Last weekend was the time for the Arkansas Flower and Garden show. We had two themes this year, g

ardeni

ng around the world and the magic of gardening. The arrangement on the left is the keynote for the magic part of the show.

That consisted of horticulture ex

hibits and flower arranging contests.

The horticulture part is examples of plants and flowers growing in people's houses and gardens. The weather did not cooperate so therewere not as many exhibits as usual. But it seems there were enough.

The flower arrangements were very interesting. Most of them utilized lots of vertical space and were quite severe on the use of flowers. I think that Japanese flower

arranging has had a large impact on our flower show people.

The other display gardens were done by professional landscapers. The hummingbird and owl are parts of Garvan Gardens' display. They contrived to make a lovely garden using only the things that are growing now.

The rest of this is notes that I took during the show:

The smell of the roasting, coated nuts sold by the charity auction is irrestable. Combine that with the garlic coming from the grater demos, the smoothie stand, honey drinks from the bee keepers and samples from various food stands and I could gain weight just by walking around.

My previous management style was managing by walking around, chatting with various divisions. For the show, it is management by frenzied scurrying. In any group of volunteers, there are people who for

one reason or another, just can do the job they agreed to. When there's time, most call. I arrange substitutes. But when they just don't show, as a couple always do, it's the same substitute drill along with worrying about the no show's health (my Master Gardeners are not the youngest kids in town) and their family worked into my concerns. Two of my volunteers called just before their shift began to let me know there was an emergency. A couple just never appeared.

The show floor is concrete, no carpet. By Saturday, some of the vendors began to talk about sore feet, sore backs and fantasy pedicures. It was even more prevalent among those who set up display gardens. Regular set up was Thursday. The display gardens were started Wednesday morn

ing. These folks worked all the way through the show, even doing tear down Sunday night. But their projects were worth it. I hope they feel the same. Doing a display garden is expensive, both in plant material and labor costs. Most of them worked until they had to leave for the judging.

The display gardens are beautiful. The contest arrangement are both neat and creative.

The "red hat ladies" put in an appearance at the show. They get a kick out of dressing up and going places. They add to whatever venue they choose.

Some of the gadgets being sold are original ideasfor uses of things some of us pitch. There is the usual spectrum of metal stuff, garden tools, pottery and wood furniture. At least part of my scurrying has been slow enough to glance at booths for something new.

This year, the show organizers set up a lounge area away from the show where vendors could relax and eat their lunches. Someone brought in a box of pastries Friday morning. They were gone in half an hour. There were

about 40 cases of snacks, junk food and candy. By noon everything except the ketchup, mustard, peanut butter and jelly were gone. I think that this is one of the few shows that does things lik

e that. But the vendors are our customers. We should keep them happy.

Most of the volunteers hung out in the office when they weren't working. There was a more or less continuous bull session in there. Subject varied with the population.

Sunday was by far the slowest day for the show and vendors. All that changed at four o'clock, when the last buyer was herded out and tear down began. In spite of all our efforts, there was a huge traffic jam at the truck entrance and at the loading docks. Understandable, these people wanted to load up, go home and put their aching feet up.

My wife tells me that I came home Sunday night and slept until Tuesday afternoon. I think that's an exaggeration. I must have gotten up to eat and potty. But otherwise, I kept to the cat's nap schedule.