A short and delayed note to add to “Gardening Isn’t Going Away”. The Northwest Flower & Garden Show posted a 3-percent increase in attendance this year. Yes, yes, I know what you’re saying: owner Duane Kelly said this would be the last one, so more people came to see. But if they didn’t care about gardening, why would that make a difference? I don’t care for basketball, so I didn’t go see the Sonics play when they were up for sale just because they might leave town.
And, the Philadelphia Flower Show welcomed 251,000 visitors – not a record itself, except for one-day attendance on March 7 when 48,000 people were there. Gardening on the decline? Apparently not.
I mentioned Great Dixter in the earlier post, and Christopher Lloyd’s love of teaching others about plants and gardens, as well as learning more himself. I contacted the garden to find out about their attendance, and the reply was that 2008 attendance was “exceptionally good” at 44,882.
It looks like the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is sold; so who would buy a business if its future didn’t look bright (besides the government)?
