit to Spring at the Boston Flower Show

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Every year around this time it feels hard to believe that spring is coming. Right now in Wellesley snow is still on the ground, the trees are bare, and the temperatures are not expected to creep even as high as 60 degrees anytime soon. Keeping the faith is a challenge.

The Boston Flower & Garden Show has had no such crisis of faith since 1834, when the event started out in Faneuil Hall more as a country fair than what is today a showcase for backyard suburban paradises. At the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston through March 17, the show’s theme this year is “The Beauty of Balance.” Wellesley’s own Massachusetts Horticultural Society’s Interim Director and President Suzanne Maas serves as Show Chair, and Hannah Traggis, Senior Horticulturalist at MassHort is Vice Chair of the flower show.

Mass Hort also manages all the amateur competitions at the show, which include floral design, amateur horticulture competitions including plant rooms, bay windows, individual house plants/horticulture exhibits, and junior horticulture, Ikebana display, miniature gardens, and photography.

Here are a few pics from my wander through spring bottled up in a vast convention center and put on display for the masses, hungry for a glimpse of what is to come.

Boston Flower Show
Miskovsky Landcape, Falmouth says the goal of their display was to “…create a park-like setting using natural elements alongside supersized hand-painted terra cotta pots. We invite the viewer to reconsider the traditional notions of scale.” Foreman: David Alves; creative team: Bridget Carroll and Heidi Clark.

 

Joseph Gray Stonework and Sculpture of Pittsfield, New Hampshire notes, “The combination of design, flowers, stonework, flowing water, and sculpture create a sense of peace and balance.” All sculpture hand carved by Joseph Gray.

 

Boston Flower Show
Heimlich Nurseries, Woburn, Massachusetts says, “We decided to build a garden that with its hardy New England trees, shrubs, and flowers gives a sense of calculation without the severity of the explicit. This is a more naturalistic approach whereby you can just enjoy being in the space.”

 

Boston Flower Show
gardenUP of Boston notes, “The design is a balance of form and function.” The company emphasizes design that incorporates bee pollinators, deer resistance, summer color, and more.

 

Boston Flower Show
Paul Massad Landscaping of Boylston, Massachusetts says, “Our garden uses sound, color, tones, and textures to help you feel relaxed and at one with your surroundings. without the sense of being in a landscape that is over designed and overwhelming.”

 

Boston Flower Show
Samantha’s Gardens of Andover, Massachusetts says, “We attempt to capture the calm, soothing tranquility of a natural forest scene with a meditative space that draws individuals to immerse themselves in the beauty of nature.”

 

Boston Flower Show
Interiors by MS of Lakeville, Massachusetts says, “Equilibrium, beauty, and rhythm are fundamental when it comes to outdoor living spaces that transmit peace and tranquility.”

 

Boston Flower Show
Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School of Lexington nailed it with their exhibit titled “Beauty is in the Eye of the Student.” The students note, “The height of the trees provide stability to the plants below. The contrast of the colors, texture, and form present perfect balance in nature.”

 

Boston Flower Show
A study in LEGO at the Boston Flower Show.

 

UU Wellesley
In front of UU Wellesley on Washington Street, witch hazel in bloom proves that spring is coming to town.
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