weekend Update - Part 2

So after Saturday's adventures in plant-ittude, it only seemed fitting to attend the annual Boston Flower and Garden Show. I showed you some of the scenes on Monday and I think I'd mentioned before that the theme was container gardening.

The "theme" wasn't obviously apparent by the displays, but they were beautiful nonetheless. I was excited about two of Sunday's lectures. One was about growing cacti and succulents. I was hoping to find out more about how to grow them from seed since my first try died a quick and painful death. The death may have involved me rushing and knocking the entire pot off the table... Anywho, the presenter was very knowledgeable and gave some great tips on making your own potting soil for succulents (1/3 regular potting mix, 1/3 sand, 1/3 vermiculite - don't use pre-made succulent mix as they don't usually have sand) and an interesting tip about rooting pieces of the plant that fall off (just stick them in a shallow container of wet sand), but the majority of the demonstration was about creating a nice display of grown cacti and succulents in a pot. By the way, how do you all pronounce "cacti"? I've always said it like "cack-tie" but the presenter said it "cack-tea". Is that a weird New England accent or am I wrong?

The other lecture was titled "Growing your Groceries." Which sounds perfect! Unfortunately I've been way too overzealous about reading books and online and forums and your blogs. It was a great lecture for those that haven't ever grown anything before, or for those that haven't tried growing vegetables. I actually snuck out the back early because I didn't think I wasn't learning anything new.

Then we walked around some of the vendors to see what they had to offer. Ok, so we really went hunting for free food samples. And we weren't disappointed. In fact, we ended up buying some delicious treats!

And I found some earrings. I recently got my ears pierced after they'd closed up, and I've been trying to only go for gold backed earrings and there was a gold/silversmith there who told me about his technique.
There was even a group of artists that specialize in plants. As someone who isn't artistic in the least, I'm always so impressed.

We spent another hour or so walking around admiring the displays! I thought it was a great way to spend a weekend!