Rhode Island Flower Show, 2008

Once again the title of this day's entry pretty much says it all.

What it doesn't say is that Susie, Dorothy and I walked from our apartment to the convention center -- it took us all of about 20 minutes -- and so beat the traffic headaches that seem to plague Americans seeking to participate in large-scale events.

The title also doesn't tell you that it was an absolutely gorgeous Sunday afternoon for a leisurely walk into downtown.

Nor would you discern from the heading that the show was overpriced and generally underwhelming -- although I did get a good opportunity to experiment with my new macro lens -- or that it was a fairly juvenile experience. I mean that literally. All the displays were geared toward children's books and stories; and the only bookshop vendor I saw ("Other Tiger") on the fifth level, had two signs posted:"It's all about the children." Right.

The juried section was also quite understated as well and we were sorely disappointed that theren't more individual displays. No orchid organization was represented, at least none that I saw -- and in fact the only orchids I came across were being hawked in two vendor booths only ("why ma'am that pot alone is worth $40 and I'll let the whole thing go for $70 because I don't to talk it back with me to New York. . . ") The carnivorous plant society was stuck way up on the fifth floor, pretty much out of every one's way.

And speaking of vendors one was hard-pressed to figure out if this was a garden show or a what: bathroom fixtures, T-shirt silk-screening, jewelry, clothing, handbags and the like. Frankly I felt a bit violated: they took $16 bucks so that I could walk around an indoor shopping mall.

Still, the girl playing Sleeping Beauty was impressive -- she had certainly found her way into a zen state.

Of course we got in on the tail end of the show, that's true, when some of the arrangements were starting to show a bit of weariness.

But hey, see for yourself.



If you can't see the YouTube version with music, click here to access just the photos themselves.

Ciao,

Steve