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Home Show Offers an Early Glimpse of Spring
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Visitors to the 2003 Maryland Home and Garden Show who dodged snow
piles and tiptoed around puddles to get to various exhibit halls
were rewarded with the closest thing to spring that’s been seen in
months. Exhibitors showcased a wide range of products and services
designed to help alleviate the region’s cabin fever epidemic.
Along with the nurseries, gazebo builders and bathtub refinishers,
CCBC Dundalk’s Horticulture program booth has been a perennial
favorite at the show since 1991. This year, in addition to
answering questions and distributing information about the popular
course offerings and certificate and degree programs on campus,
CCBC Horticulture and Floral Design faculty, staff and students
conducted a variety of demonstrations for Home Show visitors.
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At two-hour intervals throughout the show’s run, how-to presentations on
topics such as starting seeds indoors, creating corsages, potting
houseplants and gift basket creations educated and entertained visitors
to the booth, located in the Horticulture Hall (4-H Building).
The talent and expertise of CCBC Dundalk Horticulture faculty, staff and
students were not limited to just the college booth, but were in
evidence at numerous garden and nursery displays throughout the show.
Michelle Cheek and Johanna Hoehner, CCBC Dundalk Horticulture students
and owners of New Edge Design in Towson, Md., won a blue ribbon for
their outstanding townhouse garden display and were featured in a
Baltimore Sun article on the Home and Garden Show.
“It’s not uncommon to find CCBC Horticulture program graduates and
current students as employees – and owners – of many of the landscape
firms represented at the show this spring,” said John Sanders,
Horticulture program director. “What’s so gratifying is realizing that
the best designed and installed gardens at the show are the work of CCBC
students.”
A new publication, “Discover Maryland’s Public Gardens,” also recognized
the excellence of CCBC Dundalk’s Horticulture gardens. Created and
distributed by the Maryland Public Garden Consortium (MPGC) to help
promote public gardens, this visitor’s guide lists the campus’
instructional gardens as one of 13 “hidden gems of the Free State” as
well as one of six “Gardens of Note” in Maryland. John Sanders is a
member of the MPGC, a volunteer-based, member-led organization that
works to “promote and improve public gardens in Maryland through the
collaboration of gardens, allied professionals and interest groups.”
Photo –
Caption: At this year’s Home Show, Ann Szymanski, CCBC
Dundalk Floral Design program graduate, demonstrated how to assemble an
attractive gift basket.
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