Hicks Flower Show

Yesterday's trip to the Hicks Flower show here on Long Island was the perfect cure for the late winter blahs. The smell of the air alone was enough to invigorate a gardeners soul.

Hicks is an old nursery, over 150 years old, still run by the same family. It's perfect for the main stream gardener, excellent for families with children. They have a wonderful selection of containers, and also one of the largest selections of organic products for gardeners.

What they are not, is a place to hunt for perennials. You'll always find one or two there that are perfect but a long time perennial collector probably wouldn't fill a wagon there.


What grabbed my attention there was the large planters filled with many tropical (house) plants. Last year I filled many of my own planters here in the garden this way. Rather than using lots of flowering material, I chose to use tropical plants that had interesting and contrasting foliage.

There was a large crowd there and I only felt like snapping quick photos so there's no artistry involved in these shots. Still, I hope you can see what I mean about using foliage plants.


This container was lovely. Later when I get a chance to photograph the plants that I brought home with me I'll show you what the chartreuse plant is that's in the foreground.

A container like this would look great for a party but really isn't practical for a whole season in the garden. At the back is a Hydrangea and a Mandavilla, neither of which would really look great in this setting in another month or two.

My very favorite container was the first photo at the top of this post. I fell in love with the plant that looks like a big bow (to me) but I didn't see it for sale nor did I find it's name.

Kim and I also found the perfect containers for our dish gardens. Later this morning I'll take photos and share them here.