By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — The Cincinnati Flower Show, coming up April 19-27, was featured in 1,000 Places to See in the USA and Canada Before You Die, a newly published book by Patricia Schultz.

In 2002, it was named “the king of all flower shows” by Better Homes and Gardens and was recognized as one of the Top 10 Great Flower Shows in the United States by USA Today. The show will have an international flair this year with “Explore: Wonders of the World” as its theme. In addition, the show continues to expand green living exhibits.

“This year, we have a large exhibit focusing on the importance of going green,” said Mary Margaret Rochford, director of the show and president of the Cincinnati Horticultural Society, which produces the show. “It’s called ‘The Ripple Effect’ and basically the theme is, ‘If not you, then who?’ Everything from light bulbs to rain gardens, recycled wood will be featured.”

Other flower show highlights include:

•The Grand Marquee Horticultural Exhibit, which features spectacular gardens, new plant varieties, urban living courtyards and garden structures

•The Organic Food Exhibit, where top local farmers will bring together and exhibit locally produced organic foods

•Dramatic table settings, Garden Antiques Show, Artists’ Studio, Amateur Flower Show and marketplace vendors

•New this year – Patio Gardens

 “This year, each of the weekends are sort of bookends,” Rochford said. “The first weekend is a Fine Food Show, where visitors will have an opportunity to sample food from the best local and national vendors.

“It’s mostly fresh types of foods. Each day we have a chef’s challenge with chefs from the best restaurants in Cincinnati.”
The second is Small Wonders Weekend. All of the programming in one of the pavilions is for children. “Everything from teaching them how to pot and grow a plant to how to make apple pie,” Rochford said. “There will be bees, pigs, and chickens, since most of our customers are urban or suburban, and many of them have never seen a baby pig or chicken.”

Hamilton County Farm Bureau members are bringing the livestock and will be there to talk about them. Farm Bureau members will also be talking about grain and ethanol “and showing children and adults just how important farming is in their lives,” Rochford said.
Display tables will demonstrate how much gasoline could be saved if each family grew just one meal.

The show features lots of creative container gardens this year because there’s a trend toward container gardening, including vegetables as well as flowers and plants, Rochford said. Also, several rare breeds of poultry from her own farm will be on display.

The 2008 flower show, presented by Edyth and Carl Lindner, is staged on the banks of Lake Como at historic Coney Island, 6201 Kellogg Ave. in Cincinnati. Show hours are: April 19, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; April 20-26, 9 a.m.-7 p.m.; and April 27, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

For information, visit www.cincyflowershow.com or phone 800-670-6808.

This farm news was published in the April 9, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.