Need a whiff of springtime? Plantasia starts Thursday!

by Connie Oswald Stofko

The snow on the ground is a reminder that it’s still winter, but it will feel like spring when you step into Plantasia, Western New York’s premier garden and landscape show.

Walk through full-scale gardens, get ideas for water features and other hardscapes, buy plants and other items for your garden, attend great seminars and take the kids for fun activities at the Children’s Garden during this event presented by PLANT WNY.

Dates and times are:

• Thursday, March 16, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. 
• Friday, March 17, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. 
• Saturday, March 18, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. 
• Sunday, March 19, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. 

Plantasia will be held at the Fairgrounds Event Center and Artisan Hall, 5820 South Park Ave., Buffalo.

See ticket information here.

A great feature of Plantasia are the many professionals you can talk to, said Chris Zeisz, CNLP, show chairman. Did you have tree damage during this winter’s storms? Talk to experienced staff from tree suppliers, garden centers and nurseries.

“A lot of companies have CNLPs,” Zeisz said. People with that certification have undergone training, gotten extensive on-the-job experience and passed a rigorous written exam through the Certified Nursery Landscape Professional program.

“If you’re looking to hire a landscaper, you can talk to them right there at Plantasia,” Zeisz added.

There will be more vendors at Plantasia this year than last year, he said.

With a new theme every year, the show gardens are always different. This year the theme is “New Twist on an Old Classic.” Expect landscapers to take an old gardening implement or something you might find in your grandma’s yard and use it in a new way. A centerpiece will be “an old Chevy pickup truck with the big fenders and all that fun stuff,” Zeisz said. How will it be used in a new way? You’ll see when you get to the show.

Find more information:

• List of seminars
• Special events
• Children’s activities
• List of vendors
• List of landscaped gardens