Last night Graham and I went to the Pickering Home & Garden Show, which really has no business having the word “garden” in the title at all. We went on the Friday evening because it was the first day of the show and we thought we would avoid any crowds—and were correct in this assumption. The event was at the Pickering Trade Markets, where the usual flea market is held at Squires Beach & Bayly. I guess the price for us worked out to be a dollar per minute of attendance because we each paid the five dollar admission fee, took a five minute walk around and left, disappointed. Seriously, a few potted tulips and daffodils at the entrance to the show does NOT make it a garden show. Neither do a few booths for professional landscaping or hardscaping touting services that are just too expensive for the average homeowner. I think this show needs to work on attracting more appropriate vendors, because in my opinion, a local real estate brokerage and national cable company seemed totally out of place. I would have preferred to see some of Durham’s garden centres or artisans set up booths. It would have been a great late winter pick-me-up to see some actual plants on display. Where were the perennials? I won’t bother attending this one again, and I’m especially looking forward to attending Canada Blooms next week.
