VIRGINIA BEACH
It's no accident that the annual Virginia Flower & Garden Expo takes place during the dead of winter. This time of year provides the perfect opportunity to entertain and educate people just before the rebirth of plants, trees and flowers in the spring.
"It's just going to be a great way to have a lot of fun and get ready for spring on some of this dreary January days," said Laurie Fox, Flower & Garden Expo coordinator.
This year's expo - dubbed Gardens Galore - at the Virginia Beach Convention Center will include more than 120 garden-related vendors and products, speakers and demonstrations and children's activities. Also featured will be an art show by local and regional artists, plants for sale and beautiful gardens and hardscapes created by local landscapers to inspire the imagination.
People can even bring in an ailing plant and get a diagnosis from a "plant doctor," Fox said.
The three-day event, which runs from Friday through Feb. 2, also will have a new layout and will feature more educational booths than in years past, Fox said. Some of the organizations with booths include the Beekeepers Guild of Southeastern Virginia, the Butterfly Society of Virginia Inc., the Tidewater Daylily Society, the Virginia Camellia Society and the Virginia Native Plant Society, South Hampton Roads Chapter.
Back by popular demand, Fox said, is a program at 1 p.m. Sunday called the "Floral Design Show."
Beverly Wayne, owner of Pretty Things in Virginia Beach, will be the commentator during the show, which will feature three local floral designers creating arrangements on the spot.
As the audience watches, each will be given the same flowers and container for one demonstration. For the second arrangement, the floral designers will be able to choose their own flowers and container, said Wayne, the expo's floral design consultant.
For that part of the expo, "people have an opportunity to watch really good designers who are experienced" create a one-of-a-kind arrangement, Wayne said.
"It's all fascinating to watch people put things together because this is art, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but there are certain basics that are fundamental," Wayne said.
Wayne would not divulge which flowers will be used because she wants the designers to be surprised by the selection, but, she said, the first arrangement will consist of blossoms that people will easily recognize.
And the second? "Tthe wilder the better," Wayne said.
This year's floral designers are Paul Doyle of Eufloria Floral and Gift Boutique in Virginia Beach, Marlene MacDonald of Lasting Impressions in Chesapeake and Helga Macko of Helga Macko Flowers in Virginia Beach.
The expo also will feature a Floral Challenge contest. Participants in three different categories - beginner, garden club and experienced floral designer, or professional floral designer - will be able to create their own arrangements in 20 minutes. Materials, such as flowers, greenery and other items, will be provided by the expo; participants need to bring only their own cutting tools.
Participants will be selected on a first-call basis. Arrangements will be given away at the end of each daily challenge.
Coordinator Fox said the expo will feature speakers giving 15-minute "teaser talks." These are brief introductions to topics, such as irises and vertical gardening, which allows event-goers to seek out more information if they wish, she said.
"It makes it easier to give people information in short, focused increments."
Toni Guagenti, tguagenti@cox.net
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IF YOU GO
What Virginia Flower & Garden Expo, presented by Belgard Hardscapes
When Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Feb. 1, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Feb. 2, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where Virginia Beach Convention Center
Cost $10, $2 off coupon can be downloaded at www.vafgs.org
More info www.vafgs.org