Anthony Gardner and Griffin Nightingale, Employed by Wallace Events, Part of the Tent Crew,  This Afternoon.

A Floral Arrangement in a Small Boat.

Blooming Flowers at the Maine Flower Show Today.

Spring may be dragging her feet in southern Maine, but the flowers are not at the Maine Flower Show that opens tomorrow evening and runs through Sunday, April 2nd at 5:00 pm.  In fact, they are in gorgeous bloom as they await the Show opening at Thompson’s Point.

Griffin Nightingale, a six year employee of Wallace Events, said they have to keep the temperatures of the heated tents at 55 degrees to keep them safe from damage.  “We’ve been pumping the tents all night.  We have huge generators that pump the heat in.” There are also numerous heaters scattered around to regulate the temperatures on a cold Maine day.  When the Show opens, the warmth of the venue will automatically increase because of all the increased activity.

Nightingale, Anthony Gardner and  and six other employees erected four tents behind Brick South at Thompson’s Point to accommodate all the display gardens and vendors. Wallace Events also supplied tables, chairs and other equipment for the Show.

“We;ve been trying to hold the temperature so flowers won’t bloom before the show starts,” said Sarah Thompson, O’Donals Nursery, Gorham.  “We want to have the flowering plants bloom at the right time.  The annuals have been grown in heated greenhouses and started this year. The perennials have been brought inside  at O’Donals to break dormancy.  They were dormant in an unheated garage.”

Landscapers and nursery owners have to complete their gardens by noon tomorrow.  That’s when the six judges will come in and decide who will win the sixteen awards for the Show.  The premiere begins at 6:30 pm and runs until 9:00 pm. Award winners will be announced at 7:30 pm. There will be music, food and a cash bar.  Proceeds from the premiere will go to the Good Shepard Food Bank. Tickets for the event cost $50.00 and it is open to the public.

Wallace Events employees erected the four heated tents on site as well as all of the equipment needed for the show.  They have a long-term contract to provide this service into the future.  The company is located in Ellsworth.

General admission charge is $15.00. Attendance at the premiere event on Wednesday, March 29th  is $50.00. Admission charge for seniors on Thursday is $8.00.  For veterans and their spouses, admission fee is $5.00 on Friday.  The cost of parking is $5.00.  The Show is hosted by the Maine Landsscape & Nursery Assocation, a non-profit, MELNA.

For more background information, please see the previous post herein.  For more details, please visit the website:  Themaineflowershow.org