By CELESTE BAUMGARTNER
Ohio Correspondent

CINCINNATI, Ohio — A lady walked down Elm Street in Cincinnati, a smile on her face, overflowing shopping bags in each hand – on her way home from the Fifth Third Bank Cincinnati Home & Garden Show.

Crowds spilled into the Duke Energy Center for the show, many just for the late-winter joy of seeing splashes of colorful blooms, but others crowded around the booths looking at new ideas for their homes. Word is that people are staying close to home and fixing up instead of building.

“People are saying they’re going to invest in their home, remodel, upgrade, bigger landscape and patio areas, and investment in their home,” said Chip Hart of Hart Productions, which has been putting on the show since 1972. “That’s what we’re hearing on the floor.”
Hart was pleased with how well the show was going, despite the economy.

“Attendance has been good and people appear interested in buying products and services,” he said.

Bard Nursery

Red tulips, yellow daffodils and blue and white hyacinths awakened the senses at the Bard Nursery booth. “We come to the flower show every year,” said Teresa Bard. “It is good publicity for us.”

Sara Garcia, Bard’s growing division manager, added, “With the economy being what it is, people want to spend more time at home. They want to make that a comfortable, enjoyable space, so I think landscaping is even more important.

“Gardening is relaxing and in times when people are a little tense and things are a little unsure, it is a comfort zone, being at home and having it be comfortable and pretty and be able to enjoy your time at home.”

SmithScapes.com

Brian Smith from SmithScapes.com, a landscape service in Cleves, Ohio, agreed.

“We found last year towards the fall that a lot of people were just improving what they have, making it more livable, maybe a little patio on the back or renovating a backyard,” he said.

Smith said he had many window shoppers at the show, but he typically finds that work from the show “trickles through the whole year, so that is a good thing.”

The Civic Garden Center

Betty Rauen from the Civic Garden Center of Cincinnati thought it had the only booth at the show that was not selling anything.
“Our focus is on education and green projects,” she said. “We promote neighborhood gardens that involve adults and children.”

After the show the plants (an assortment of flowers and vegetables) in their display would be going into neighborhood gardens, Rauen said. “We come to the flower show because we want to promote the idea of civic involvement in gardening,” she explained.

White Tail Acres Nursery
and Landscaping

Kevin Priessman of White Tail Acres Nursery and Landscaping explained, smiling, the name of their business, which had evolved from a Christmas tree farm into a full-fledged landscaping business:

“We planted our first trees in 1983. Not knowing anything about Christmas trees back then, we planted 3,000 Scotch pine. At that point we lived in Cincinnati.

“We came out the following weekend to see how the trees were doing and we had about 30 left. So we realized we were not only planting them for harvest, but the deer liked to eat them too – so we named our farm White Tail.”

At the booth he was finding that instead of spending $3,000-$5,000 on a vacation people might spend $500, stay at home and spruce up the yard.

“The industry seems to be going green now,” Priessman said. “A lot of people are having their own backyard gardens and orchards, so we’re trying to tap into that market also. It is very competitive out there, so you have to find little niches.”

Certified Angus Beef

The Certified Angus Beef (CAB) booth was a beehive of activity. In addition to popular cooking demonstrations and free recipes, visitors were invited to blend their own rub from bowls filled with aromatic spices.

“It’s been a popular way for customers to interact with us and learn a bit more about our product,” said Jennifer Schertz, CAB. “We’re here to educate people about what CAB is.

“We’re the top 8 percent of all beef. We want to explain what makes us special and why the care that the producer puts into the product translates into a good steak or piece of meat.”