Before I forget, I wanted to post some pictures from my trip to the Portland Yard, Garden, and Patio show.  My mom and I made the trip out to the Oregon Convention Center to a busy venue.  Inside was everything I would expect from an event like this – seed and plants for sale, landscape and garden displays, landscapers, contractors, authors of garden books, and even “celebrities” of the gardening world.

As far back as I can remember, I’ve always been interested in gardens and plants.  In a science class in elementary school, my classmates and I were given lima beans, a wet paper towel, and a ziplock bag.  The seeds were placed inside and for the next couple of days, we were taught about the different parts of a plant.  I can remember thinking, “Holy cow, this is amazing!  All you have to do is add water to this seed and eventually you’ll get a full sized plant?”  Even when we had to grow grass in dixie cups for Easter baskets, I couldn’t believe the other third graders weren’t as amazed by “life” as I was.  By no means am I a horticulturist or an avid gardener, but even now, I love plants.

I guess some people are rich enough to have hot tubs in their yards.  I’ll just look.

[Above left]  One of the good purchases of the day was a Circlehoe, which has received lots of good press nationaly.  [Above right]  Then there were the Thai straw mats being sold for $70-$80.  My mom nearly had a heart attack when she saw the price.  We have some at the house now, and they were bought for $20-$30 in L.A.

My mom bought bulbs, seeds, a fig tree, a blueberry bush, pruning shears, and the Circlehoe.  She would have bought more, but we came on public transportation – Portland’s light rail system, MAX.

On the ride home, I noticed this poem above us.